MILLERSVILLE, Pa. -- If a mass-casualty event like the Amtrak train derailment in Philadelphia were to occur in Central Pennsylvania, the South Central Task Force is the team on the scene.
Originally created in 1998 as a counter-terrorism group, the South Central Task Force consists of four emergency response teams, covering approximately two million people in eight Central Pennsylvania counties: Adams, Cumberland, Dauphin, Franklin, Lebanon, Lancaster, Perry and York. When an event is too overwhelming for local law enforcement, members from the Task Force get called out.
"I'd say the South Central Task Force is as well prepared as anybody," Duane Hagelgans, South Central Task Force public information officer, said. "All the rescue teams train together, so no matter what the event or how big, we're able to work together."
Hagelgans says Task Force specialists undergo hundreds of training hours.
"You have to have the right people with the right abilities," says Steve Libhart, chairman of the eight-county task force. "Often times, they have to make informed, on-the-spot decisions."
Libhart also serves as director of Dauphin County's Emergency Management Agency. Local law enforcement will contact him if a situation requires more manpower.
"I'll notify the region, through the task force, and say, 'We need some regional assets deployed to Dauphin County. This is what we know now, and this is what we can reasonably anticipate,'" he says.
There are over 1,000 properly trained personnel throughout Central Pennsylvania to handle scenarios from HAZMAT disasters to incident management, Libhart estimates. No matter where the crisis is taking place, Libhart can pull Task Force personnel from anywhere in the region.
The South Central Task Force has overseen crises such as the downtown Lancaster building collapse in 2010, and the deadly Nickel Mines Amish school shooting in 2006. They also cover pre-planned, large-scale people events, such as Gettysburg's 150th Civil War Anniversary in 2013, to help plan and train for future high-volume incidents.
When a Task Force team arrives on the scene of a disaster, they typically come equipped with a truck consisting of tools to help in any type of crisis. Task Force teams carry approximately $1.25 million worth in life-saving equipment, much of which is funded by Homeland Security grant money.
"This is what we need to serve our two-million-plus (person) population," Hagelgans says, adding the Task Force is never completely trained for every possible event, but they are very well-prepared.
"From a tactical rescue-team perspective, we feel pretty good but there are things we need to improve."
