“In the first overhaul of the nation’s emergency response system since Hurricane Katrina, government officials announced Tuesday that the Federal Emergency Management Agency will once again take the lead role in disaster response and that it will use an amenable, computer-driven doctrine to coordinate federal, state, and local resources.” (Nola)

“The Bush administration will cut counterterrorism money for police, firefighters and rescue departments next year, but not by as much as it originally proposed. Next month the White House will request $2.2 billion to help states and cities protect against terrorist attacks in 2009, and not $1.4 billion, an administration aide told Rep. Peter King, [...]

“Pennsylvania has done a poor job overseeing hundreds of millions of dollars in federal homeland security grants, making it hard to evaluate if the spending has improved the state’s disaster-response capabilities, three reports found. The reports said record-keeping has been so inadequate that state emergency officials, who must approve local requests for the money, cannot [...]

“A grant from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security will allow the Hampton Fire Department to obtain an expensive Chemical Detection Kit. The department was the only fire agency in the state to be awarded the Commercial Equipment Direct Assistance Program (CEDAP) grant.” (Seacoast Online)

“The Science and Technology Directorate of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security will join officials and researchers from across the nation and around the globe Jan. 14–17 at the Los Angeles Convention Center for “Putting First Responders First,” the 2008 Homeland Security S&T Stakeholders Conference West.” (OHS Online)

“Just in time for the holidays, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security last week announced the award of $33.7 million to fund equipment and training for first responders across the nation as a part of the fiscal year 2007 Commercial Equipment Direct Assistance Program (CEDAP). Since the program’s inception in 2005, DHS has provided roughly [...]

The Bush administration intends to slash counterterrorism funding for police, firefighters and rescue departments across the country by more than half next year, according to budget documents obtained by The Associated Press. The Homeland Security Department has given $23 billion to states and local communities to fight terrorism since the Sept. 11 attacks, but one [...]

Firefighters from Quebec said they were held up at the Rouses Point border crossing while trying to provide mutual aid to firefighters battling flames at the Anchorage Inn Sunday.Lacolle and St. Paul fire officials said several members of their squad didn’t have proper photo identification and were held up for close to 15 minutes while [...]

Local law enforcement agencies are working to prevent individuals in their communities from acting on extremist views but are calling for additional federal resources to help combat the threat of terrorism, a Senate panel was told Tuesday. Recent attacks and thwarted plots against European and U.S. cities indicate a rise in homegrown terrorism, where individuals [...]

Some local emergency responders got a lesson in preparedness on Monday night directly from crews who responded to the Minneapolis bridge collapse three months ago. First-responders shared their stories with about 50 Illinois and Wisconsin EMS professionals in Baraboo on Monday night, WISC-TV reported. “You don’t train to go through a 100-foot embankment, going in [...]