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Louisiana Takes a Gamble on Interoperability
Friday, March 31, 2006
A recent article in the Baton Rogue Advocate indicates that "Gov. Kathleen Blanco wants to use $2.8 million of an expected windfall of sales tax and gambling revenue to improve emergency communications in areas affected by Hurricane Rita." The plan: upgrade all emergency communications equipment in southwest Louisiana to a 700-megahertz radio system. Unfortunately, the start of the 2006 hurricane season is June 1- a mere two months away- which doesn't leave nearly enough time to implement the proposed improvements.As if a lack of time didn't already complicate things enough, the situation is exacerbated by the well-documented fact that in Louisiana (and most other states) the equipment of local emergency response agencies is often incompatible with that used by state agencies. The $2.8 million will cover only a portion of the cost of improving the communications system. Local agencies will be required to purchase the radios and other equipment necessary to actually operate on the system - an expense that many localities simply can't afford. The result: emergency communications in Louisiana will remain a patchwork quilt of non-compatible emergency communications. Meanwhile, hurricane experts are predicting 17 named storms for the upcoming hurricane season - more than they did last year at this time.
The Politics of Interoperability
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
In his most-recent editorial, Tim Dees, the Editor-In-Chief of Officer.com, touches on an often-overlooked aspect of failing emergency communications: politics. Drawing on his own law enforcement experience, he provides the following example: For years, the [emergency] communications staffs were told not to cooperate with one another by their managers, who were operating under the orders of the police chief and sheriff [ Dees notes earlier that the chief of police and the county sheriff loathed one another]. Once the [chief of police and the county sheriff] changed out, and the personal grudges were no longer there, the communications operators resisted a direct communication network because they feared and resented being taken out of the information loop. They were accustomed to controlling the flow of information, and they didn't want to relinquish that measure of power. The barriers between law enforcement, the fire service, and EMS were even worse. Interpersonal squabbles such as these, says Dees, "have been more responsible for retarding the evolution of public safety than any other single factor." The politics of information flow is by no means confined to the local level. Similar tensions between state and Federal agencies have hampered the coordination of emergency response efforts. Just as local jurisdictions don't want to relinquish control to state agencies, state agencies don't want to cede the control of information over to Federal agencies. The First Response Coalition echoes the calls made by several participants of the FCC's Hurricane Katrina Independent Panel: petty rivalries and personal egos must be put aside if communications interoperability is to be achieved.
Northeast "Staring Down the Barrel of a Gun"
Friday, March 24, 2006
Reuters News is reporting that this hurricane season, "the Northeast may experience a hurricane larger and more powerful than anything that region has seen in a long time." According to Chief Hurricane Forecaster Joe Bastardi of AccuWeather.com, "The Northeast coast is long overdue for a powerful hurricane, and with the weather patterns and hydrology we're seeing in the oceans, the likelihood of a major hurricane making landfall in the Northeast is not a question of if but when." While it's hard to say whether New York, Boston, Philly or D.C. will be the next New Orleans, one thing that is certain is that if, and when, a major hurricane slams into the Northeast, the emergency response system will be just as overwhelmed as when Katrina ravaged the Gulf Coast (see also Transterrestrial Musings). Although important first steps have been made to "fix the radios," over four years after 9/11 and nearly a year after Katrina the problem still remains. The existence of regularly-occurring natural disasters in the United States is a reminder that the need to "fix the radios" is as urgent as ever. Policymakers at all levels of government must take seriously the inability of emergency workers to effectively communicate with one another, not just during major disasters but also during the "routine" emergencies that occur every day throughout America. For policymakers to do nothing about the problem is to put the lives of emergency responders and citizens at risk. Until interoperability becomes a priority, we will be doomed to repeat the tragedies of the past.
FCC: Emergency Responders Need Broadband
Tuesday, March 21, 2006
Late last year, the FCC produced a report to Congress that envisioned an integrated, interoperable, nationwide network capable of providing broadband services for emergency responders on the frontlines. A network such as this would be capable of providing:
-Rapid warnings and messages pertaining to criminal activity
-Video surveillance during emergency incidents
-Real-time text messaging and e-mail
-Delivery of high-resolution digital images
-The ability to obtain location and status information of personnel and equipment
-"Smart radios" capable of operating on multiple frequencies and multiple formats However, the report noted, in order for emergency responders to be able to deploy these new, potentially life-saving technologies into the field additional spectrum allocations would be needed. Not only would that take time, it would potentially undo much of the work already devoted by public safety agencies to plan for the use of channels in the 700MHz spectra.
So, rather than complicate things, the FCC is now investigating whether portions of the 700MHz spectra slated to be returned to first responders as part of the transition to DTV might accommodate broadband. Broadband technologies can significantly reduce the time it takes to access critical information and, in an emergency, could mean the difference between life and death.
Coupled with the on-going work of the Hurricane Katrina Independent Panel and the Commission's recent vote to establish the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau, the FCC has taken yet another positive step towards ensuring that emergency responders have access to the tools they need to protect our communities.
