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Can Talk to Cops, OEM
The technology was displayed to reporters Jan. 3, a few hours before the U.S. Department of Homeland Security released a study of emergency communications that ranked New York 13th out of 75 big American cities for its intra-agency communications capabilities. The FDNY also touted its Vertex radio, which holds a dedicated channel just for OEM, FDNY and NYPD emergency communication. Scoppetta: Feds on Blink Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta said it was hard to understand how the DHS report came to its conclusions. In the five years since 9/11, he noted, city agencies significantly upgraded emergency communication technology. "Across the board, the communication systems in New York over the last five years and in the [FDNY] have been tremendously improved," the Commissioner said, speaking to reporters after an FDNY graduation ceremony last week.
The scorecard assessed the policies, technology and training that enable law enforcement, fire and emergency medical services from multiple jurisdictions in a common community to effectively communicate within one hour of an incident. Highest ratings went to Washington, D.C.; San Diego; Minneapolis-St. Paul; Columbus, Ohio; Sioux Falls, S.D.; and Laramie County, Wyoming. Regions with less-than perfect scores that still ranked higher than New York included Anchorage, Alaska; Ada County, Idaho; Topeka, Kan.; and Portland, Maine. The lowest scores went to Chicago; Cleveland; Baton Rouge, La.; Mandan, North Dakota; and American Samoa. At a news conference announcing the report, DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff said his agency decided to study interoperability among first-responders based on recommendations made in the McKinsey report after 9/11.
'A Major Challenge' "The 9/11 Commission identified interoperable communications as a major challenge, and many communities listened by taking the sometimes-difficult steps necessary to close communication gaps among first responders," said Secretary Chertoff. "Their experience proves that basic interoperability at the command level is achievable. We're committed to making this a priority in every major urban area, and we'll continue to push for closing these gaps by the end of 2008." The study judged communities on operating procedures, use of communications systems and what - if any - preparations local governments had coordinated in preparation for a disaster. The majority of the areas surveyed were large cities and their surrounding communities, based on the idea that in a major event, personnel from different jurisdictions would respond. Study Gets Mixed Review Areas that scored highest were ranked "advanced" in all three categories. Lower-ranked cities were those that had only succeeded in implementing one of the three categories. Glenn Corbett, Associate Professor of Fire Sciences at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, greeted the DHS study with enthusiasm. "I'm really pleased that they are starting to measure the ways we are preparing for major emergencies," he said. "They should do more studies and keep focusing on these issues." At the same time, Professor Corbett was disappointed with the report's lack of information on radio functionality. "It's great to test for interoperability, but don't forget, there's no evidence that if firefighters had the ability to hear police communications on 9/11 that they would have gotten out [of the Twin Towers] and avoided such a terrible loss of life," he commented. "The issue on 9/11 was functionality - the radios didn't effectively work." Cites Recent Progress Rating interoperability was a "secondary" issue, in his opinion, he said. He hoped DHS would conduct another study on equipment functionality, which he called a "primary" issue. The FDNY has made great strides in improving radio functionality over the last five years, he pointed out. It's set up a network of post radios that amplify radio waves in big buildings, and developed new systems that improve signal strength in high-rise structures. Uniformed Fire Officers' Association President Peter L. Gorman agreed with Professor Corbett's assessment. He praised Chief of Department Salvatore Cassano and Commissioner Scoppetta for the comprehensive upgrade to standard-issue handie-talkies used by rank-and-file members, as well as improvements made to repeater technology in the field. "But New York has a unique environment, especially with all these high-rises, and more needs to be done to get repeater systems installed in new buildings," he commented. "Also the subway system remains a challenge, but I know Chief Cassano is working hard on that." A Wide Network Professor Corbett also suggested that a closer look be taken at the regions that surround major cities. The report rated cities like Newark and Jersey City on their ability to communicate effectively with neighboring regions. But in places like Bergen County, which was included in the New Jersey region, there were as many as 69 different municipalities that would have to be able to communicate with each other in a disaster, he stated. U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton was unhappy DHS lumped the city in with northern New Jersey when awarding grants, adding that "any grant calculation that further cuts vital homeland security funding for New York City is unacceptable." The fact that Laramie, Wyoming - home to very few skyscrapers - earned a higher score than New York City didn't sit well with many FDNY officials. Some suggested that study results were also meant to preserve the flow of Federal security grants to particular areas. | |||||||||
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