Solomon in his opening statements said that prior to 1995 and when hurricane Luis hit St. Maarten there was no structure in place to handle any forms of disaster. Solomon said 1995 is a year that he likes to remember since it was after that experience ODM managed to have their disaster plan approved. In this plan, the head of the ODM said there are responsibilities for different organizations, all of whom are responsible for certain areas. He made clear that disaster management is a team effort and the plan that is currently used has been tested each year since its implementation. Solomon said St. Maarten is prepared to take action in the event of an emergency but he also clarified that no country in the world is 100% prepared for disasters and St. Maarten is not different from other countries. He also indicated that the island is ahead of several other islands but Disaster Preparedness is an ongoing effort. St. Maarten is better equipped since 1995 but there is still a lot more that has to be done. The Fire Chief said that St. Maarten does not have all the required tools but they have enough to react in the event of a disaster. Solomon also indicated that the ODM will be sending their requirements to Parliament so that the necessary legislation can be put in place.
Paul Marten delivered the Power Point on the structure of Disaster Management. Several of the Parliamentarians posed questions on the level of the island's preparedness and on the level of cooperation between the French and Dutch side. Martens and Solomon explained that the two sides Fire Departments do have a close working relationship since they have a signed agreement. However, the Dutch side ODM is having some problems with the state representatives who are in charge of disasters. The ODM said the reason is because the French side changes its representatives every two years.