FCC: New Bureau Is "An Important First Step We Should Have Taken 4 and 1/2 Years Ago"
Friday, March 17, 2006
Today, the FCC voted to reorganize itself to address the emergency response communications crisis by approving the establishment of the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau. The new Bureau will be responsible for coordinating the FCC's public safety, disaster management, and national security activities. It will have responsibility for: (1) Public safety communications, including 911 centers and first responders (2) Priority emergency communications (3) Alerts to U.S. citizens (4) Continuity of government operations (5) Infrastructure reporting and analysis during emergencies (6) Disaster outreach (7) Communications infrastructure protection (8) Network interoperability and reliability (9) Network security Noting that a comprehensive communications response system is critical to ensuring that we do not repeat the tragedies of the past, Commissioner Michael J. Copps called the establishment of the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau "an important first step we should have taken four and one-half years ago."
We couldn't agree more. The First Response Coalition applauds the FCC's initiative and looks forward to working with the FCC and like-minded individuals and organizations to give emergency responders the resources they need to protect our communities.
Pasadena Gets It Right... Almost.
This fiscal year, the City of Pasadena, California, has received more than $1 million in Homeland Security funds through a variety of state and federal grant programs. A significant sum of the money will be spent upgrading the fire and police department's communications systems. According to an article in Officer.com, "The fire department, along with police, will buy portable radios that communicate on the same frequency, a concept known as interoperability, to prevent a breakdown in communication during a serious emergency."The FRC commends the Pasadena Fire and Police Departments for their efforts to coordinate their ability to communicate with one another during emergencies. Unfortunately, during a "serious emergency," such as an earthquake, emergency responders from far-away cities and varying levels of government will be responding into Pasadena, all equipped with different communications capabilities, and operating on different frequencies. Such was the case during the response to Hurricane Katrina. While Pasadena has made an important first step towards ensuring first responders can talk amongst each other within the city, an effective emergency response will nonetheless be compromised because incoming emergency crews will not have the ability to communicate on Pasadena's frequency. Our nation needs a National Public Safety Communications Strategy and it we need it now. Emergency responders and the communities they protect deserve it. Communications interoperability should be national priority.
President's Proposed FY07 Budget Shortchanges First Responders
Monday, March 13, 2006
The President released his proposed FY07 budget on February 7, much to the disappointment of fire, EMS and law enforcement organizations throughout the nation. According to FCW.com, the proposed budget "would substantially decrease or eliminate funding for several major programs that first responders have relied on to buy technology, interoperable communications equipment, gear and vehicles."For Firefighters:The president is requesting a 46% decrease in funding for the Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program ("FIRE Act"), to $293 million, and no funding for the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) Act. The FIRE Act grants money to fire departments so that they may enhance their ability to protect the health and safety of the public and firefighting personnel, with respect to fire and fire-related hazards, while the SAFER Act provides competitive grants to fire departments to increase the number of firefighters protecting our communities. For EMS:According to the American Ambulance Association, the President's budget would decrease the ambulance inflation factor, thus reducing ambulance payments by $290 million over the course of a 10 year budget cycle. For Police:The Justice Department's Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program, which includes $140 million for technology and interoperable communications, would be slashed to about $102 million for 2007 - a 27% decrease in funding. The President's proposed budget ignores one of the most important lessons learned from the September 11 terror attacks and Hurricane Katrina: first responders are only able to protect our communities when they are properly equipped, appropriately trained and adequately funded.
Musings on a Predictable Tragedy
Tuesday, March 07, 2006
Recent government reports about the failed response to Hurricane Katrina have policymakers playing the blame game, trying to figure out "who knew what, and when." What's getting lost in all of the partisan sniping is the fact that emergency workers still can't effectively communicate with one another. The problem isn't just confined to the rare, catastrophic event, where multiple agencies are responding to an emergency from throughout the country. Every day in communities throughout America, emergency responders operating within the same jurisdiction are often unable to coordinate a safe and effective emergency response because their radios are incompatible. But it is the rare, catastrophic event that gets the most media- and public- attention. In the face of continuing terrorist threats, and with the 2006 hurricane season just around the corner, this leads one to wonder if it's only a matter of time before the next " predictable tragedy" reminds us (once more) that when first responders can't communicate, lives may be lost.
Lesson Learned: If You're Failing to Plan You're Planning to Fail
Thursday, March 02, 2006
Last week, the Bush Administration released its review of the response to Hurricane Katrina, titled " The Federal Response to Hurricane Katrina: Lessons Learned." The report identifies numerous examples of what should be done differently for future disasters. This is different than the Katrina report released previously by the U.S House of Representatives, titled " A Failure of Initiative," which took an accountability approach. Forbes.com has a good comparison of the two reports via ACS Blog. Whereas the House report critiqued the actions of individuals and agencies at all levels of government, the Administration's report points to general mistakes made at the agency level, and makes broad recommendations to correct those mistakes. A quote from the White House report illustrates the point: Lesson Learned: The Department of Homeland Security should review our current laws, policies, plans, and strategies relevant to communications. Upon the conclusion of this review, the Homeland Security Council, with support from the Office of Science and Technology Policy, should develop a National Emergency Communications Strategy that supports communications operability and interoperability. While the conclusions in the White House review are a positive step towards "fixing the radios," citizen action in support of our first responders will be critical if we are going to ensure that policymakers follow through on their commitments.
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