Fire chief seeks $1 million from feds for border study

The Windsor Star

By Dalson Chen

November 30 2010

It's time that the federal government invested in Windsor's ability to respond to a crisis such as an attack on our border crossings, says the city's fire chief.

"If something were to happen, we're it," Dave Fields said at city council on Monday.

Following a report from Fields, council approved his intention to apply for a federal contribution of $1 million to undertake a capability-testing project.

Fields said the project -- which would take two years -- would identify weaknesses in Windsor's response to high-risk scenarios.

Among the scenarios: a boat loaded with explosives at the supports of the Ambassador Bridge; other types of vehicle-borne explosive attacks; and a chemical transportation barge in the Detroit River.

"We know there are some gaps (in our response abilities)," Fields said outside council chambers.

"Should something catastrophic happen from a terrorism point of view, our resources are going to get strapped very, very quickly," he said.

The project would be done with the co-operation of CRTI -- the Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and Explosives Research and Technology Initiative, developed by the federal government in 2002.

"The first response is always going to be a local response," acknowledged Tom St. Onge, Ontario region project manager with CRTI.

St. Onge said there are already plans to equip Windsor Fire and Rescue with new software that will enable them to communicate more effectively with authorities in Detroit and Michigan.