FEMA leading shuttle response

Associated Press

WASHINGTON — Tom Ridge, the new Homeland Security secretary, coordinates the federal response to all significant domestic incidents even though terrorism is not suspected, under an executive order signed by President Bush last month.

Today, Ridge contacted Mike Brown of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe, and the head of the military's Northern Command, and determined that FEMA would be the lead agency for response and recovery. Northern Command will offer assistance.

FEMA will become part of Ridge's agency on March 1.

O'Keefe said at a briefing in Florida that the space agency has set up a "mishap investigation board" that will involve officials from other branches of government including the military and transportation agencies. He said he has named a chairman, but he did not say who it is.

The Army's 1st Cavalry Division sent a search and rescue task force from Fort Hood, Texas, to help search for debris, the military said.

The task force included helicopters and military police to search for and to guard pieces of wreckage for collection by NASA, officials at Fort Hood said in a statement.

The teams will use UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters during the day and OH-58D Kiowa Warrior helicopters during the night, the statement said.

Ridge called officials in Arizona and New Mexico to warn them about possible debris, although those states were out of the likely debris field. Oklahoma, Texas and Louisiana were more likely to see shuttle debris.