For the past 30 years,Joel Vetter,chief of fire rescue services for Suffolk County,New York,has seen an evolution in the types of threats that call for emergency preparedness.He's observed schools and the American public at large move from simple procedures such as stop,drop and roll to full-scale drills to prepare for active shooting situations,or what he considers,”the new norm.”“In today's culture,unfortunately with the threat in our region of gang violence,the opioid epidemic and the risk of mass shootings or gun violence,there are risk factors that are telling us not if,but more of when a large scale mass casualty incident will happen,”Vetter says.The need for dedicated emergency preparedness professionals was borne out of the civil defense era,he notes.Before the terrorist attack on Sept.11,2001,retired military,fire chiefs or police chiefs put on the metaphorical hat to provide emergency support for large-scale events.Since then,the need for such officials has transitioned into a full-time profession.”It's blossomed into a career path specifically out of the presidential declarations post-Sept.11,which now has people with higher education and degrees focused on the five phases of emergency manage-ment: prevention,preparedness,response,recovery,mitigation,”he explains.”That's a change in comparison to back when everything was more of a reactive environment to where now we are posturing,leaning forward with governmental services and solutions in a proactive manner.”The widespread adoption of the Internet,cell phones and social media has opened the door to new technology advancements that are changing the way crucial information reaches the public.In a time when the prevalence of mass shootings in America touches every citizen in some capacity,these new platforms are assisting law enforcement and emergency management officials with identifying and broadcasting events in an effort to save lives.
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