SHOULD CITY PREPARE FOR TERROR? CITY CONSIDERS LARGE-SCALE EMERGENCY PLAN.

GLENDALE - With domestic terrorist attacks becoming more common, the Fire Department wants to contract with the federal government to develop a plan for managing large-scale medical emergencies caused by bombs and biological agents.

The City Council is scheduled tonight to discuss whether to proceed with the development of a metropolitan medical response system, which would be designed to cope with emergencies on a scale of the Oklahoma City bombing. The meeting begins at 6 p.m. at City Hall.

``It's proactive for in case such an event would ever occur,'' said Michael E. Matlock, senior executive analyst for the Fire Department. ``We don't anticipate one to occur, but our job is to be prepared in the event it does.''

Under the contract, the Fire Department would develop the plan and be reimbursed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The plan would focus on biological weapons response, early warning and surveillance, mass casualty care and mass fatality management.

Battalion Chief Joel Markss estimates the plan will take 18 months to complete. Developing the plan would cost an estimated $400,000, with an additional $10,000 needed each year to keep it up to date.

To develop the plan, city officials would coordinate with local hospitals and emergency response agencies, as well as the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.

City officials would ensure that local hospitals maintain an inventory of specific antidotes and necessary drugs. Local emergency response personnel would undergo additional training.

The city also would acquire protective clothing, decontamination equipment, and other specialized items needed for a mass-scale emergency response.

When the plan is completed, city emergency personnel would hold an exercise to ensure everything is in place.

``You try to implement the major components to make sure the plan works as designed,'' said Matlock. ``Periodically, you do exercises and drills to make sure everyone is still capable of responding.''

About 72 metropolitan areas, including the city of Los Angeles, have contracts with the federal government to develop medical response plans. The federal government started working with the largest cities first. Its goal is to have 200 medical response systems in place within the next five years. Burbank is expected to develop its own plan later.

While Glendale is prepared now to deal with fatalities in the dozens and maybe up to a few hundred, Markss said the medical response plan would enable the city to deal with thousands of victims.

``If you put Atlanta, Oklahoma City and New York City together and you also throw in Tokyo,'' Markss said, ``it's certainly a possibility (terrorist attacks could happen in Glendale). We need to be prepared to deal with it.''