GLENDALE, LA CRESCENTA

Police, fire groups reassure community

Officials hope greater officer presence in streets helps keep calm in city.

By Amber Willard
September 12 2001

LA CRESCENTA -- More area police officials were on the streets Tuesday following terrorist attacks on the other side of the country.

Detectives and other officials joined uniformed officers in patrolling the city to help reassure residents by having an increased presence, police spokesman Sgt. Bruce Fox said.

"We want to have increased visibility at places like schools and heavily traveled areas, so we redeployed some of our staff," Fox said. Because the department has a mutual aid agreement with agencies in other area cities, Glendale Police were on a tactical alert Tuesday at the request of the county Sheriff's Department. Authorities said the alert was ordered because officials feared terrorist acts or threats like those in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania earlier in the day.

"Had the Los Angeles area suffered such attacks, we could form as a response team and be sent to the emergency," Fox said.

Police did not receive an increased number of calls for service Tuesday, Fox said. The biggest event in the city was a false bomb threat at a shopping center in the 200 block of North Glendale Avenue shortly after 10 a.m. Police said they do not believe the threat was related to the East Coast attacks.

Glendale firefighters were also on alert Tuesday, in the event an attack occurred in the area. In La Crescenta, officials at the Crescenta Valley Sheriff's Station were busy organizing an emergency operations center, where area disaster reports would be filtered if an attack occurred here.

"There's not much to do but the physical setup," Sgt. Don Bee said Tuesday morning, adding that if needed, volunteers and other officials would staff telephone calls into the center.

California Highway Patrol officials also spent the day keeping order.

"We are the state police. We are ensuring the security of state offices, like the Department of Motor Vehicles, and their employees," said Officer Vincent Bell of the area California Highway Patrol office.

Even local search and rescue teams were preparing to be called to help.

"Considering we are EMTs and we are search and rescue, with the other specialties such as terrorist and underground, we'd be a pretty valuable addition," said Mike Leum, a member of the Montrose Search and Rescue team that operates out of the Crescenta Valley Sheriff's Station. Although the Montrose team has not been called, three other area teams were sent to help in search efforts in New York.

News of the attacks, while devastating to residents, was also horrific for local officials.

"I just keep thinking of those who have died," Howard said. "Of those firefighters and officers who went in to help on the first crash and lost their lives later."