Some three-dozen law enforcement, fire and EMS leaders gathered March 26 and 27 to hone critical decision-making skills that would be required for public safety organizations to effectively combat the unthinkable - a coordinated terrorist attack in the Lehigh Valley.

The two-day course, certified by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, was brought to the Valley by Lehigh County Emergency Management officials.

A classroom in the county’s Joint Operations Center, which also houses the county Coroner’s Office and Forensics Center and Cetronia Ambulance facilities, 4350 Broadway, Cetronia, served as the training center.

Federal Emergency Management Agency certified trainers from the National Center for Biomedical Research and Training at the Louisiana State University led the course designed to raise awareness that no community is immune from being a target for terror-minded groups.

The course is designed to provide first responders from multiple disciplines with skills to manage the initial response to a large-scale attack in a chaotic environment, during a complex coordinated attack.

First responders are taught how to use intuitive skills, such as observation, analysis, anticipation and awareness.

They also learned how to recognize the possibility of an attack involving multiple incidents of an extreme magnitude that inundate resources, exceed conventional tactics and require a joint response involving responders from local, county, state and national agencies.

Trainees used several terrorist incidents from around the world to illustrate the devastation a coordinated attack could bring to a community or country.

A 2008 attack in Mumbai, India, involved the coordinated efforts of 10 terrorists, more than six locations, which resulted in 172 dead and hundreds wounded.

Authorities took four days to bring the attack under control.

The November 2015 attack in Paris involved nine terrorists who pulled off eight attacks in six locations within 26 minutes, leaving 130 killed and 400 wounded.

The 9/11 attack involved multiple targets and resulted in the loss of the World Trade Center towers, a portion of the Pentagon and the crashing of United Airlines Flight 93 into a field in Somerset County. Thousands were murdered and wounded.

The common thread of each surprise attack was chaos, overwhelmed response and a sense of bewilderment about what was happening.

Course trainees spent considerable time stressing the importance of early-on awareness that as multiple threats unfold, questions need to be posed as to “what’s next?” and what resources are needed to provide an effective response to “stop the death, stop the bleeding and stop the destruction.”

“The people who plan these attacks are not stupid,” lead trainer Daniel Breda said. “They spend months and years planning their destruction.”

Their objectives are to overwhelm resources, target responders and wreak the maximum havoc they can - often within 30 minutes of the initial attack.

Trainers presented a number of simulations bearing coordinated attack hallmarks, then supervised small-group tabletop exercises to teach the various responders a coordinated response to the terror.

Lehigh County Emergency Management Training and Operations Coordinator Jonathan Al-Khal said he received a number of positive comments after the two-day course.

He said the feedback indicated the training helped strengthen partnerships that have developed over time among the area’s first responders.