FOLEY, Ala. — Seven years after the events of Sept. 11, 2001, local public safety officials are still mindful of a potential repeat of the events that plunged the U.S. into the war on terror.

“That day, everybody remembers where they were at and what they were doing,” Foley Fire Chief Chad Brewer said of the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon by radical Islamic fundamentalists.

For firefighters such as those at Foley Fire Department, the events of 9/11 are particularly poignant since 343 New York City firefighters were among the 442 public safety personnel who died in the World Trade Center attacks.

All total, 2,973 Americans died that day as a result of the terrorist attacks.

“I think we are still preparing; we stay in constant readiness even at our level,” Brewer said of FFD.

While Brewer said it doesn’t seem as if references to 9/11 are heard as much today from the state and federal governments as was true a few years ago, nevertheless, FFD continues to prepare for any eventuality.

“Most of it is informal - within the department,” Brewer said of training in connection for a 9/11 event, but not all the training is local.

Among other things, the department has done bomb awareness training of late with the Alabama Bureau of Investigation, Brewer said. When money allows, FFD also sends firefighters to Anniston, Ala., to train with technicians regarding Weapons of Mass Destruction. FFD continues to keep chemical detection kits on its hazardous materials trailer, the chief said.

Foley Police Chief David Wilson agrees with Brewer on the impact 9/11 made on Americans.

“I will never forget what I was doing and where I was when those attacks occurred,” Wilson said of 9/11.

“Policing has never been the same since.”

According to Wilson, one of the worst things in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks was the breakdown in communication between responding agencies. That’s something area officials are guarding against in case of another terrorist event, Wilson said.

“Once a month, every month, agencies that want to come together and we talk about police issues,” he said.

“In this area we meet with each other and communicate with each other often.”

This Law Enforcement Coordinating Committee is made up of federal, state, county and municipal representatives - what Wilson calls a “who’s who of first responders.”

The committee includes the Drug Enforcement Agency, FBI, Secret Service, county sheriffs and chiefs of police. The group is headed up by the FBI and U.S. Attorney’s Office. Mobile County Sheriff Sam Cochran’s office provides the lunch.

Wilson is quick to point out that different kinds of terrorism exist, including domestic terrorism. While he isn’t one to say that the kind of terrorist attacks that occurred seven years ago could or would happen here, he nevertheless says that can’t be ruled out even in a small area like this. Police, for one, can’t operate on the assumption that a terrorist incident won’t occur in a given locale, Wilson said.

This is a tourist area, the kind of setting terrorists might conceivably target, he said. Also, Baldwin County is next door to both a seaport and a county that has a lot of chemical plants.

During the time he has been on the job, namely, a year and a half, FPD has been concerned with restructuring, bringing in highly qualified police officers, and dealing with crime, Wilson said.

Beginning in 2009, plans are being made for what Wilson calls an “in-service training academy” that would be held three days of each quarter. FPD officers attending the academy would be exposed to such modern operating practices as “new tactical procedures,” Wilson said.

He notes that some specific terrorist training would be involved in the academy, including patrolling in the 21st century era of terrorism. Advanced weapons systems have been added to FPD’s inventory, the chief said.

“We won’t be outdone by the bad guy,” he added.

FPD has added a command post vehicle and is in the process of forming a special response team that can be called upon to handle emergencies. Training in the use of hazardous protective equipment is also in the works for FPD officers next year, according to the chief.

Also, FPD has a grant pending for over $200,000 that, if approved, would provide the department with what Wilson calls a “state of the art digital radio system.”

One thing Wilson hopes to see accomplished is all Foley officers becoming compliant with the National Incident Management System (NIMS), described by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as a Homeland Security Presidential Directive that “provides a consistent nationwide template to enable all government, private-sector, and non-governmental organizations to work together during domestic incidents.”

“Police officers are the best bet on stopping these guys (terrorists) as a first line of defense,” Wilson said.