Officials demo technology in emergency drill

Federal and state officials on Friday demonstrated the use of technology in a coordinated emergency drill.

Mark Forman, the e-government and information technology administrator at the White House Office of Management and Budget, joined Maryland officials, including Gov. Robert Ehrlich, in Laurel, Md., as regional experts showed how new software can be used to coordinate the work of police, fire and emergency medical personnel during a train derailment involving hazardous materials.

"Today, we showed the power of e-government and interoperable communications in saving lives," Forman said in a statement. The software enables information sharing among emergency management organizations by establishing a basic information set, such as weather data, private instant messaging, needs requests and incident maps.

Separately on Friday, the Homeland Security Department submitted for a 30-day public comment period new regulations on exempting anti-terrorism technologies from liability lawsuits. The Information Technology Association of America applauded the release.