Public/private interactions during emergency preparedness situations.

The establishment of person to person communications between first responders in both the public and private sectors in advance of an emergency is essential to avoid a catastrophic outcome, according to the author, a member of the Homeland Security Unit of the Chicago. IL, Police Department. He stresses that 85 % of the country's critical infrastructure is protected by private security. Establishing who the key points of contact are at each of the responder disciplines must be inherent in all pre-operations planning, he points out.