A tragedy in New Orleans on New Year's Day is hitting close to home here in Southwest Florida.
We wanted to talk with local law enforcement to see how they prepare for the worst since fear still lingers in our community.
“Of course, when you have something bad like that, you know, happen in New Orleans, it always just puts your mind at like, OK, let's relook at this,” said Tracy McMillion, Fort Myers fire chief and emergency management director.
One line of defense McMillion showed us is the meridian barricades, which he said are strong enough to stop a moving car.
“We use a lot of times for road closures in which we want a permanent hardening. So, a lot of times, we'll use either this as a first wave or sometimes even as a second wave,” said McMillion.
McMillion said it's easy to move the barricades into place, but not easy to get past them.
"That heavy device that's made not to move becomes very movable. So this, allows us to be able to put it into so many different configurations. It allows us to formulate hardening plans that actually just meet the needs of the city," said McMillion.
McMillion also showed us a different type of barricade that’s easy to pull up in an emergency situation.
“They can actually cable and actually shut that off also, but these are designed to be able to be taken away if we need to but put up when we have events in order to keep people safe,” said McMillion.
Their safety equipment isn't just operating at ground level. McMillion said they have drones and more features hidden in plain sight, like planters designed to stop vehicles as well.