The Fayetteville Fire Department

has joined Fayette County's other emergency agencies in the planning process

to prepare for a possible terrorist attack on Fayetteville.

Many of Fayetteville's firefighters

have training in hazardous materials response, and those capabilities

will be used in case of a chemical or biological attack, said Fire Chief

Alan Jones.

"Probably the biggest

challenge is to make sure we approach things in an organized manner and

not reacting to things as they come up," Jones said.

Although Fayetteville doesn't

have a big-ticket target, Jones said there have been warnings that terrorists

could move to "soft" targets that don't have as much security.

He gave the Fayette Pavilion as one example of a soft target.

Which is not to say you should

stop shopping there. Just be more alert about your surroundings, Jones

said.

"I'd be concerned about

any place you go and have a lot of people present," Jones said.

Jones also surmised the threat

of a terrorist attack is "not going to go away in our lifetime unfortunately."

"It's always been there,

just now it's magnified so much," Jones said.

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