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 | Public Broadcast December 2006
Washington, D.C., Celebrates Opening of New Unified Communications Center “We can, we will safeguard our great city and our great people” is the motto of the new, 127,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art Unified Communications Center (UCC) in Washington, D.C., and it was the catchphrase of the day as local officials and residents celebrated the grand opening of the new center on Sept. 26. A celebration, indeed, was in order as this more-than-seven-year project to improve emergency communications and customer service throughout Washington, D.C., and provide economic development to the District’s Ward 8 came to life.
The UCC serves as the home of the Office of Unified Communications, consolidating multiple communications functions for the District, including metropolitan police, fire, EMS and emergency management. In addition, the UCC houses the Mayor’s Emergency Command Center, the Mayor’s Citywide Call Center, the District Network Operations Center and the Regional Command and Control Center. It also contains the regional interoperable wireless communications and control infrastructures. All of this comes together to help the District meet its unique responsibility of facilitating a coordinated local, regional and federal emergency response.
The stats of the UCC are impressive to say the least. Although the UCC can accommodate 425 employees, it currently employs 100 calltakers and dispatchers who handle an annual call volume of more than 3 million. The center meets federal standards for security, including secured entrances, bulletproof glass and perimeter fencing. The UCC is also completely redundant, with three generators housed in the building’s basement along with 72 hours of food and supply storage.
The employees were the focus of this project from the beginning, as is obvious by its 11,000-square-foot child development center, exercise facility, terraces, stress conference rooms, multiple kitchens and break rooms, ergonomic chairs and adjustable consoles.
“It’s not about the bricks and mortar, but the people instrumental to protecting our public’s safety,” Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff said during the remarks at the ceremony. “This should be the model for the rest of the country.”
Aside from the employees, the people also considered during this project were the citizens of the District’s Ward 8, the community that surrounds the UCC. D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams included this project in his Government Center Initiative, which brings government facilities closer to citizens to support community revitalization and economic development. Throughout the planning and implementation phases the new center provided job prospects and inspired involvement within the District’s Ward 8.
“This is not only a nerve center for emergency communications, but an investment in our community,” Williams said in his remarks during the ceremony.
In addition to these more tangible benefits, the UCC has helped calm a media storm surrounding the District’s past reputation for poor emergency response and employee turnover. Although technological advancements play a role in this, the UCC credits the improvements to the employees, and to the training and processes now in place.
“In this business, you are only as good as your next call,” said Director of the Office of Unified Communications E. Michael Latessa. “We will serve with excellence.”
One month after the doors opened on the new center, the UCC is full-speed ahead on its newest project. Officials are currently in the implementation stage for the development of a region-wide, high-speed private data network that will provide data, voice and video capability for the national capital region.
—Courtney McCarron, Manager, Marketing and Communications/Publications
Failure to Respond At first blush, it seemed to be a simple case: on March 26, 2005, Clearwater, Fla., paramedic Trevor Murray and his partner, Mike Jones, failed to respond to a 9-1-1 call from a woman who claimed she was raped. Murray recognized the caller’s address as a “frequent flyer”—a frequent abuser of the EMS system who had called in at least 15 false calls over more than three years. The crew, rather than responding to the call, instead asked dispatch to consider their unit available for another call and to let them know if police arrived and determined that EMS was needed. Both Murray, who had worked for the Clearwater Fire Department (CFD) for the past 10 years, and Jones were fired on May 12, 2005. The case has sparked debate among public safety personnel nationwide, with some taking Murray’s side and others supporting Fire Chief Jamie Geer’s decision to terminate him.
The case turned out to be anything but simple. A year and a half later, a court has ordered the city to rehire Murray, pay him back pay and help him get his paramedic certificate reinstated. The events that followed the team’s failure to respond formed the basis of a 35-page opinion, written by arbitrator Martin Holland, that severely criticized the city’s procedures in investigating the case and arrival at the decision to terminate Murray. The question addressed in the opinion is whether the city had “just cause” to discharge Murray and, if it did not, what the appropriate remedy is. Jones is still awaiting the outcome of his hearing.
