FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - Wednesday, January 19, 2005

Pacific Disaster Center Announces Partnership to Provide New Technology for Critical Infrastructure Protection Planning and Emergency Response

KIHEI, Hawaii - (BUSINESS WIRE) - Wednesday, January 19, 2005 – The Pacific Disaster Center (PDC) today announced its collaboration on a new technology that provides governments, local agencies, and public/private institutions with the ability to better plan and prepare for a wide variety of emergencies. The PDC, a leader in disaster research and support analysis, has partnered with Seattle-based Prepared Response, Inc., to use its Rapid Responder(TM) system as a method to proactively prepare for any emergency incident.

Says Dr. Allen Clark, the PDC's Executive Director, "The PDC supports the development and application of emergency management technology for the protection of life, property, and socio-economic processes. The partnership with Prepared Response enables us to provide a valuable planning capability to governments and other entities throughout the region that are concerned with protecting their critical infrastructure."

Rapid Responder, developed by Prepared Response, is a secure interactive emergency response database system that allows emergency managers to pre-plan response and recovery efforts for a wide variety of emergencies. The Rapid Responder software gives planners the ability to organize and disseminate incident plans, including detailed site information and hazardous materials locations. In addition, the easy-to-use program provides emergency responders with directions to incident locations, staging areas, and buildings, and graphically displays floor plans, site plans, and both indoor and outdoor photos of critical venues.

"Rapid Responder is designed to be a critical tool in planning, preparing, responding, and recovering from both natural and man-made disasters," said Jim Finnell, CEO of Prepared Response. "This software enables cities, regions, and countries to preplan for a wide variety of emergency situations, so they can effectively secure critical locations, coordinate emergency response, and work with disaster relief organizations. In an emergency, every second counts, and the Rapid Responder software saves valuable time by providing emergency personnel with all the critical data they need to effectively mitigate any situation."

One of the program's most valuable features is that it allows emergency managers and first responders to securely view critical site information en route to an emergency, as well as to review building safety plans specific to the crisis, put into action an incident pre-plan, and distribute relevant critical infrastructure information to other key stakeholders. Rapid Responder works on standard laptop computers and anywhere there is Internet access. It can also be deployed as a standalone application where there is no Internet availability. The proprietary software program reduces the need for bulky, and many times, out-of-date paper-based emergency plans. In addition, plans for hundreds of sites and events can be stored on a simple flash memory device that can be carried in command cars or by individual responders.

"Our relationship with Prepared Response allows us to deliver high quality information to emergency managers who are responding to natural or man-made disasters. There is no question that, in this field, timely information can save lives," says Clark.

The Rapid Response system is currently deployed in over 750 schools in the U.S., and has been used to map out private venues as well as hospitals, stadiums, financial centers, and other critical infrastructures. It has already proven invaluable during a shooting incident at Lewis and Clark High School in Spokane, Washington, in September 2003, when a student shooter was contained after only 12 minutes.

About the Pacific Disaster Center

Located in Maui, HI, the PDC's mission is to provide applied information research and analysis support for the development of more effective policies, institutions, programs and information products for the disaster management and humanitarian assistance communities of the Asia Pacific region and beyond.

Since 2001 the East-West Center located in Honolulu, HI, has been the Managing Partner of the Pacific Disaster Center.

More information can be found at www.pdc.org, or contact Craig Chellis at 808-891-7941 or cchellis@pdc.org.