Coalition urges FCC to resolve public safety communications
“Safety Over Spectrum: A Plan for First Responder Communications,” a white paper released by the First Response Coalition, urges the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to “put the needs of America’s public safety personnel first and address the critical issue of interoperability” among police and fire communications systems.
“Today, and, unfortunately, [as was] evident on September 11, the communications systems of public safety departments are not interoperable,” the paper notes. “It is difficult, if not impossible, for different departments from different (or sometimes the same) jurisdictions to communicate because their systems and equipment cannot interact.” The group stresses that unless this communications crisis is quickly resolved, “the danger to our first responders and all Americans will continue to skyrocket.”
According to the paper, “Nextel’s ill-advised (spectrum swap) plan places first responders at risk and could threaten the security of all Americans if the communications services used by public safety are not operating at the highest standards.” The paper says “the multimillion-dollar campaign being waged by Nextel, ostensibly to help eliminate interference problems in public safety department communications systems, is diverting attention and possible resources from the real issue of communications interoperability.”
The Coalition consists of a group of 9/11 firefighters, the Gray Panthers, the Black Chamber of Commerce, and other groups concerned about first responder communications capabilities.
The Coalition also objects to the fact that the Nextel plan will require public service agencies to put up the front-end money to upgrade their communications facilities and then apply for reimbursement. The Coalition says this would impose a huge burden on the agencies because, in 2003, more than 2.5 million public safety first responders had no uniform standards to govern their communications.
The Coalition has proposed an alternate approach that subjugates the commercial agenda to one that would improve and coordinate emergency communications. The First Response Plan outlined by the Coalition calls for the following: (1) “holding Nextel responsible for all instances of interference it causes and ensuring the company works with local public safety departments to resolve the problems”; (2) “auctioning spectrum in the 1.9 GHz band and earmarking the proceeds for upgrading first responder communications systems”; (3) “developing an accelerated regional deployment schedule to ensure that public safety communications systems are upgraded by 2006”; (4) “providing low-interest loans and guarantees to assist underserved and economically disadvantaged communities in obtaining the newest communications technologies”; and (5) “establishing advisory panels to recommend solutions that adequately address the disparate needs of America’s diverse communities.”
The Coalition’s white paper is available at http://thehastingsgroup.com/firstresponders.html.
House passes FY 2005 Homeland Security Appropriations
The House of Representatives passed the fiscal year 2005 Department of Homeland Security Appropriations bill (H.R. 4567) on June 18. The bill provides appropriations for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) through September 30, 2005. It contains $600 million for the Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) program (the FIRE Act), $150 million less than appropriated by Congress for fiscal year 2004.
The bill originally contained no funding for the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response Firefighters Act (SAFER). The House, however, approved an amendment by Congressmen Curt Weldon (PA) and Steny Hoyer (MD), co-chairs of the Congressional Fire Services Caucus, to add $50 million to fund the program. The amendment offsets the increase by reducing the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of the Undersecretary for Management.
Noted in the report on the House bill are concerns expressed by the House Appropriation Committee pertaining to language in the President’s budget proposal:
- It is proposed that several categories eligible for funding be eliminated from the Firefighters Grant program, including fire prevention and EMS, wellness and fitness programs, and modifications of facilities for personnel’s health and safety, and that the grants be oriented to terrorism preparedness. House members recommend that the grant program be maintained as in the past—all-hazard (not only terrorism preparedness) grants—and that all the categories previously eligible for funding be retained.
- The report also states that DHS should continue the peer-review process for applications, that funds go directly to the local fire departments, and that the U.S. Fire Administration continue to administer the grant program.
Some of the differences between the House and Senate bills as they apply to first responder grants and programs are listed below:
- Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program; $700 million (S), $600 million (H.R.).
- State Formula-Based Grants: $940 million (S), $1.25 billion (H.R.).
- Urban Area Security Initiative: $875 million (S), $1 billion (H.R.).
