Message from TIM Network Liaison
There are a few exciting things to talk about this month from the TIM Network:
o You can now simply type www.timnetwork.org into your favorite browser to access our website. The content is still being provided by our free google site, however this step is the first in providing you with a relevant, usable and collaborative space for all things “TIM”.
o In the February edition we reported that the membership had reached 350 and after the busiest month ever of registering new members, our membership stands at 469 across 35 states. Florida became the first state to reach 100 members, thanks and keep it up.
o We are proud to welcome the beginning of monthly updates from the FHWA Office of Operations ETO Team – check back monthly to stay up-to-date on what is happening with TIM at FHWA.
o The US Fire Administration added a link to the TIM Network on their website under the links of interest area of this page - http://www.usfa.dhs.gov/fireservice/research/safety/roadway.shtm
o TIM Network Member and world famous Transportation Communications Newsletter publisher, Bernie Wagenblast started publishing the link to The Responder in his daily newsletter increasing the availability of our newsletter to several thousand potential readers.
o Subscribe and support Bernie by clicking here - bernie@bwcommunications.net
In this issue we are focusing on incident communications. For our three question interview, we are pleased to have Mr. Jeff Johnson. Mr. Johnson is the chief executive officer of the Western Fire Chiefs Association. He is going to tell you about the emphasis that is being placed on extending the broadband network within their members regions. Welcome and thank you Jeff. For our technical corner, we are reprinting and updating an article that I read in the Firerescue1.com newsletter. The article describes the goals and outcomes of conducting an interoperable communications rally in your area. Thanks to firerescue1.com and to James Grant for the contribution.
One feature that I would like to add to the Responder is a monthly TIM Team highlight. What I am looking for is:
o The team coverage area
o How often you meet and what time of day
o What disciplines are represented
o The most recent agenda and meeting minutes
o Any relevant lessons learned or recent innovations
o Any information that would be helpful from the TIM Network
o Anything else that you would like to highlight about your team.
As always, forward, print and post The Responder and please email all suggestions and content to erensel@gfnet.com.
Eric E. Rensel
The Chairperson’s Office – Be a Defensive Responder
TJ Nedrow is the Vice-Chair of the NTIMC for Fire. He works for the Washington State DOT and represents the National Volunteer Fire Council to the NTIMC
What Makes a Successful Traffic Incident Management Program?
There are many great examples sprinkled around the nation that we can point to. But, please don’t suggest that it’s the money. For, if you do, the arguments will soon follow. And it’s not necessarily the composition of policies, guidelines, partnerships or agreements. I submit that when one looks beyond the proverbial ‘paper’ we find people. More specifically people with energy and passion. I hope that I am talking about you.
There are some folks that do it because they are paid. Others do it because it’s a part of their job. There are only a few that are a cut above the rest. The next time you find yourself in a TIM meeting ask yourself what sets you apart from the other people in the room? What causes you to rise above the rhetoric and turf-related symptoms prevalent in today’s incident environment? What causes you to put aside ego and strive to understand the needs of others and their mission while conveying the same without any negativity? Do you notice how better relationships are built when you can show others that you care before you tell them what you know? Ah, an example of using both ears and engaging the brain and operating one mouth.
By combining character, compassion, energy and passion, a TIM program will not only survive but flourish in the process. And if you are selfless in your personal goals, admiration and respect should be a by-product.
3 Questions with Jeff Johnson
Jeff is the Chief Executive Officer of the Western Fire Chiefs Association, http://www.wfca.com
Q1: What is a nationwide public safety broadband and why do we need it?
o The development of a national communication network is very similar to the development of the Eisenhower Interstate System. Prior to the introduction of interstates to the US roadway network, there were many local roads needed to get from point A to point B. The development of the interstate system was done first for national defense purposes. As it became established and people became more mobile, it allowed for economic development and it really helped make the Country feel smaller. There are two Bills in Congress that essentially create a national wireless broadband architecture. Once the architecture is in place governance, technology standards and public-private partnerships that will allow all levels of government to leverage the existing network for improving public safety, including the faster clearance of traffic incidents.
Q2: How will broadband help improve the relationship between transportation officials and public safety responders?
o When public safety responds to an incident, they need to be talking to the transportation officials who are responsible for the area where the incident exists. The transportation official is extremely important to scene safety and so that means that there must be a place to talk. There are many data sets that exist in the public transportation officials toolboxes that can benefit first responders. In my area, we have access to the Oregon Department of Transportation CCTV cameras. That allows us to see the exact location of incidents and instead of sending multiple pieces of different equipment to the scene, we can send the single set of equipment needed to get the job done. Broadband will increase the ability of agencies to connect to one another in near real-time ways. Also in our area we have direct connection between the TMC dispatchers and the fire apparatus. They help us make routing decisions and because of their knowledge of traffic congestion conditions, they can help us avoid being exposed to dangerous interactions with queuing traffic. Another major advantage of a fully developed broadband superhighway will be how traffic management occurs at intersections for incident response. In most areas there are usually two methods that are used to control intersections: the snowplow method and the visual spectrum method. Both of these have limitations when it comes to efficient response and safety. The use of GPS emergency preemption is a key development that will be possible because of expanded broadband capabilities. It will allow traffic signals to be “smarter” it will promote the development of common interfaces for traffic control and will allow for the development of traffic responsive preemption systems.
