Sacramento Metro Fire rips its radios: "The head of the Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District has blasted the way the county's radio communication system is being updated, saying it jeopardizes public safety and puts the lives of firefighters and other emergency workers at risk.

'The situation has become critical to public safety,' Chief Don Mette said recently in a sharply worded letter to county officials.

Mette said there have been times when there were not enough channels to adequately serve firefighters and law enforcement officials. He also said the system sometimes has spotty reception, even in populated areas."

Inbuilding coverage in the Big Apple: "On May 31, The Durst Organization announced that it has upgraded communications within its portfolio of Manhattan high-rise buildings to facilitate two-way radio communications for first responders, including the Fire Department of New York, Emergency Medical Services, New York Police Department and others."

Senate committee seeks acceleration of interoperability funds: "Senate Commerce Committee members yesterday decided by voice vote to approve an amendment to the massive communications bill making $1 billion in interoperability funds available to first-responder agencies this fall."

OASIS approves new standards for emergency communications: "The Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards (OASIS) has approved new emergency data interoperability standards aimed at drastically improving critical data sharing among emergency first responders, government officials and law enforcement authorities. In an announcement [yesterday], OASIS said the new Emergency Data Exchange Language Distribution Element (EDXL-DE) Version 1.0 has been approved as an OASIS Standard. That means it will now be used by emergency management systems vendors to help create data bridges among incompatible systems used by first responders and others."

Project MESA back on track: "Project MESA, or Mobility for Emergency and Safety Applications, finally received the vendor support it has been seeking the last four years. A Project MESA working group meeting in Boston in April resulted in five new proposals brought forth by manufacturers as potential technologies for the next generation of public-safety communications systems."

Roadblocks hamper emergency response system coordination: "Achieving interoperable communications — a Holy Grail of sorts for first responders — is easier said than done. That was the consensus of information technology experts who met earlier this month in Washington, D.C., for the National Association of State Chief Information Officers’ midyear conference. Participants in a panel discussion said progress has been slow and erratic."

IWN Update: "“By providing near-instant communication availability and system response, highly reliable communications, and physical and encryption security features that minimize interception of sensitive communications, IWN will make law enforcement and protective operations more effective, efficient and safe,” said Justice CIO Vance Hitch in a statement.

IWN spending could range from $3 billion to $30 billion over the life of the contract, which could extend as long as 15 years."

Unofficial poll of CIOs finds states woefully behind: "Government interoperability and disaster preparedness experts painted a bleak picture of how much progress states have made toward communications interoperability since Hurricane Katrina blasted the Gulf Coast last year. Fewer than a third of the 350 attendees of a National Association of State Chief Information Officers conference this month said states were better prepared today to deal with a major disaster than they were before Katrina. "

General Dynamics and Lockheed Martin Awarded Phase Two Contracts for Integrated Wireless Network (IWN): "The Departments of Justice, Homeland Security and the Treasury announced today the award of second-phase system integration contracts for the Integrated Wireless Network (IWN) to General Dynamics C4 Systems of Scottsdale, Ariz. and Lockheed Martin Integrated Systems and Solutions of Gaithersburg, Md. Today’s award allows the companies to continue on to the third and final phase of the selection process for the IWN systems integrator."

Inability to communicate major flaw in storm response (Shreveport): " .... 'Participants recommended that land line, Internet, commercial radio and television, fiber optic, fax, two-way radio, cellular voice and text, satellite telephone, OnStar, and HAM radio should be considered in an integrated response. System failures are hard to predict, so participants felt that all available channels of communications should be used to reinforce a detailed common communications plan for each region,' the report says"

FCW.com - State CIOs skeptical of hurricane readiness: "On the first day of the 2006 Atlantic hurricane season, the ability of government at the federal, state and local levels to deal with major disasters is no better than it was when Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast region last year. That is the overwhelming consensus of government and private-sector technology experts who convened in Washington, D.C., this week for a conference sponsored by the National Association of State Chief Information Officers. CIOs and other top technology leaders from 38 states, Guam, and the District of Columbia are among the 280 conference participants."

