As New York’s firefighters struggle to restore their city and make sense of the rubble around them, it’s hard not to wonder how the city of DeKalb will be affected by last week’s tragedy.

How we would react if DeKalb was suddenly to become the victim of an attack?

“I don’t know what specific changes would occur domestically,” DeKalb fire chief Pete Polarek said. “If the government were to go to war with another country, people would act accordingly — stores would still provide goods and services, children would still go to school.”

But what if the danger struck closer to home?

“If a similar catastrophic event were to take place in DeKalb,” Polarek said. “Being an unnatural or natural event, the city would react similar to New York.”

Certain steps are set to be taken in situations of emergency, which have been in place for some time, Polarek said. The first would be to use whatever natural resources the city may have, and then move on to state resources once those have been depleted.

“The first stages of an event would be to try and preserve life and minimize property damage,” Polarek said. “That’s our first priority.”

If all local and state resources were depleted, and the city maintained a state of emergency, the Governor would be contacted for additional resources, and perhaps call on other surrounding counties to assist us, going on to contact the President if all else failed.

“It’s a team effort,” Polarek stated. “Fire, police, public works, and all other divisions in the city would be working together. The key players would all be aware of their roles, and assemble in a pre-arranged emergency operation center.”

When asked if the fire department has received many calls from locals concerned with the possibility of DeKalb being affected by the looming threat of war-like conditions, Polarek stated that no calls of that nature have been received.

In an effort to comfort the public, similar to the effort being made by New York firefighters right now, Polarek assured citizens that the city has a very strong emergency plan that is updated and maintained.