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an emergency like an earthquake, flood or fire. She indicated the police and fire personnel were at the meeting out of respect for their peers in New York and Washington D.C. who suffered unthinkable personal and professional tragedy. She thanked them for their work every single day in protecting the quality of life in Pleasanton and for their dedication. Police Chief Tim Neal indicated that on the day of the event, many parents called the Police Department asking whether to send their children to school. He commended the School District for the way they handled the situation and for keeping the children in school. Patrols were increased around the schools to reassure everyone who entered the classrooms. The Special Weapons Team was activated to assist in providing additional security at the Lawrence Livermore Laboratory. The Alameda County Emergency Operations Center was activated at the Santa Rita facility. They were on the telephone with the Governor's office and other Centers throughout the state assessing the risks in Alameda County. There were concerns about the Oakland Airport, the Federal Building, as well as the Livermore Laboratory. All were provided additional security and at 5:00 p.m. that day Alameda County met with the FBI and the County Sheriff at the Santa Rita Complex and were briefed. Pleasanton is not perceived to have a significant threat for future attacks. He pointed out it is the average citizen who finds the clues that lead to apprehending criminals. He indicated there are many Afghan-American citizens in Pleasanton and hoped that they would not be targeted. You cannot blame the entire Muslim community for the actions of a few. He said many police officers have participated in the recent services and vigils for crowd control and were much moved. At this weekend's Rib Cook-off, it was anticipated there would not be much of an attendance, but it tumed out to be a very successful event with a very patriotic tone. People approached police officers and thanked them for their work. Fire Chief Stewart Gary thanked Council for the kind words and show of support tonight. He said the fire department is always available for the citizens of the community. He said at the same time as the attack in New York the fire department was fighting the largest fire it has ever fought in the area. It was a four alarm fire with seven burning apartments, fourteen threatened apartments, and over fifty homeless families. When the phone calls and the media started informing the fire fighters what was going on across the country, it was beyond belief. In terms of preparedness, the system works. By 9:00 a.m. that morning, he was sitting at the edge ora ruined building on a conference call with his peers throughout this county, being briefed and making decisions on local mutual aid efforts. He had received aid that morning and they were making decision on what strike teams to send to the Sierras because the wild fires were still raging there. He pointed out that they can handle a four alarm fire and still do whatever it takes on a state and national level. He thanked the community for its outpouring of support. People are coming to fire stations to express their appreciation. Many have said they think about their appreciation but have not expressed it in the past. It helps the firefighters' morale tremendously. Firefighters are feeling a double hit; they are citizens of this country feeling the loss and also the loss of their peers. If you had seen the faces of the firefighters at the Livermore fire compared to those on the television coverage of New York, they would have been the same. The big difference is that our firefighters got to go home that morning to their families. He reiterated his appreciation for the response of the citizens and said tonight two five-year-old girls came to the Railroad Avenue station and presented their piggybanks as a donation to the New York firefighters fund. He said there are two official funds for the firefighters in New York and Pleasanton City Council 3 09/18/01 Minutes