Kansas City, Mo ? Emergency management officials in Missouri and Kansas have been getting their first glimpse of a new computer system that will serve as the bistate metropolitan region’s main initiative for beefing up homeland security.

The Metropolitan Emergency Information System is thought to be the first of its kind in the United States. And it may end up being sold to other metropolitan areas, with some of the licensing fees going to a local emergency relief fund.

The Mid-America Regional Council of governments and Kansas City-based software developer Apex Innovations Inc. are developing the system for more than 100 governmental agencies across the metro area to use in a disaster.

“This will put Kansas City on the cutting edge of emergency preparedness,” said Jamie Metzl, a Kansas City native who is coordinator for homeland security programs through the Washington-based Council on Foreign Relations.

The system, an outgrowth of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, will help emergency personnel from different cities coordinate their efforts. Agencies will use the system as a a sort of library of emergency response plans, equipment lists and rosters of personnel with specialized training.

Fire departments, ambulance services and other emergency management offices could be using the system by the end of the year. More than half the expected cost of nearly $1 million to getting the system up and running will be covered from federal homeland security funds and the Greater Kansas City Community Foundation.

According to officials from the regional council and Apex Inc., the regionwide system will work this way:

If a tornado sweeps through several cities — as happened in May in the metro area — and a city needs an extra bulldozer to help clear debris, officials will be able to go on an Internet network to check what other area cities or private companies have bulldozers available.

Or if there’s a terrorist attack, various cities would be able to use computers to view the same emergency response plan. Communities and emergency responders would be able to broadcast messages on what was happening, such as where streets were blocked and where emergency medical shelters had been set up.

“It’ll be a great resource, no doubt about it,” said Tanya Allen, acting director of Kansas City’s Emergency Management Office. “If you look at reports on disasters, communications are always an issue.”

The need for better preparations in the event of terrorism was underscored by a recent national study. An independent task force sponsored by the Council on Foreign Relations visited Kansas City and a few other cities before reporting last month that American communities remained “dangerously unprepared” for catastrophic terrorism attack.

The survey also found “city officials are saying they need assistance with coordination and planning.”

In Kansas City, that assistance is coming from the regional council. The council of governments has long been involved in coordinating public safety issues across city boundaries, from establishing a 911 emergency telephone number to offering training classes on hazardous materials.