While indicating that Murray had demonstrated poor judgment, Holland said that termination was not warranted and that the city had failed to follow the procedural requirements of due process. First, he said that Murray’s offense was, at best, a poor judgment decision and that it did not reach the level of just cause required for termination. Second, he said the city violated due process in its decision to discharge him.
Third, he said the city failed to identify an EMS system abuser and develop a protocol for dealing with the abuser.
The decision focused on a series of procedural bungles in the city’s decision to terminate Murray. Holland’s decision found that Geer had withheld key pieces of evidence—specifically, a copy of the 9-1-1 tape and a report from the Human Services Department that did not support Murray’s termination. Geer disputes this fact, saying that he had “shared the entire file” with human resources. The decision further indicated that the city’s Human Resources Department failed to conduct its own investigation of the incident and that the HR director failed to view all of the evidence before terminating Murray. In addition, Holland criticized the fire department for failing to have any written policies or procedures on how alleged policy violations by its 215 employees are supposed to be investigated.
Ultimately, Holland found the city did not have just cause for Murray’s termination. Just cause is defined as enough justification, given the totality of the circumstances, to enable an impartial observer to determine that the adverse action taken against the employee is a reasonable assertion of authority designed to meet legitimate management objectives. At the hearing, a number of witnesses presented evidence for and against Murray’s termination. Former Division Chief of Operations Randy Bacher testified for Murray, as did two rescue lieutenants. The parties also entered 22 documents into evidence.
Holland’s opinion noted that Murray was clearly an excellent employee with a great deal of support within the department and from the community, and that his record lacked any past discipline. Holland’s opinion used some very strong language in chastising the city’s decision to terminate Murray, stating that it was the “labor equivalent of capital punishment.” He noted that through the Clearwater Firefighters Association Inc., IAFF Local 1158 had filed a timely grievance.
One fact remains clear: Murray and Jones made an error in judgment in failing to respond to the call. The Medical Operations Manual clearly states that “an ALS unit or a BLS unit with a Pinellas County certified paramedic must continue to the scene of every 9-1-1 request for service and determine the need for EMS first hand. Once the 9-1-1 system is activated for an EMS call, a county certified paramedic must investigate it.”
Bacher conducted a quality assurance review, requested by the medical director, and found that Murray made a mistake in judgment; that he was honest about his actions and that he agreed to accept corrective action. The city found that Murray’s failure to respond directly violated the city’s standards for personal responsibility and integrity, as well as the fire department’s own standard operating procedures. Subsequently, Geer found that Murray also violated the Pinellas County Medical Operations Manual by failing to respond and recommended termination to the city manager. The Pinellas County Office of the Medical Director (OMD), Dr. Laurie Romig, revoked Murray’s paramedic certification. OMD certification is a condition of employment with Clearwater Fire & Rescue, and the city used this as additional evidence that Murray was no longer qualified for employment. However, the OMD can discipline only under a just cause standard, and Holland made it clear that the evidence did not reach this level.
Holland also took note of events that came about after Murray’s termination, finding that the subsequent attention to this 9-1-1 system abuser should have been paid earlier. CFD and the OMD issued new guidelines for the “Special Case in R49 District.” Romig wrote a memo to her online medical control staff informing them about this patient’s characteristics and how calls to this patient should be handled. She further indicated that her office would be working with the patient’s own psychiatrist to determine competency. CFD transmitted Romig’s memo to its personnel.
What can we learn from this case? Although failing to respond to a 9-1-1 call cannot be justified, proactive handling of 9-1-1 system abusers by managers and comm center personnel, as well as EMS medical directors, is essential. Further, employee discipline must be carried out in accordance with personnel regulations and the constitutional principles of procedural due process. (Editor’s note: For more information on how to deal with difficult callers, see “Set the Tone,” p. 58.) —W. Ann “Winnie” Maggiore, JD, NREMT-P, Albuquerque, N.M.; contact her at desertrose1@wildblue.net.
9-1-1 Success Stories The media seems to be quick to report when anything goes wrong with a public safety response, but less so to report the good news. During this holiday season, we thought it would be nice to let you know about some good things happening in public safety communications.