Q3: For people that are trying to plan to implement broadband in their area, what are some important things to remember?
o The most important advice I could give is to remain engaged and active in the planning process as broadband comes to your area. Participating in TIM Teams and meeting regularly with emergency communication experts will help ensure that the public safety aspect of broadband expansion remains at the forefront. Likewise, continuing to educate yourselves and those around you will be the key to success.
Technical Corner – Improving Incident Communications (James Grant – Interoperability Radio Manager for Fairfax County, VA) Reprinted with permission from FireRescue1.com
Communications interoperability as defined in the National Capital Regional (NCR) Tactical Interoperable Communications Plan (TICP) document is the ability of public safety agencies to talk across disciplines and jurisdictions via radio communications systems, exchanging voice and/or data with one another on demand, in real time, when needed, and as authorized. SAFECOM has designated four basic types of equipment that can be utilized to achieve communications interoperability.
o Swap / Cache Radios
o Gateways
o Shared Channels
o Shared Systems
Within the NCR region, all of these methods are currently available and utilized by agencies within this region. A form of creating interoperability is by utilizing mobile command and communications vehicles to provide interoperability at a localized event. This is what we accomplished at the 4th Annual Command, Control, and Communications Rally which was held May 27-29, 2008 at the National Air & Space Museum in Fairfax County, Virginia. We had over 70 vehicles at the event, using just about every part of the radio spectrum from low band VHF, to satellite communications. We had Site on Wheels (SOW) and Cellular on Wheels (COW) that were setup as static demonstrations. We had large command vehicles that had basic communication technology, but could be tied into other communication vehicles. We also had small vehicles that provided basic interoperability capabilities without command office space. The rally is the brainchild of James Wadsworth, the radio services manager for Fairfax County, Virginia. Jim's vision for this event encompasses the following:
o Multiple agencies working together to solve one problem — communications interoperability
o Communications resources are varied and offer significant challenges to untrained public safety first responders so we need to practice using these resources so that we become familiar with them
o Communications equipment is difficult to set up so we need to practice using them in an interoperable situation
o Incident managers aren't familiar with what is available to improve interoperability so we need to expose them to the communications equipment at their disposal
For public safety first responders, the rally goals were to:
o Understand how communications tools work — accomplished this through formal classroom training
o Improve interoperable communications through demonstrations and practice exercises
o Build communications expertise through networking with other first responders
For the incident commanders, patrol supervisors, emergency managers:
o Be able to see firsthand what communications resources are available in the area
o Learn how to deploy communications using National Incident Management tools (NIMS)
o Obtain a better understanding of Incident Management for large scale operations utilizing COMLs and the Incident Management Team
For the support personnel in addition to the above items, their goals were to learn what technologies and equipment are being deployed and increase their knowledge of this equipment. If you are considering hosting a communications vehicle rally, go out and find out who has what capabilities in your region. You may find that your communication centers have a lot of capabilities at either the console level (console patching) or a gateway that has been installed in a fixed location. Knowing the coverage that is available on each of the radios is very important in a fixed site location configuration. Testing these configurations on a regular basis so that personnel can learn how to effectively set up patches or use the gateway is important.
After you have put together a list of resources in your area, invite everyone to come together so that you can come up with a plan of action. Number one rule should be that you are only going to test/work with equipment that you already have. This is not a time for vendors to come in to sell you more products. You want to learn what you have before you go out and purchase more equipment. A critical point to consider is what objectives do you want to accomplish? Start with getting a listing of resources in the area, what radios and other equipment is in each of the resources. Is there a listing of what each radio is programmed with? Are all of the channels named the same for the frequencies or talk groups? Are you following the National Public Safety Telecommunications Council (npstc.org) channel naming and programming guidelines for the interoperability channels? A new guideline was recently published with shorter names for radios that cannot accommodate long names.
