Mario Treviño has been chief of department for the San Francisco Fire Department since Aug. 1, following his five years as chief of Las Vegas Fire and Rescue. Prior to that position, he served with the Seattle Fire Department for 24 years, where he rose through the ranks to deputy fire chief. He graduated summa cum laude from Seattle University as a Bachelor of Public Administration, and was awarded a Harvard University Fellowship for Senior Public Officials in 1998.

He is a member of the Board of Directors for the Metropolitan Fire Chiefs; a member of the Terrorism, Professional Development, and ISO Committees of the International Association of Fire Chiefs; an advisory board member of the Fire & Emergency Television Network; a member of the Technology Transfer Committee; and a member of the Urban Fire Forum. He has testified before U.S. Congressional Committees on two separate occasions, and also serves on the advisory committee for the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation.

FC: In June of 1998, you wrote an article for Fire Chief, “Responder roulette,” about an anthrax scare that happened while you were fire chief in Las Vegas. What incident led to this article?

Treviño: Two men acquired what was described as weapons-grade anthrax and were traveling through Nevada. The FBI had the pair under surveillance, and when they stopped at a medical clinic in Henderson, Nev., the two were arrested. It turned out that the substance was a non-toxic, veterinary-grade vaccine for anthrax.

In the Las Vegas valley, emergency response is provided by five departments through automatic-aid agreements. Henderson Fire Department and Las Vegas Fire Department came together at the scene, and after the arrest, encapsulated the vehicle with the substance. As far as I know, it was the first anthrax scare in the country.

FC: How prepared were you for this type of bioterrorism incident?

Treviño: At the time, my knowledge of anthrax was very limited. Our response was to deal with it as a hazardous material. The reason that the Las Vegas Fire Department Bomb Squad was involved was because the FBI thought there was an explosive or aerosol delivery system that could deliver the anthrax.

Once the vehicle was stopped and arrests were made, Clark County's hazmat team and the Henderson Fire Department responded and handled it as a hazardous material incident.

FC: What action did you take after that incident?

Treviño: What I learned from it as a fire chief was that Las Vegas Fire and Rescue was not ready for a bioterrorism event. It was clear to me that we had not trained enough and had not worked with the law agencies. We started seeking funding and equipment, and I joined the ICHIEFS Hazmat section. We developed training programs and began working with hospitals for a medical terrorist situation.

FC: Since Sept. 11, how has your department's response changed?

Treviño: The entire fire service has changed since this situation began. San Francisco Fire Department has gone through a number of major disasters, and training and preplanning is ongoing and necessary. We also have a Metropolitan Medical Response System to bring in additional help.

The department is always very well involved in the process. Since this series of events, we have gone from six hazmat responses in a month to 200. We have only one rescue unit, so we equipped our heavy-rescue rigs for backup hazmat units. We're looking at adding an additional unit.

We have found that when we find a white powder substance, we need to follow the procedures. We send the backup hazmat unit to help streamline the process. While we do have a mutual aid program, these calls have been difficult on every department around us.

FC: Any advice for fellow chiefs across the country?

Treviño: First off, take the threat of terrorism seriously. I'm not sure everyone believes that, but because of the size of our population, the potential is always there.

Second, be aware of complacency. If we go on 20 to 30 or over 200 of these calls, at any time it could be the real thing.

Third, for smaller departments, review your mutual aid agreements and find out if mutual aid is responsive to such an incident, and if not, find out what needs to be done and coordinate those efforts. You need to really be prepared, and not wait until you are faced with a contamination.

Lastly, funding and equipment; you need to ask for what you need to get the job done.

I've never seen the public more respective or aware of the fire service. Now is the time for us to accept the responsibility, to step up to the plate and fulfill expectations.