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Friday, March 21, 2003

By Mark Belko and Jonathan D. Silver, Post-Gazette Staff Writers

As war with Iraq intensified yesterday, security at Pittsburgh International Airport was at its highest level ever, underscored by roving patrols in the terminal, random car searches and more careful baggage and ID checks.

	Kevin Rice of Burns International Security Services checks the trunk of a car entering Pittsburgh International Airport yesterday. About one in every dozen automobiles entering the airport was pulled aside to be checked. The measure was part of beefed up security at the facility as a result of the war in Iraq. (Steve Mellon, Post-Gazette)

In addition to more thoroughly checking bags and identification, U.S. Transportation Security Administration officials had employees patrolling inside and outside the terminal looking for suspicious activity.

Allegheny County police randomly searched vehicles entering the airport complex yesterday morning and deployed more officers throughout the terminal. They also had a bomb-sniffing dog in the landside building, but a police spokesman said that is not unusual.

"I would say this is the most measures we have taken in orange alert status," said Federal Security Director Robert Blose, who oversees airport security for the TSA. "What we have done is more robust."

A new security wrinkle, the TSA patrols are taking place in the terminal's landside and airside buildings, outside in the short-term parking area closest to the terminal and near the Hyatt Regency Hotel on airport grounds.

Employees look for suspicious activity and alert county police if they find any.

"They're armed with only their eyes and ears and flashlights and radios. They perform the role of reconnaissance," said Blose, a former Marine colonel who commanded a battalion in the first Persian Gulf war.

Travel appeared to be lighter than usual yesterday morning, less than 15 hours after the first U.S. and coalition air strikes against Iraq. While a few travelers were antsy about flying given the start of the war, others said it didn't faze them.

"I thought it would probably be the safest day to fly ever," said Nancy Harger, 48, who flew to Pittsburgh from Orlando, Fla., to visit her mom.

In Point Breeze, the Allegheny County Emergency Operations Center's first wartime activation ever came at 12:30 yesterday morning, three hours after U.S. and coalition forces launched their strike against Iraq.

County Emergency Management Coordinator Bob Full had been in steady contact with the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency even before the missile attacks took place around 9:30 p.m. Wednesday, but he ratcheted up his communication after being notified by Harrisburg at 11:30 p.m. that the state was heading toward a wartime footing.

"I was advised of certain things that I really can't elaborate on," Full said during a pre-dawn media briefing at the operations center's headquarters, where county workers were filtering into the situation room, a large space filled with banks of TV sets, computers, fax machines and phones.

An hour later, Full was formally notified that PEMA had fully mobilized its emergency operations center as a preventive measure and was directing the state's 67 counties to do the same. He ordered a Level 2 activation -- the lower of two stages -- which brought in workers to staff primary positions. They included the county's emergency management staff, 911 administrators and fire services personnel.

Normally, the center is run by a skeleton crew 24 hours a day.

When completely up and running, the center will hold roughly 100 people from 60 different public- and private-sector groups, including all county departments, Pittsburgh emergency services and utility companies.

Authorities were not aware of any threats against southwestern Pennsylvania.

Full asked, however, that the public remain extra vigilant to anything unusual that could indicate terrorist activity and to call 911 in that event. As examples of what he would consider suspicious activity, he mentioned an individual loitering under a bridge if there are no road workers nearby, or someone pouring a liquid into a sewer grate.

Full said he is in contact with the FBI and local law enforcement agencies to keep abreast of any potential problems.

"We want them to be very vigilant right now and to take heed that folks should be prepared to take care of themselves," he said, adding that people should have three-day supplies of food and water, as they should to cope with any natural disaster.

	The command center of the Joint Terrorism Task Force at FBI headquarters on Pittsburgh's South Side. (John Beale, Post-Gazette)

The FBI announced that a 24-hour-a-day command post was established at 7 a.m. yesterday. It will be staffed by members of the Joint Terrorism Task Force, which includes representatives of local, state and federal law enforcement agencies. The command center is at FBI headquarters on the South Side.

Meanwhile, police departments around the state tightened security around landmarks, sports arenas and public utilities.

In Beaver County, state police and National Guard troops have been providing round-the-clock monitoring at the Shippingport nuclear plant since last September, Kevin Joy, deputy director of the Beaver County Emergency Operations center, said yesterday.

Officials in Armstrong, Butler, Beaver, Washington, Westmoreland and Indiana counties have activated their emergency operations centers and planned to keep them open indefinitely. A supervisor in Washington County's 911 center said no other security precautions had been taken as a result of the war.

In Butler, Frank Matis, EOC director, said the EOC operators made contact on Wednesday with key facilities, such as chemical facilities and airports.

"We advised them that if anything out of the ordinary happens, they should contact local law enforcement," Matis said. He said the state police also were making contacts at key locations.

"We are kind of a rural area. But I think we stand ready. Everyone is ready to go if we need them," said Randall Brozenick, director of the Armstrong Emergency Management Agency.

Sheriff's deputies in Westmoreland County were patrolling several sites, but Dan Stevens, a spokesman for the county's 911 center, declined to identify them.

No new patrols or precautions had been ordered in Fayette County, a 911 supervisor said.

After more than a year of preparation, however, some public safety officials said that aside from testing equipment and tinkering with disaster response plans, there is little more they can do to make Pennsylvania's cities safer.

Gov. Ed Rendell on Tuesday stepped up police and National Guard patrols at the state's five nuclear plants and at historic sites.

Staff writers Jan Ackerman and Cindi Lash contributed to this report.

Mark Belko can be reached at mbelko@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1262. Jonathan D. Silver can be reached at jsilver@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1962.