Put a timeline together for your day:
o Vehicles arrive at 9 AM and/or communication personnel are available
o Assign an individual to oversee the development of a communications plan (ICS-205) working with each vehicle or communication center to make sure that no one is turning on a gateway or repeater that will cause conflicts
Time for first test of communication plan
Time for first test of communication plan
o Come back as a group and review what you were or were not able to accomplish, discuss possible solutions to issue, and retest prior to senior staff arrival
o Senior staff arrive and observe the communication test
o Demonstrate other interoperability capabilities — do you have WebEOC or other EOC management tools utilized in your region? How about the capability of getting video from the helicopter or traffic cameras?
Who else should attend? You may want to invite the equipment representative from the vendors that you already have equipment with. Many vendors are willing to teach you how to utilize the equipment on the days prior to the event. They may then want to stay around for your event and help troubleshoot problems that may arise.
After you have held your event bring your group back together and review what you have and have not accomplished. Start planning for your next event.
FHWA ETO Update
TIM Self Assessment: The Results are In!
The 2010 Traffic Incident Management Self Assessment Scores are in. The national score for 2010 was 63.9%. The leadership and hard work of the TIM practitioners has lead to a steady increase since the first national score was reported at 46.5% in 2003. Although great strides have been made, there is still a lot of work to be done. The TIM Self Assessment will be modified in 2011 to reflect the advancement of the entire program. The changes will better reflect the various program levels and reduce the subjectivity that the current self assessment possesses. Due dates for the 2011 TIM Self Assessments are likely to be pushed back 30-60 days for this year.
Utilizing All Resources: Peer-to-Peer Program
The FHWA has established a Traffic Incident Management / Planned Special Events Peer-to-Peer (P2P) Program to provide assistance to agencies interested in the application of methods, tools and strategies to improve incident management and managing travel for planned special events. The TIM/ PSE P2P Program provides state and local transportation and public safety organizations easy access to knowledgeable peers across a wide range of issues, all at no cost to these agencies. If you are interested in participating in the Traffic Incident Management/ Planned Special Events Peer-to-Peer Program, please contact Tim Lane @ Thomas.Lane@dot.gov for more information.
Publications
Are you interested in learning more about what the Office of Emergency Transportation Operations has to offer? Do you need materials to compliment your training or meetings? Take the time to review the various publications pertaining to Traffic Incident Management, Planned Special Events, and Emergency Transportation Operations on the Emergency Transportation Operations website. http://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/eto_tim_pse/index.htm Topics include: Field Operators Guide to Safety/Service Patrols, Traffic Incident Management (TIM) Handbook, and much more!
Readers Forum – Policies for after-peak hour towing needed
In many locations there are policies in place for waiting to tow or remove vehicles from crashes until after peak traffic periods. The Grand Rapids Michigan area is seeking example documents regarding delayed towing. Any SOPs, guidance documents, official orders or MOUs would be appreciated. Please send them to erensel@gfnet.com.
News and Notes
o A meeting was held between the TIM Network and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission in Oakland California on February 22 to discuss expansion of the TIM Network in the Bay Area and all of the Western US. If you have outreach ideas, send them to erensel@gfnet.com.
· 2010 LODD
o Police Officers – 162
o Fire Fighters – 86
o EMS - 34
· 2011 LODD
o Towing and Recovery – looking for a source
Upcoming Events
· You can now view all meetings on the TIM Network Website http://sites.google.com/site/timnetworksite/Calendar
o FHWA Advanced TIM Workshop, Seattle WA – Mar 8-9
o FHWA Advanced TIM Workshop, Cheyenne WY – Mar 10
o Association of Air Medical Services Spring Conference, Washington DC – Mar 16-18
o 14th Annual TRAA Legislative & Leadership Conference, Washington DC – Mar 17-19
o Fire Department Instructor Conference, Indianapolis IN – Mar 21-26
o TSAG Planning Conference and Spring Business Meeting, Washington DC – Mar 23-24
o TIM Team Meeting – Southern Virginia Area Incident Management Meeting – Mar 23
o North Texas TIM Managers Course, North Central Texas Council of Governments – Mar 24-25
o 4th Annual Sudden Cardiac Arrest: From Awareness to Prevention, San Diego CA – Mar 26-27
o 9-1-1 Goes to Washington, Washington DC – Mar 28-31
o ITE Technical Meeting, Orlando FL – Apr 3-6
o AAMVA Spring Workshop and Law Institute, Austin TX – Apr 4-7
o Critical Care Transport Medicine Conference, Nashville, TN – Apr 4-6
Your event not shown? Email it to erensel@gfnet.com
Are you scheduling a TIM meeting or conference? If so, let us help with electronic registration. The TIM Network will setup a specific electronic registration for your event, provide you with the link and provide you with the meeting roster. All attendee information is safe and secure and will not be distributed. Email me to find out how to use electronic meeting registration from the TIM Network.
Getting Involved
2. Twitter - ResponderSafety - http://twitter.com/Respondersafety
