Terrorist attacks hit home

Mike Sciacca

As the country watched in horror and listened with shocked

disbelief to media reports of the tragic events that were unfolding

last Sept. 11, Americans felt great sadness and anger over the lost

lives.

For Huntington Beach resident and firefighter Scott Pokorny, the

terrorist attacks took on a more immediate and personal nature.

“I felt like they had attacked a part of my family,” he said. “The

entire fire department is like one, big family, and when I saw that

family being attacked on Sept. 11, it hit home hard. We lost so many

that day, that it was so hard to fathom.”

Pokorny is a fire captain at Huntington Beach Fire Station No. 3,

and is in his 20th year with the department. His training background

is extensive, yet the events of Sept. 11 have”changed everything,” he

said.

Fighting fires and helping to protect the public have always been

a given in his profession, he says. But in addition to their regular

training schedule -- which had included training in chemical agents

-- firefighters have since undertaken intensified training in

response to potential terrorist attacks and biological warfare,

brought to the forefront by the events of last September.

“Personally, I never thought in my 20 years that I’d be witness to

what happened on Sept. 11,” said Pokorny, married and the father of

three. “It’s nerve racking, really, and a day-to-day thing. Something

like this makes you really cherish your family when you leave your

house for work each morning. I know I cherish my days off with my

family.”

The tragic events made him appreciate his down time and

intensified his working situation.

“In terms of preparation we are covering everything when it comes

to weapons of mass destruction training,” he said. “We now have an

even more heightened awareness of the potential that’s out there.”

Since Sept. 11 most fire departments now carry on their vehicles

counteractive agents to combat biological and chemical attacks, a

benefit to firefighters who would have to respond to such a scene.

All Huntington Beach fire vehicles -- as well as those in all of

Orange County -- will soon be equipped with antidotal kits that will

help combat such attacks, he said.

Nuclear, biological and chemical weapons fall under the umbrella

of weapons of mass destruction training.

Since the attacks last Sept. 11, Pokorny said that he, personally,

has responded to three potential anthrax calls in Huntington Beach --

including two in one day. Each call came shortly after the first

national report of anthrax mailings last fall. In each case, he said,

the white, powdery substances found tested negative.

“When we watched those firefighters and police officers head into

the World Trade Center to help those in need, I think people right

then and there really had an awareness of what our job really is,” he

said. “They are now more in tune to what we do. As firefighters we

really appreciate the attention we are receiving. It has been

overwhelming, especially to the firefighters of New York City.”

“We’re here to protect the citizens and property of Huntington

Beach and its surrounding areas. But everybody should be aware that

anybody is susceptible to a terrorist attack. The key is to be

informed but still go about living life each day.”