9/11 spurred significant changes in emergency communications, but are we better prepared?
 AP PHOTO/CHAO SOI CHEONG When the planes struck the twin towers on 9/11, a crucial communications antenna was destroyed, preventing emergency responders from using cell phones to communicate after radio communication failed. |
Effective communications has long been a concern of first responders. Perhaps nowhere were these concerns more visible than on Sept. 11, 2001, at the World Trade Center. Reports of operational problems with the FDNY radio system, as well as the lack of timely information sharing between on-scene emergency services, permeated the media in the days following the tragedy.
Former New York City Fire Commissioner Thomas Von Essen commented on this in his statement to the 9/11 Commission: “What matters most is whether the radio and repeater difficulties had a significant impact on the operation or on the evacuation of the buildings. It is, of course, impossible to know the definitive answer to that question — and anyone purporting to have the definitive answer is being less than honest. We do know that evacuation orders were given, both before and after the South Tower collapsed. What we will never fully know is how many received the evacuation orders and how many did not — how many continued the operation despite the orders, or how many were on their way out but just didn’t make it in time.”
Given the commissioner’s candid assessment of the unknowns, it is appropriate to ask ourselves what we know now that we didn’t know then. Are we, and our communications systems, better prepared to face a major challenge than we were five years ago? The walls of the Twin Towers may have crumbled to dust, but have the barriers to effective communications also collapsed?
REPORTS & STUDIES
Since 9/11, the federal government has created several programs to improve public safety communications and issued many grants to pay for state and local projects. Organizations involved in these efforts have put forward a plethora of related studies.
In 2002, the Association of Public Safety Communications Officials (APCO) created a Homeland Security Task Force to address the issue. This committee provided in-depth input that reached beyond the technical interoperability standards developed by its Project 25 committee, which established universal requirements for digital radio systems well before 9/11. Further, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) established the Office of Homeland Security in 2003 to better coordinate and streamline the public safety licensure process.
In 2004, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) created the Office for Interoperability and Compatibility to better coordinate nationwide interoperability efforts. Part of this initiative is Project SAFECOM; its current focus is the acceleration of standards and the identification of interoperability gaps. Although the project’s goals were sound, a report produced by the General Accounting Office (GAO) was brutally honest in its assessment of the early days of the program: “After more than 2 years, Project SAFECOM has made very limited progress in addressing its overall objective of achieving communications interoperability among entities at all levels of government. In addition, although the project was originally expected to realize billions of dollars in federal budgetary savings by improving agency efficiency, program officials no longer expect it to produce such savings.”
If this view seems particularly gloomy, there is also little good news in the “2006 Survey on Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness,” released in July by the U.S. Conference of Mayors’ Homeland Security Monitoring Center. Eighty percent of the 183 cities surveyed indicated they had not received sufficient federal assistance to ensure interoperability.
WHAT’S CHANGED?
This is not to say, however, that improvements haven’t materialized. New York City, the focus of much initial concern and criticism, may have made the most progress. Earlier this year, the city awarded a $75 million contract to Motorola for the creation of a multi-discipline communications system that will link several city agencies as well as surrounding jurisdictions. It is slated to be fully operational in two years, and will incorporate both new and existing equipment.
Another interesting development: the involvement of the private sector in making upgrades. While FDNY has added portable repeaters designed for high-rise operations, the Durst Corporation — a major holder of New York City real estate — began retrofitting its buildings with fixed devices, all of which are also capable of relaying voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) calls. The 48-story headquarters of Condé Nast Publications was the first of nine such structural upgrades; the final device will be installed in the Bank of America Tower under construction at Sixth Avenue and 42nd Street, scheduled for completion in 2008.
Significant public funding has also found its way to first responders across the country. According to congressional testimony by David Boyd, the director of the Office for Interoperability and Compatibility at the DHS, “Communications continues to be one of the largest uses of G&T [grants and training] grant funds by states and urban areas — to date, nearly $2.2 billion has been spent for interoperable communications since September 11, 2001.” And, if some political leaders have their way, money will continue to be available for this task. House Resolution 5852 — 21st Century Emergency Communications Act of 2006 calls for the establishment of an Office of Emergency Communications, periodic reviews of readiness and the tying of funding to equipment that is compatible with national standards and statewide plans. It also specifically details the coordination of initiatives such as SAFECOM and Project 25. The bill, which passed the House in July, is with the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, but as of press time no official date was set for Senate action on the bill.
But perhaps the best view of our current state of readiness comes from those who deal with the issue every day. Steve Souder, director of Public Safety Communications for Fairfax County, Va., held a comparable position in Arlington, Va., during the attack on the Pentagon. According to Souder, “The lessons presented by 9/11 provided opportunities for needs to be identified and successes to be emulated ... However, interoperability is improved not only through the funding of technical solutions, but more importantly, through sharing frequencies, programming radios and training everyone — including dispatchers — in NIMS [National Incident Management System]. Effective interoperability also involves practicing the principles every day; not just waiting until another unthinkable event occurs.”
PREPARE FOR THE FUTURE
Hurricanes Wilma and Katrina provided the most significant test of many agencies’ communications systems since 9/11. The lessons learned from these events add to our scope of knowledge about how to best face communications issues during disasters. However, the truest test of our readiness is yet to come.
Barry Furey is director of Emergency Communications for Raleigh-Wake County, N.C. He has more than 35 years of public safety experience, and is a Life Member of APCO International.