The 9-1-1 Carnage Continues...

To read the article as posted at the Kennebec Journal online, click on the link below:


WATERVILLE
Posted: August 20

Updated: Today at 8:13 PM


Another 911 address mix-up makes need to change obvious
By Scott Monroe mailto:smonroe@mainetoday.com
Staff Writer


Comment: I'm not counting, but there have been at least 10 high profile incidents in the past year where application of  9-1-1 technology has failed our nation (typically, with fatal results).  Dispatchers typing in the wrong address, callers giving the wrong address, Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) systems unable to find an address, CAD systems auto-filling the wrong address, and so on.  And the incidents have not been isolated - indeed they have been spread across the country: Atlanta, Maine, St Louis, Denver, Ohio, Florida, California, Tucson, and Pennsylvania - to name a few.  The irony of the situation is that units of government will spend MILLIONS of dollars to install the latest and greatest CAD system in hopes of shaving seconds off response times, yet the "new" system will inherently have the same basic flaw as the old system - something that can cause errors in minutes - reliance on an ADDRESS driven exchange of information.  There is a better way to communicate location for emergency response situations.  One that is free and endorsed  by FEMA, the National Search and Rescue Committee, and the Federal Geographic Data Committee - the U.S. National Grid (USNG).  Sadly, within the emergency services sector, very few have embraced the approach.  For example, a recent Needs Assessment by the National Fire Protection Association found that less than 2% of the nation's fire departments were using USNG in their operations. 


Hopefully, the light bulb will finally come on for the 9-1-1/emergency services sector before the carnage goes much further.  In that regard, Minnesota has made significant progress but still has a long way to go.


In Minnesota:
• the USNG is an approved state cartographic standard,


• USNG maps are available for the entire state,


• numerous USNG outreach materials have been developed, and


• at least one government services organization has been working to provide a variety of USNG based services.

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The 9-1-1 Carnage Continues...

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S-341 - GIS Specialist for Incident Management Course Dates Announced

The S-341 - GIS Specialist for Incident Management Course, run by the National Widlfire Coordinating Group will be given at three different times at three different venues in 2012:

• Phoenix, AZ: February 21-23, 2012


• Redmond, OR: April 10-12, 2012


• Asheville, NC: May 15-17, 2012 (IQCS session #027)


The course is described as: "The GIS Specialist course is designed to meet the training needs of a Geographic Information Systems Specialist (GISS) to manage the information needs of all-risk incidents managed with the Incident Command System (ICS). The course combines lecture, discussion, and group exercises in on-line and classroom environments. The use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) is one of the most efficient methods for documenting, analyzing, and managing information regarding the location of facilities, conditions, and environments affected by Wildfire, Storms, Floods, Earthquakes, and other incidents. Candidates from all agencies involved in all-risk incident management are encouraged to attend."

To learn more, including application procedures, go here.  Nomination deadline line is November 1, 2011.

Comment:  The wildfire community long ago came to understand that GIS was absolutely critical to managing a fast moving, mutating disaster.  Consequently, the geospatial capacity within this sector of the Department of the Interior is well advanced and serves as a benchmark for where the Department of Homeland Security must move for both field operations and the development of systems like a national Common Operating Picture.  

The wildfire community also conducts the following other classes on geospatial technologies for emergency response:


S495 - Geospatial Fire Analysis, Interpretation, and Application
N9006 - GPS for ICS
N9005 - GIS Technician - All Risk  (No description available)

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The Virtual World on Your Phone

Click on the link below to read the article from the New York Times:

N.Y. / REGION   | July 10, 2011
App City:  Bringing Past, Present and Future Into Focus
By JOSHUA BRUSTEIN
A few new apps will tell you what used to be nearby, or even what might have been nearby - less practical but often thoroughly satisfying experiences.

Comment: Imagine this technology intergrated into first responder helmet displays in a way that would allow them to view maps, floor plans, etc. during a response.  The Brits are ahead of us in thinking about this one: Go here.

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NFPA completes Third Needs Assessment of the U.S. Fire Service

Big thanks to Al Studt, Kennedy Space Center Fire Systems Engineer, and Lieutenant/EMT with Canaveral Fire Rescue.

Fighter, for the following heads up concerning the recently released Needs Assessment by the National Fire Protection Association.  From pages 159 concerning geospatial capabilities:


"Table 6-3 indicates that roughly half of all fire departments have no map coordinate
system (48% of departments that said they knew whether they had a system), roughly
unchanged from 45% in 2001 and 50% in 2005. There are some indications that national
authorities are more supportive of the need for standardization in this area, particularly in
the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, but there is no evidence of progress at the local level.


Table 6-4 indicates that the vast majority of departments with a map coordinate system
have only a local system, which means the system they have is unlikely to be usable with
global positioning systems (GPS) or familiar to, or easily used by, non-local emergency
response partners, such as Urban Search and Rescue Teams, the National Guard, and
state or national response forces. Moreover, interoperability of spatial-based plans,
information systems, equipment, and procedures will likely be rendered impossible
beyond the local community under these circumstances. This reliance almost exclusively
on local systems exists across-the-board, in all sizes of communities.


The U. S. National Grid (USNG-NAD83) standard, based on the grid system used by
U.S. military units and National Guard forces around the world, was adopted as the
system best suited for eventual national standardization. Nearly all departments (99%)
indicated no use of the U.S. National Grid (called Military Grid in the survey and Table
6-4). (http://www.fgdc.gov/usng/index.html)
 

Only 1% of departments reported no 911 or similar system in the latest survey,
down from 6% in 2001 and unchanged from 1% in 2005. (See Table 6-5.)

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Error Caused Delayed Response to Texas Fire

Error Caused Delayed Response to Texas Fire

Katrina Webber, KSAT 12 News Reporter - Story by KSAT.com Posted: Tue, 12/07/2010 - 05:09am
Updated: Tue, 12/07/2010 - 05:12am

SAN ANTONIO --
A fire department mix-up delayed the arrival of firefighters at an early morning house fire on San Antonio's southeast side Monday, according to a fire department spokeswoman.

Melissa Sparks said dispatchers received the first 911 call about the fire shortly before 5 a.m.

However, she said a computer system that displays the addresses where calls are originating simply showed it was in the 100 block of Day. She said it did not distinguish whether that meant Day Road or Day Street.

Read more in Firehouse.

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Error Caused Delayed Response to Texas Fire

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