- Law Enforcement Terrorism Prevention Grants: $400 million (S), $500 million (H.R.).
- National Domestic Preparedness Consortium: $135 million (S), $130 million (H.R.).
- Competitive Training Grants $55 million (S), $50 million (H.R.).
- Emergency Management Performance Grants: $180 million (S), $170 million (H.R.).
- SAFER: $00 (S), $50 million (H.R.).
- Technology Transfer: $00 (S), $50 million (H.R.).
The Senate Appropriations Committee recently approved the Senate version of the FY 2005 Department of Homeland Security Appropriations bill (S. 2537). At press time, the bill was to go before the full Senate for consideration.
The Senate Appropriations Committee also included language emphasizing that the AFG.program should be an all-hazards funding program, not specifically related to terrorism preparedness, and that it continue to be administered as in the past. The Senate was expected to approve the bill sometime after the July 4 recess (after press time), after which a House and Senate conference committee would work to resolve any differences between the bills.
NY State firefighters testify on behalf of FIRE grant program
At a hearing held in Auburn, New York, local fire departments told members of the U.S. House of Representatives Science Committee how the Assistance to Firefighters Grant program (FIRE Act) helped to make their members better prepared as first responders.
The Auburn (NY) Fire Department received a 2003 FIRE Act grant ($180,000). Chief Michael Quill told the committee members and others present that the money “was used to purchase personal protective gear, self-contained breathing apparatus, and radios—all items necessary for firefighter safety.” Quill added, “The FIRE Act, as it stands, is probably one of the best things to happen to the fire service. Without it, my brother and sister firefighters would not have the proper tools to complete their hazardous duties. These grants go directly to the fire departments, where needed, not to another layer of bureaucracy where [they are] whittled down.”
The Aurelius (NY) Fire Department received a FY 2003 FIRE Act grant of $119,804, which Training Officer David Perkins reported was used to upgrade breathing apparatus and communications equipment.
Brian McQueen, chief of the Whitesboro (NY) Volunteer Fire Department, testified that the FIRE Act grant program is vital to volunteer fire departments. “The volunteer service here in Central New York and around the state needs this grant to survive,” he explained. “It is needed so that we can adhere to the mandates placed on us as volunteer fire department administrators as well as enhance the safety not only of our firefighters but our residents as well.”
House Science Committee Chairman Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY), a co-sponsor of the FIRE Act grant program, has introduced legislation to renew the program, which is set to expire the end of September. More than $4 million in grants were awarded to dozens of fire departments in Boehlert’s congressional district last year. Boehlert’s reauthorization legislation would expand the FIRE Act to include emergency medical services (EMS) responders not affiliated with a fire department. Pat DiNonno, fire coordinator and director of Cayuga County’s Office of Emergency Management, endorsed the proposed expansion.
U.S. Fire Administrator R. David Paulison, also present at the hearing, lauded the FIRE Act grant program as a model that “in its short three-year existence has provided a tremendous amount of equipment, training, and educational programs across the nation.”
Prior to the hearing, Boehlert was given a special recognition award by the National Volunteer Fire Council “in appreciation of his longtime advocacy for volunteer firefighters in Congress.”
Report urges integrated approach for responder safety
“Protecting Emergency Responders, Volume 3: Safety Management in Disaster and Terrorism Response,” a Rand Corporation study, funded by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), proposes an integrated approach to safeguarding responders during major emergency events. Such an approach would protect police, firefighters, and ambulance crews and ensure that all first responders would be protected within the incident command system.
Among recommendations for achieving integration made in the report are the following:
- Build into the existing structure an integrated safety function for managing major response operations. Make safety part of the overall management of a major incident, and manage it as a multiagency effort, consistent with the National Incident Management System developed by the Department of Homeland Security.
- Use preparedness efforts to plan ways to integrate safety management. Define needed safety assets and expertise, and identify available resources in advance. Establish management processes and ways of ensuring that reinforcements will be able to “plug in” to an ongoing operation.
