| The
Downtown St. Louis Emergency Preparedness Organization,
known by the acronym DSTEP, is a collaborative effort
of the providers and recipients of public emergency
services in Downtown St. Louis. Providers include
the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Postal
Inspection
Service, the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department,
the St. Louis Fire Department, the City of St. Louis
Emergency Management Agency and the public utilities.
Recipients of those services include the owners,
managers and tenants of the largest structures
in
Downtown St. Louis. DSTEP seeks
to identify unmet needs, and to supply needed resources,
for assuring preparedness on the part of people of
Downtown St. Louis in the event of a large-scale
public emergency.
DSTEP’s
first initiative was to establish a radio communication
system, overseen by the City Emergency Management
Agency, linking providers and recipients in
the event of a large-scale emergency Downtown. Many
of the largest venues such as office buildings occupied
by large groups of
people
receive early and authoritative instructions
from police, fire and other emergency services providers
on the model of a “weather cube monitor
radio”.
Many of the largest of such venues have two-way
radio communication capability. The network
is activated
only during major emergency situations.
Other DSTEP
accomplishments to date include the establishment
and maintenance of this website, assisting the Fire
Marshal to obtain public compliance with laws requiring
evacuation plans, and assisting the Police Department
with development of a program to certify persons
for re-entry into buildings that have been evacuated.
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