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Disaster Experts in Baltimore Stress Emergency Preparedness

Release Date: 11/04/2010
Contact Information: Roy Seneca seneca.roy@epa.gov (215) 814-5567

PHILADELPHIA (November 4, 2010) – More than 700 emergency responders, medical providers and public safety officials will gather Nov. 7-10 in Baltimore for the annual Emergency Preparedness & Hazmat Response Conference, co-sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Baltimore Local Emergency Planning Committee.

Conference attendees will learn state-of-the-art methods on how to respond to life-threatening incidents like suicide bombings, toxic industrial accidents, transportation crises, and radioactive and chemical accidents. The conference will be held at Baltimore’s Hyatt Regency Inner Harbor.

Keynote speaker for this year’s 21^st annual conference will be Sean Tuohy, whose adopted son, Michael Oher, is the Baltimore Ravens’ starting left tackle. Oher rose from homeless teenager to first-round NFL draft pick, as chronicled in the best-selling book and blockbuster movie, The Blind Side.

Tuohy a record-setting basketball player, successful entrepreneur and NBA broadcaster, will speak to emergency responders in Baltimore about how to overcome obstacles in the face of adversity. He will offer his perspective on what it takes to inspire hope, ignite generosity, and make success happen. His keynote speech is scheduled at the opening general session at 2 p.m., Monday, Nov. 8.

Also speaking will be EPA Mid-Atlantic Regional Administrator Shawn M. Garvin, and Federal Emergency Management Agency Mid-Atlantic Regional Administrator Mary Ann Tierney.

The annual conference helps emergency responders prepare for any kind of incident, improve hazmat responses, minimize damage, and clean up quickly. This is the nation’s foremost conference for first responders, counter-terrorism professionals, emergency managers and planners, as well as medical, law enforcement and industry personnel.

Exhibitors will display the latest emergency-response and cleanup technology, protective gear, hazard detection equipment and rescue practices. CSX railroad will provide hands-on training with its safety train to demonstrate techniques for dealing with hazardous chemical leaks. More information is available at the conference website: www.2010conference.org or by calling the conference hotline at 1-800-364-7974.

EDITORS: For advance interviews, call Bob Maloney, director of the Mayor’s Office of Emergency Management, at 410-396-6188 (office) or 443-829-7993(cell). Reporters may inquire at the conference registration desk, second floor of the Hyatt Regency.