ABSTRACT
It has been reported historically in many jurisdictions what may be described as the “Battle of the Badges.” A competitive spirit o¡en exists between members of the police and –re departments at disaster sites. „ere have been occasions in New York City that individual o›cers have engaged in physical combat, at times resulting in arrests. Prior to 9/11, then New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani tried to alleviate that competition by strengthening the O›ce of Emergency Management (OEM). „is was a successor to the mayor’s Emergency Control Board that was established to manage major disasters such as explosions, air crashes, blackouts, natural disasters, and building collapses. Giuliani tried to ensure-through communication and information from daily reports required by every city agency that were forwarded to the OEM at the beginning of each day-OEM would be able to coordinate all of the city’s resources. Armed with that information, OEM became a formidable player in managing these incidents. It was perceived that this would dampen the friction between the police and –re services. „erea¡er, the ranking member of the NYPD was in charge of any emergency or disaster, except a –re. „e new OEM, equipped with state-of-the-art facilities, equipment, and communications, was located at 7 World Trade Center (WTC), on an upper ³oor. It became known via the media as Rudy’s bunker.
