Bridge crash report lists radio problems -- Chesapeake Bay: "Rescue workers from five state agencies were unable to communicate with each other by radio when they responded to a fatal crash on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge in May, though officials said command procedures in place mitigated the issue.

'We're not aware that it materially affected the incident,' said John Contestabile, the Maryland Department of Transportation's director of engineering and emergency services. Battalion Chief Michael Cox, a spokesman for the Anne Arundel County Fire Department, said rescue workers from his county and from Queen Anne's County had radios that used the same technology.

Although the state agencies didn't, commanders were able to manage the response by using protocols developed after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Cox said. Representatives from each agency assembled at a command post so that decisions made there could be communicated to all rescue workers in the field, Cox said."

FCC continues debate over public safety network: "At a conference of public safety groups earlier this month, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin said the FCC’s decision to authorize a nationwide wireless broadband network for first responders is historic. But he also pointed out that rules are not yet set for how that network will be shared with commercial providers and possibly other public safety networks."

Appropriators question funding for emergency wireless project: "The integrated wireless network, known as IWN, is currently one of the most expensive items in Justice's information technology basket and it is at high risk of failure, the report stated. Unless the deficiencies are addressed, such a system 'may not be developed and the resulting separate agency communications systems may not be adequate in the event of another terrorist attack or natural disaster.'

The House-passed appropriations bill, H.R. 3093, would fund the project at $81.3 million -- the same as the agency's budget estimate. But the Senate measure, S. 1745, would provide $76.3 million. The program got $89 million in fiscal 2007.

In the Senate committee report, lawmakers expressed concern about 'lagging progress, as well as the recurring costs of the conversion' to narrowband operations. The panel also noted that an aging infrastructure has been an impediment to implementation."

Burbank, Glendale Seek Link: "BURBANK — The future of a multi-agency response system in Burbank and Glendale is safe, even as Los Angeles County is pursuing a countywide network of its own. Conflict arose earlier this year as it became apparent that Burbank, Glendale and four other cities participating in the Interagency Communications Interoperability System, known as ICIS — which allows public safety departments to communicate across jurisdictional lines — were competing against the county for federal funding. advertisement

While county officials are seeking money for a planned network — called the Los Angeles Regional Interoperable Communications System — local system participants are also vying for federal help to finance maintenance and upgrades for an infrastructure that has been in place since 2003. That bred uncertainty among legislators in Washington, D.C., as competing requests came in from county and local officials pursuing similar technologies with similar goals in the same area."

Virginia to Cache First Responder Radio Systems - Government Technology "Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine today announced that the commonwealth will establish three strategic radio caches in Chesapeake, Fairfax County, and the Harrisonburg region to improve the state's ability to establish communications in the wake of a disaster or other large-scale emergency."

Missouri law enforcement agencies will get funding: "SIKESTON — Local law enforcement agencies are among those receiving federal Law Enforcement Terrorism Prevention Program Interoperable Communications Grant funding but have not yet received official word along with how much they will get."

Homeland defense: Network system is broken: "The Pentagon’s ability to help civil authorities respond to a disaster or terrorist attack is hobbled by a “fractured national communication system” that remains an impediment six years after the Sept. 11 attacks, the nation’s homeland defense leader said this week.

Testifying before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs on Thursday, Air Force Gen. Gene Renuart said communications problems make it more likely federal forces will be needed in a regional disaster.

“Whether responding to a disaster of natural or manmade origins, collaboration among interagency partners at all levels of government is built upon the cornerstone of communications,” Renuart said.

But six years after communications breakdowns kept rescuers in the dark on Sept. 11, “our nation continues to struggle with two distinct communications issues: interoperability and survivability,” he said."

Homeland Security chief defends timing of communications grants: "Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff on Wednesday defended the government's timeframe for issuing nearly $1 billion in grants to bolster emergency communications.

'We've been funding these kinds of things for years,' Chertoff said, noting that federal money has been flowing to build a system that can communicate across jurisdictions since 2002, one year after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in New York City, Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C. 'I think it would be wrong to suggest that somehow we've been sitting on our hands for five years when we've built an awful lot of this system already."

Finding a Signal - Helena IR: "By all accounts, Augusta’s first responders cover a wide swath of terrain that stretches east and west from the Continental Divide to Cascade County, and north and south from the Sun River to Highway 200. Covering several hundred square miles, it’s one of the largest and more rural districts in Lewis and Clark County. It’s also one where radio and cell-phone coverage can be spotty, posing a challenge to first responders."