- Develop a cadre of highly trained “disaster safety managers” to facilitate coordination among agencies. Identify and train key individuals with a broad-based understanding of disaster situations and crosscutting expertise in safety management to supervise multiagency safety efforts.
- Incorporate safety and health issues more realistically into joint exercises and training. Make safety training more than just a “footnote” to the operational focus of training exercises. Develop exercises that more closely resemble actual disaster conditions.
- Develop a common terminology for safety issues and procedures. Establish standard terms and definitions that will enable responders from all participating agencies to understand safety matters and to communicate without obstacles.
The International Association of Fire Chiefs, which was involved in developing the report, encourages all members to download or order the report at no charge from the RAND Web site at http://www.rand.org/publications/MG/MG170/.
Efforts continue to make air tankers available for wildland fires
U.S. Congressman Greg Walden (OR), chair of the Resources Subcommittee on Forests and Forest Health, indicated at press time that the U.S. Forest Service possibly could have the first group of large air tankers back under contract to fight forest fires by July 4. His announcement followed a meeting in late June with representatives of the U.S. Forest Service, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the National Transportation Safety Board, and the Bureau of Land Management. The Forest Service had canceled contracts for 33 air tankers on May 10, 2004, because of safety concerns. “The Forest Service and the FAA have given the contractors the criteria they must meet to certify that their planes are airworthy for fighting forest fires,” Walden explained.
Four companies that account for 20 of the 33 grounded air tankers submitted new engineering reports for review. The Forest Service was reviewing the reports and checking for compliance with the new Federal Aviation Agency airworthiness requirements at press time.
New Kansas City (MO) CAD system to facilitate fire-police record sharing
A new computer-aided dispatch (CAD) and records management system (RMS) recently installed by the Kansas City (MO) Fire Department will integrate and centralize fire incident, personnel and training, and equipment inspections information that used to reside on separate, disparate databases or in paper files.
The system will allow dispatchers to respond to and manage citizens’ requests for fire and rescue services more efficiently. A comprehensive mapping component pinpoints the exact location of a citizen’s call for service. The map helps dispatchers to quickly assess the location of the incident and provide responding firefighters with directions or details of the building, if required. The CAD system automatically pinpoints the caller’s location, recommends the appropriate apparatus to respond, alerts the fire stations, and tracks the details of the fire response.
Ultimately, a component installed in the apparatus will make it possible for the department to track the location of a vehicle and assist in determining the shortest route to an incident. The ultimate plan is to implement a comprehensive CAD, RMS, and automated field reporting system in the police department so that police and fire departments can share information to ensure rapid response.
Line-of-Duty Deaths
March 17. Deputy Chief Victor Scott, 61, Otter Creek (FL) Volunteer Fire Department: heart attack while transporting donated equipment back to the fire department in a department pickup truck.
April 24. Firefighter Alan David Toepke, 30, Midewin Interagency Hotshot Crew, Wilmington, Illinois: struck by semitruck as he was walking across the highway while returning to his home base after fighting a fire in Florida’s Apalachicola National Forest.
June 5. Protection Unit Supervisor Larry J. Hoffman, 51, Oregon Department of Forestry, Salem, Oregon: collapsed and died from an unknown cause while taking a pack test.
June 8. Assistant Chief Willie Grudzinski, 46, Bridger (MT) Volunteer Fire Department: heart attack several hours after completing a pack test.
June 17. Firefighter Willie Lacy, 47, Augusta (GA) Fire Department: possible heart attack; cause to be determined.
June 19. Junior Firefighter Joshua Martin, 15, Duson (LA) Volunteer Fire Department: vehicle accident while en route to a call in another firefighter’s personal vehicle.
June 23. Captain Thomas De Angelis Sr., 40, Stowe Township Volunteer Fire Department #2, McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania: apparent heart attack.
Source: National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Database, United States Fire Administration.