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — In these last days before the June 1 start of hurricane season, forecasters and disaster-response planners are coming to the dispiriting conclusion that few lessons were learned last year from Katrina, Rita and Wilma. ... Most city, state and federal emergency management authorities still can't communicate by phone or radio in a crisis because a $2-billion special outlay for "interoperability" is mired in legislative wrangling or being spent without federal coordination.

IG sees flaws in DHS' approach to interoperability standards: "The Homeland Security Department is not expected to adopt its first standard for interoperable, digital, wireless communications for first responders until the end of 2007 — more than six years after the Sept. 11 attacks, according to a new report from DHS inspector general Richard Skinner. "

FEMA Not a First Responder, Says Paulison : "With the latest predictions indicating another active hurricane season in 2006, the Federal Emergency Management Agency is preparing with what it describes as 'a renewed sense of commitment, improvement and urgency.' And at the 28th National Hurricane Conference held April 10-14 in Orlando, Fla., FEMA Acting Director R. David Paulison described the upcoming hurricane season as “a defining moment in emergency management. Above all, however, Paulison emphasized that effective emergency management requires a team approach, and that FEMA is not a first responder. 'The first response belongs in the hands of those closest to the incident, those state and local officials who are putting together the evacuation plans and shelter locations and educating their residents on when to evacuate, where to go and what to do,' he said."

The Marines Discover Tactical Communications: "The US Marine Corps Systems Command, Quantico, VA awarded Motorola in Columbia, MD a $76 million firm-fixed-priced, indefinite-delivery /indefinite-quantity contract for 60,000 Integrated Intra Squad Radios (IISR) and associated items.

As National Defense Magazine's September 2005 issue notes, the Corps realized it lacked small squad-level communications for urban operations after the invasion of Iraq. Marines liked the British Army's 'personal role radio' and bought 10,000 Selex PRRs from Britain's war reserve. The PRR is a small transmitter-receiver similar to civilian two-way radios, which allows infantry soldiers to communicate over short distances."

NACo Launches Public Safety Communications Project: "NACo recently received a $1 million grant from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and, with the funds, will offer a series of intensive policy academies on public safety communications and interoperability for local officials over the next two years.

The training is made possible through a funding agreement with DHS' SAFECOM Program Office, which works with federal, state and local public safety agencies to improve emergency response through more effective and efficient interoperable wireless communications."

Project MESA reaches a Crossroad: "Project MESA, which stands for Mobility for Emergency and Safety Applications, was launched nearly six years ago as a collaborative effort between the U.S. and Europe public-safety sectors to identify and create common specifications for the next generation of first-responder communications systems. With progress being sluggish at best, a Project MESA working group meeting this month in Boston could determine whether the effort will die should vendors fail to step up with technology proposals soon.

“We, as users, have gotten to a point where we can't do anymore without input from vendors,” said Philip Kidner, chairman of MESA's systems specification group."

Exercise aims for interoperability with DHS first responders: "The scene of a terrorist attack or a large-scale natural disaster, experts agree, is no place for technology specialists from different response agencies to begin coordinating communication efforts.

“The time of an incident,” said Air Force Col. Babette Lenfant, director of communication systems for the Joint Task Force Civil Support, “is not the time we want to be exchanging business cards with the National Guard and saying, ‘Here, this is what I do.’ ”

Various military services, the Department of Homeland Security and first responders such as police and fire departments are getting better acquainted with each other’s communications systems during the Defense Department’s Interoperability Communications Exercise. "

Public Safety Project To Target Local Elected Officials: "The National Association of Counties (NACo) recently received a $1 million grant from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to conduct a series of intensive policy academies on public safety communications and interoperability over the next two years."

Justice DOD better prepared to share information for '06 hurricane season: "With approximately 60 days before the start of the next hurricane season, Congress is questioning whether agencies are in better shape to share information this year. Rep. Tom Davis, chairman of the Government Reform Committee, asked agency officials whether the government has sufficiently learned the lessons from Katrina and Rita.

“How can we avoid the inadequate information sharing and murky situational awareness that characterized the governmental response to Katrina?” the Virginia Republican asked. “The committee is interested in learning about whether there is a need for additional legislation, guidance, procedures or resources to facilitate the information sharing priorities…”

And while the Homeland Security Department declined to testify about its preparations and improvements, other key agencies, including the Defense and Justice departments, said things are getting better and they are better prepared."