In September, Frankfort, Ky., used its new emergency notification system to alert citizens of a kidnapping. Virginia State Police notified Frankfort emergency services that a father wanted for parental kidnapping of his 2-year-old son after a custody battle had been last seen in their area. Frankfort Emergency Management Director Deron Rambo called the Twenty First Century Communications 24/7 help desk to launch a call-out program to alert area residents and request their help in locating the missing boy. Twenty First Century provides Universal Communications System (UCS) to the city.
UCS Client Manager Elizabeth Drake used the UCS GIS-mapping function to identify a two-mile radius around the spot where the father and son had last been seen. The mapping program automatically generated a list of the 3,488 phone numbers within the radius. Drake created a message script based on the information Rambo gave her asking citizens to call 9-1-1 if they saw the man and boy. The UCS converted the message to computerized speech using the Text-to-Speech function, and the outgoing calls were made.
Less than 20 minutes later, the 9-1-1 center received three simultaneous calls from people who had spotted the pair. Police apprehended the father and safely recovered the boy before an Amber Alert could be issued.
Also in September, a mother in Lenoir City, Tenn., was on the telephone when she looked out the window and saw something in the pond. She found her 1-year old son floating face up. She grabbed the boy and called 9-1-1. Kelly Hicks, a dispatcher with Loudon County E9-1-1, calmed the mother and read instructions from the EMD breathing script. By the time the first responders arrived, the boy was breathing on his own—and crying.
In July of this year, a young Muslim man named Naveed Haq entered the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle with a gun. He is accused of shooting six women, one of whom died that day. Another victim managed to call 9-1-1 despite her injuries. Haq took the phone away from the woman and began talking to dispatchers Debra Cepeda and Lieth Nedell. He demanded to talk to CNN and expressed his anger at Israel and the United States. After the telecommunicators told Haq he couldn’t be linked to the media, he put down his gun and surrendered.
Cepeda and Nedell are credited with saving lives by calming Haq and keeping him preoccupied with questions. Both women were recently honored at the Seattle Police Foundation’s annual awards banquet for their outstanding public service.
“This was such an incredibly fast event from beginning to end, from the time shots were fired until he just finally said, ‘OK, I’m coming out, I’m giving up,’ “ said Cepeda, a chief dispatcher who has been with the department 23 years. “I think it was something like 12 minutes.” —Ann-Marie Lindstrom
INDUSTRY NEWS Commerce Department Creates Spectrum Advisory Committee On Nov. 3, the U.S. Department of Commerce announced the creation of an advisory committee for radio frequency spectrum issues. APCO International will have a voice on the committee: APCO Director of Legal and Government Affairs Robert M. Gurss was appointed to a two-year membership term.
The Commerce Spectrum Advisory Committee is part of the president’s Spectrum Policy Initiative, established by President George W. Bush in June 2003. “Committee members will offer expertise on reforms that expedite the American public’s access to broadband services, public safety services, and long-range spectrum planning,” said Acting Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information John Kneuer, who will appoint a chair at the first meeting.
“Our new Spectrum Advisory Committee will help us in developing wise radio frequency policies that will promote new technologies, expand consumer choices, and enhance first responder capabilities,” said Secretary of Commerce Carlos M. Gutierrez. The Commerce Department selected members who represent some of the nation’s premier spectrum policy and management experts on the basis of their technical background and broad expertise. Committee members include:
“I want to thank these individuals for volunteering their time and expertise to work on behalf of the president’s Spectrum Policy Initiative,” said Gutierrez.
For more information, visit www.ntia.doc.gov. —Keri Losavio, Managing Editor, Public Safety Communications
NFPA Adopts New Communications Standard The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Standards Council recently adopted a new version of NFPA 1221 Standard for the Installation, Maintenance, and Use of Emergency Services Communications Systems. The 2007 edition was approved by the Standards Council on July 28, 2006, with an effective date of Aug. 17, 2006. The NFPA made it available on Oct. 15.
The standard provides guidance on many public safety communications matters, including back-up centers. And the new edition contains a number of changes. Examples: The entire chapter on computer aided dispatch (CAD) systems has been rewritten. A new chapter on data network security was added. The NFPA is an international nonprofit membership organization that develops consensus codes and standards, and provides research, training and education on fire prevention and public safety. —Nathan D. McClure III, ENP, CTA Communications Inc.