News Glimpses
Hospital failed to advise firefighters they tested positive for Hep C. At least five Hillsborough County (FL) firefighters who tested positive for hepatitis C in a 2001 screening at University Community Hospital were not notified until three years later. The firefighters’ identities are protected by medical privacy laws. The county had entered into a contract with the hospital to screen the county’s workforce of about 4,800, including 700 firefighters. The fire department is evaluating how many more firefighters might be affected. www.abcactionnews.com, June 14, 2004
Philadelphia Fire Department adds medic units, cuts fire companies. Fire Commissioner Harold Hairston says the need to cut the budget by almost $7 million and a decrease in fire calls and an increase in medical calls have made personnel changes necessary. The department is shutting down four ladder companies and four engine companies and relocating six others. Eight new medic units have been added. No personnel will be laid off. All firefighters hired since 1974 are also EMTs. http://kyw1060.com, June 23, 2004
NVFC to receive DHS grant. The National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) will receive a grant ($390,500) from the Department of Homeland Security to establish Fire Corps, a national recruitment and educational campaign for the fire service. At press time, the contract had not been officially signed, but the NVFC was told it could advertise for a director for the project. The position was posted at www.nvfc.org at press time. l USFA and NFPA work to cut U.S. rural fire deaths. To help bring down a per-capita fire death rate that is almost twice the national rate in communities with fewer than 2,500 residents, the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) and the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) will join to reduce the high death rate from fire in rural America. They will build on data from the USFA report “The Rural Fire Problem in the United States” and offer information on effective strategies and techniques to local fire and governent officials and educators. Strategies will focus on public fire safety education; technical improvements, including fire and smoke detection; fire codes; consumer product safety; and residential fire sprinklers. Additional information is at http://www.usfa.fema.gov/inside-usfa/research/other/ rural-mitigation.shtm.
FEMA releases nightclub fire report. “Nightclub Fires in 2000,” developed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency/U.S. Fire Administration National Fire Data Center, analyzes U.S. nightclub fires from the perspective of the characteristics that add to fatalities. The study, prompted by the 2003 fire at The Station nightclub in Rhode Island, which killed 100 people, is part of the Topical Fire Research Series. Among the aspects studied were factors that contribute to the death toll and the extent to which local inspections and safety codes can affect the outcomes. The report focused on the year 2000, the most recent year for which complete data are available. A copy of the report is available at http://www.usfa.fema.gov/inside-usfa/nfdc/pubs/tfrs.shtm/.
DHS esablishes NIMS integration center. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recently established the National Incident Management System Integration Center (NIC). According to the DHS, the center provides a mechanism for “ongoing coordination among federal, state, local, and tribal incident management entities and emergency responders.” The NIC will be physically located at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). l U.S. Fire Administration names executive fire officer to research honor roll. Deputy Chief David A. Hayes of the Tulsa (OK) Fire Department has been named to the “Applied Research Honor Roll.” This is only the fifth time in the history of the National Fire Academy’s (NFA) Executive Fire Officer Program (EFOP) that this distinction has been merited. All four of Hayes’ Applied Research Projects were evaluated at a 4.0 level on a 4.0 academic scale. The projects included examining criteria for selecting protective clothing for fire investigators, creating and examining job-specific performance appraisals for fire investigators, identifying causes of injury for neighborhood prevention programs, and identifying and addressing sick leave use trends for the Tulsa Fire Department.
NFPA gas codes online. The 2002 edition of NFPA 54, National Fuel Gas Code, and the 2004 edition of NFPA 58, Liquefied Petroleum Gas Code, are now available at www.nfpa.org.
Texas firefighters asked to help in firefighter health and fitness survey
The Texas Commission on Fire Protection Committee would like to assess the status of Texas firefighters’ wellness and fitness. All Texas agencies engaged in fire response are invited to complete the survey on the Commission’s Web site at http://www.tcfp.state.tx.us/home/fwac_survey.asp. An ad hoc committee will review the data and recommend to the Commission any actions that might be taken to enhance firefighter fitness, wellness, and safety.
