after the World Trade Center attack and Hurricane Katrina in
2005, when countless Americans rushed to help - unasked, undirected, and
sometimes unwanted. Many of those volunteers angrily dispute the
notion they were a burden. They insist that in many instances they were able to
deliver respirators, hard hats, and protective boots to workers when no one
else seemed able. federal fire
official, said the government is not trying to discourage volunteers, but he
thinks there should come a time, within a few days of a disaster, when
civilians step back and let the professionals take control. Supporters say the
ID cards could be checked at a disaster area with a card-reader device and used
to verify a person's unique skills. For example, if police officers have been
trained to handle hazardous materials, officials at the scene could deploy them
to an area where their skills would be best put to use. For reasons ranging
from general safety to protection from lawsuits, construction and demolition
companies want to see a disaster ID card program succeed. Mike Taylor,
executive director of the National Demolition Association, said his industry is
talking with aides to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger about putting it in place in
his state."If California
goes ahead and does that, it will flow across the country. This is a really
smart idea by someone in the Bush administration to be able to control access
to the site and frankly, make sure there are no untrained people,"
Taylor said. "If somebody goes running down to the site, you have to stop
and ask them, wait, are they certified to do this work?"
AP Online contributed to this story