Public Safety Broadband Consortium Offers Wireless Solution InfiNet Wireless, Lockheed Martin and Wi-Fi Citywide joined Public Safety Broadband in a partnership to offer wireless interoperability to advance emergency response efforts.
A combination of public safety and public access applications used with InfiNet Wireless’s 4.9 GHz mesh routers offers flexibility for emergency response agencies to communicate with each other without purchasing equipment from the same manufacturer. That means the agencies may select equipment to meet their own specific technical and fiscal requirements.
The consortium’s solutions meet requirements for personal area networks (PAN), incident area networks (IAN), jurisdiction area networks (JAN) and extended area networks (EAN).
“The collaboration of these best-in-class technology companies will support the vision of building an affordable broadband wireless network for municipalities and public safety communications,” says Mike Doble, CEO of Public Safety Broadband. “The Public Safety Broadband Consortium will also help further the wireless industry’s efforts to align research and development with emergency responder needs.” For more information, visit http://www.PublicSafetyBroadband.com.
PRODUCT ANNOUNCEMENTS IPC Systems Inc. Launches Map-Driven CAD Solution IPC System’s suite of interoperable public safety applications has a new addition: IQ/CAD. The map-driven dispatch solution provides an intuitive, interactive, graphical user interface based on ESRI standard formats. Its information-on-demand design provides event-specific information in real time directly on the screen. Designed to minimize navigation through the application, it should decrease response times.
The system allows virtually unlimited access to critical information through interfaces to external systems, such as 9-1-1, radio, NCIC, AVL, mobile, RMS and alarms. It also provides integrated support for IPC’s Law Enforcement Records Management System, IQ/RMS.
IQ/CAD supports more than 600 configuration preferences for comprehensive resource recommendations for optimal event management. It has extensive query and reporting capabilities and an XML interface to integrate with third-party applications and databases. The commercial off-the-shelf system is configurable to meet current needs and future growth requirements. For more information visit www.ipc.com.
M/A-COM Expands VIP Dispatch Console M/A-COM’s VIP console provides public safety users with secure monitoring functions through its end-to-end Internet protocol (IP) encryption that provides secure communications even if the computer systems operates on a non-secure network. The new VIP console offers features that give the administrator the ability to declare or clear an emergency from the console and to utilize as many as four talk-paths to monitor conversations. Administrators can also tie different talk groups into one group and connect multiple groups for announcement communications.
Users can receive multiple, unsolicited, individual calls simultaneously. A customized call-history display includes a replay feature that instantly plays back calls with the click of a mouse.
The VIP supports both M/A-COM’s TDMA OpenSky systems as well as standards-based P25 systems. For more information, visit www.macom.com or www.macom-wireless.com.
Winsted Introduces Matrix Custom Console System The Matrix Custom Console System is ergonomic furniture designed to integrate operators with technology for a productive work environment. The systems can be configured to meet performance and equipment needs from a single console to complete control rooms.
Ergonomic display mounts vary from a see-over height to vertically built modules. Base cabinets can house multiple CPUs, rack electronics, wire management or storage. Other available features are ergonomic keyboard trays, lockable doors, desktop power and data ports and scalable power supplies. Steel frames come in more than 50 powder-coated colors, and Corian work surfaces are available in more than 100 colors. For more information, visit www.winsted.com.
New 3D Imaging Product Offerings from Pictometry Pictometry recently announced a suite of 3D products that allows users to access as many as 20 different oblique views of any property, building, highway or other feature. The oblique views give a 3D-like image. Users can also get such measurements as distance, height, elevation and area from the oblique imagery, as well as overlay GIS data.
Pictometry offers four versions that provide increasing detail and capabilities: Real3D Medalist is a self-contained modular program that allows users to create wire frames of select buildings. It can then automatically drape facades on the wire frames. Real3D Bronze Medalist is an entry-level, professionally rendered 3D process that delivers building images as untextured 3D objects. Real3D Silver Medalist is the mid-level 3D product that adds building textures. The Silver Medalist allows counties to have large areas of photo-realistic models at an attractive price. Real3D Gold Medalist is Pictometry’s premier 3D product. It offers the highest level in the industry for details of building sides and roof line contours, true colors, intricate details of structures and rich building textures. For more information, contact Will Smith, marketing manager, at will.smith@pictometry.com or 585/486-0093 x270.
