On Wednesday February 17, Mayor Marty Walsh announced that the City of Boston would be receiving a $17.7 million grant from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) oversees many federal agencies including the U.S. Coast Guard, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Secret Service, and the Transportation Security Administration.
DHS also oversees grants given to state and local agencies to boost their ability to respond to large-scale emergencies. In Metro Boston, the Mayor’s Office of Emergency Management is in charge of dispersing money to nine local agencies: Boston, Brookline, Cambridge, Chelsea, Everett, Quincy, Revere, Somerville, and Winthrop.
Collectively these agencies make up the Metro Boston Homeland Security Region (MBHSR).
The mission, according to the MBHSR newsletter, is to “build and sustain region-wide enhanced capabilities in order to reduce loss of life and property and protect the Region from all-hazards, including acts of terrorism, natural and man-made disasters.”
This money came from agencies seeing the flaws of the response to September 11, 2001 and how a large-scale incident and an inundated communication system slowed down first responders.
The Boston Marathon bombing in 2013 only reinforced this idea to Boston’s emergency personnel when they realized that more training could only add to their toolbox of knowledge.
Resources stemming from MBHSR has helped law enforcement and emergency medical agencies by providing funding for training, technology, and equipment.
Multiple fire departments have used the money to buy hazardous materials equipment and specialized rescue equipment for various situations. Several fire departments received pickups along with trailers to haul the specialized rescue equipment. One of the most recent purchases is a special hazardous materials analysis unit shared between Boston and Cambridge Fire Departments.
Quincy Police Department has used allocated money to improve on its SCUBA dive team (used to inspect ships and docks) and its marine unit. In 2008, Revere Police, with the help of DHS, reactivated their K-9 unit, now thriving with two dogs.
In 2014, with money allocated from the Department of Homeland Security, the Cambridge Police Department installed a ShotSpotter Flex Gunfire detection system, designed to pinpoint the location of gunshots heard in Cambridge.
The system, which transmits information to both the city’s Emergency Communications Center and patrol car laptops, has reduced shot detection time, ranging from 10 to 20 minutes, to now less than 60 seconds.
Boston Police Bureau of Intelligence and Analysis houses the region’s intelligence center, the Boston Regional Intelligence Center (BRIC). The center is a combination of detectives and civilian analysts from the nine MBHSR communities. The goal is to produce intelligence that can be shared among the agencies for homeland security and criminal response purposes. Federal, state, local agencies, and private sector groups also interact with BRIC.
In 2009, the Town of Brookline, along with the City of Boston, set up a citywide video camera system that monitors both large transportation routes and each city’s evacuation routes.
The cameras were originally meant for 24/7 use. After complaints from citizens, Brookline reduced the hours, reflecting coverage from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Other MBHSR communities use similar systems.
Through federal grants, emergency medical services such as Boston EMS have used money to respond to mass casualty incidents as well.
In 2013, Boston EMS used money from a federal grant to buy a Tango 10 bus, usually reserved for special operations needing the large transport of patients.
In addition to all the vehicles and special gadgets purchased by each municipality, the federal government has also footed the bill for several large-scale training events.
In 2011, Metro Boston hosted its first Urban Shield exercise, a 24-hour multi-agency drill for a variety of scenarios. The mock scenarios included terrorists hijacking a boat and control room, a collapsed building rescue operation, an armed gunmen in a busy urban setting, and two scenarios where bomb squad technicians had to safety detonate explosive devices.
In addition to Urban Shield, Metro Boston also held other various trainings. In the medical field, Operation Falcon II, a test of local hospitals and mass casualty response, took place.
Other medical training included a FEMA Medical Team Training between Boston EMS and Cambridge Fire Department’s Medic Unit. During the training, both teams responded to a (fictional) structural collapse incident. Tactical Rope Awareness training for local SWAT teams enhanced existing knowledge of rappelling buildings.
In 2012 and 2014, other communities held Urban Shield exercises. In October 2012, the exercises took place both on land and in nearby waters. The exercises included three mock hazmat drills, a SWAT scenario, a bank robbery with a hostage situation, and two maritime incidents.
The scenarios occurred in several locations throughout the MBHSR communities, including the University of Massachusetts Boston. These exercises were conducted by a slew of organizations, including multiple fire departments, private and local EMS agencies, Massachusetts State Police, MBTA Transit Police, Middlesex County Sheriff, U.S. Coast Guard, regional SWAT teams, and officers from Manchester, NH. In total, the trainings included about 2,000 first responders from more than 50 different agencies.
Two years later, in 2014, many of the same agencies participated in similar simulated emergency situations, including a parking lot collapse, an injured officer, a hostage situation of Boston officials, an active shooter drill, and an explosive device. In addition to drills, agencies were able to test communication resources.
The training sessions included more than just tactics. With Urban Shield 2013, the trainings focused on detectives and investigating a terrorist attack. The drill was pushed back after the Boston Marathon bombing and remained under tighter security in relation to previous trainings.
With more money coming in, agencies will continue to purchase technologies and train for events they hope will never take place.

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Boston EMS used a grant from the federal government to buy a "Tango 10," a large ambulance bus made specifically for large incidents.