Bapco Journal: UK police radio communications standard begins roll-out: A new national standard for radio communications, known as AirwaveSpeak will begin roll-out to the police service in the England, Wales and Scotland. AirwaveSpeak is part of a broader strategy by the National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA) to assist police forces to increase efficiency, enhance interoperability and support frontline policing.

Firefighters Rip Giuliani, Call Him 'Urban Legend': "The International Association of Firefighters has gone on the offensive against 'America's Mayor' Rudy Giuliani, releasing a 13-minute video that viciously rips into the former New York mayor, who has been using his leadership demonstrated on September 11th to urge people around the country to support him in his quest to become President of the United States."

Inside Bay Area - Skeptics question radio network - "HAYWARD (CA)— Proponents of a regionwide public safety radio network like to use the two antennae high atop Walpert Ridge as a Tower of Babble-like metaphor for the Bay Area's communication problems.

One tower belongs to Alameda County, the other to the city of Hayward. But because they serve incompatible systems, their close proximity doesn't help when a county deputy wants to radio a message to a city police officer. ... Before they solve the technological problem, organizers of the proposed new government network, to be called the East Bay Regional Communications Authority, are having a tough time getting through the political one. More than 30 local governments in Alameda and Contra Costa counties are being asked to commit some money and agree to a joint powers authority that is being questioned for its vagueness."

Uncle Sam Gets A (Second) Life - Government - "The Department of Homeland Security also said it might set up a [Second Life] virtual island for the Safecom program, which is an integration and engineering project for connecting wireless first-response system across federal, state and local agencies. This comes a couple of years after the private island named "Response" was created in Second Life to simulate emergency response behavior to threats. Funded by DHS, the Synthetic Environments for Emergency Response Simulation (SEERS) project provides mission rehearsal and virtual prototyping tools for the emergency response community."

Lieberman and Collins express serious concerns over ‘major weaknesses’ in disaster communication plans for US first responders: "Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs chairman Joe Lieberman, ID-Conn., and Ranking Member Susan Collins, R-Me., have expressed disappointment that the Department of Homeland Security has not moved more efficiently to improve its interoperability communications program and warned that without a strategic approach and firm leadership first responders will continue to be imperiled because of an inability to communicate effectively during an emergency or disaster.

In a letter dated April 24, 2007, to Department Secretary Michael Chertoff, the senators expressed serious concern about the ability of first responders at all levels of government to communicate during a disaster. "

More on Interoperability Scorecards from the Heritage Foundation: Improving Emergency Communications: Lessons from Grading America's Cities: "The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released Tactical Interoperable Communications Scorecards: Summary Report and Findings on January 3, 2007. The report assesses 75 metropolitan areas' progress in strengthening communications systems for dealing with all types of emergencies, from terrorist incidents to natural disasters."

Interoperability inoperable: "... Now comes a report from Congress’ investigative arm, the Government Accountability Office, that concludes that much work remains to improve communications interoperability across the nation. ... But Koontz and other interoperability experts see the barrier not so much as a technology issue but as a management hurdle."

Walking the Talk (4/11/07) Government Executive: "Interoperability among first responders is a state of mind. That is, the ability of emergency incident commanders to talk to their counterparts in other jurisdictions and disciplines is not simply a matter of buying new equipment."

DHS to be flexible in allocation of $1B to states: "The Homeland Security Department plans to release details shortly on how it intends to allocate to states a new $1 billion fund designated for interoperable public safety communications.

The department aims to be flexible to help states that already have made investments in new radio systems, a DHS official said. Congress has mandated that DHS make the funding available to states by Sept. 30."

Interoperability plans garner additional $400M : "The growing pool of federal dollars for interoperable public safety communications grants could get even bigger, even though the nearly $3 billion spent to date has largely failed to improve first responder communications around the country.

Senate Homeland Security Committee Chairman Joe Lieberman, an independent Democrat from Connecticut, and ranking member Susan Collins (R-Maine) added $400 million for interoperable public safety communications to a non-binding budget measure. The Senate passed budget resolution for fiscal 2008 provides a blueprint for follow-up spending bills."

Cabinet departments fail to create network: "A partnership begun in 2004 by the Justice, Homeland Security and Treasury departments to create an Integrated Wireless Network has 'fractured' and is at a 'high risk for failure,' according to a government report issued yesterday. Justice Department Inspector General Glenn A. Fine said that despite years of development and more than $195 million in funding, the project 'does not appear to be on the path' to providing the seamless interoperable communications system envisioned.

'The causes for the high risk of project failure include uncertain and disparate funding mechanisms for IWN, the fractured IWN partnership and the lack of an effective governing structure for the project,' Mr. Fine said. "