TV+GPS Hybrid Positioning Module Delivers Reliable Locations Rosum Corporation and Global Locate announced the Rosum TV+GPS Hybrid Positioning Module (HPM) in October. The HPM combines the indoor and urban reliability of Rosum’s TV-positioning technology with Global Locate’s Hammerhead A-GPS chip to deliver reliable and accurate locations in indoor, outdoor, dense urban and rural environments.
The HPM integrates TV and A-GPS ranging information to allow the use of any combination of three or more TV towers and GPS satellites for positioning. Rosum’s hybrid TV+GPS solution also enhances the A-GPS engine by providing it with accurate time and frequency assist information, which improves GPS acquisition time and sensitivity. Also, the HPM provides altitude information to enable reliable indoor and outdoor 3D positioning.
Rosum is the first and only company to use unmodified broadcast TV signals for position location of mobile assets. The Rosum solution is suited to safety-of-life applications that require always-available position location in urban and indoor settings. l For more information, visit www.rosum.com.
Scheduling System Allows Self Assignment PDSI recently announced the release of TeleStaff 2.22, a staff- scheduling and notification system to help departments more effectively manage complex scheduling processes, improve staffing operations and reduce time spent on daily scheduling tasks.
This release aims to enhance user performance and position the product for future evolution to meet client and market needs. TeleStaff 2.22 builds on previous versions with new and improved capabilities, including major roster enhancements.
One enhancement allows users to self assign into vacancies, if they are available for selection. Leveraging the scheduling process to employees is an innovative, flexible feature that should benefit both employees and agencies. Other roster enhancements include new roster views and increased user-scalability across roster dates. TeleStaff 2.22 promises simplified setup during configurations. l For more information, visit www.pdsi-software.com.
GALILEO Has Landed GALILEO (Global ALI with Location Enhanced Objects) is an IP (Internet Protocol) based ALI (automatic location identifier) database that supports E9-1-1 calls. The database can display more than the 512 characters allowed by legacy ALIs. The expanded data storage can include supplementary information relevant to an emergency call, such as the vehicle emergency data set, and information specific to a caller, in addition to standard information, such as MSAG-valid address data, customer name and call-back number.
TeleCommunication Systems Inc. (TCS) says GALILEO allows a transition path from the traditional legacy landline ALI to an IP-based ALI that will support all types of phone service users. “The amount of data that can be delivered on an individual call is limited only by the PSAP’s or the responder’s ability to retrieve it and is no longer limited by the database itself,” said Dick Dickinson, senior director of public safety at TCS.
Fully compatible with legacy ALI systems, GALILEO delivers as much data as the PSAP can receive. PSAPs with older equipment receive traditional data displayed with NENA-specified interfaces. After a PSAP upgrades to IP, the additional features available are automatically initiated. The carrier doesn’t have to know if a PSAP is IP-capable or not.
Greg Rohde, executive director of the E9-1-1 Institute, says, “I applaud the introduction of GALILEO as a valuable breakthrough for public safety. By bridging the gap between the current and next-generation 9-1-1 technologies, GALILEO will help usher in many of the benefits an IP-based system can provide.” For more information, visitwww1.telecomsys.com.
Mapping & GIS Database Management Software Has New Enterprise-Level Tools DeLorme recently released a suite of products that offers a wide range of advanced mapping, routing, navigation, GPS and GIS file-management features. XMap 5.0 GIS offers appropriate capabilities to three tiers of users: top-echelon enterprise GIS managers, GIS administrators and field technicians.
The suite has a variety of features, including geospatial querying, buffering tools, bulk geo-data import, coordinate-geometry support and command-line, bulk-import tools for advanced GIS users. Xmap 5.0 GIS supports the most common GIS data formats, including AutoCAD (.dxf, .dwg), ESRI (.eoo, .shp, .prj), gml, .gpx, MapInfo (.mif, .tab), MrSid files and GeoTIFF .tfw.
The three tiers, which all include DeLorme’s core mapping and GPS features, are
To request a risk-free trial or immediate upgrade from earlier XMap products, call 800/293-2389. For more information, visit www.xmap.com.
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