To view this site you need Adobe Flash Player and your browser must allow javaScripts. Go here to get the latest Flash Player. RESPONDERS TODAY Lifesaving Communications BREAKING THE DEADLY BOTTLENECKS BY PHILIP LEGGIERE, BUSINESS EDITOR ON THE MORNING OF MARCH 7, 2008, AT AROUND 7 AM, A MASSIVE BLAZE STARTED AT AN UNKNOWN LOCATION IN THE SALISBURY MILLWORKS BUILDING ON SOUTH MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. AVENUE IN SALISBURY, NC. SHORTLY AFTER IT BEGAN, WORKERS AT THE WOODWORKING PLANT ARRIVED AND, SEEING FLAMES, CALLED 911. AFTER FIREFIGHTERS INITIALLY THOUGHT THEY HAD IT UNDER CONTROL, FLAMES BURST THROUGH THE ROOF , AND EXPLOSIONS AND WALLS TUMBLING COULD BE HEARD OUTSIDE. The firefighters inside were evacuated, but not before two city firefighters who were part of the first hose team to arrive— 40-year-old Victor Isler and 19-year-old Justin Monroe—were killed. One of the fallen men died at the scene and was draped with an American flag as he was loaded into the ambulance. Other firefighters removed their helmets as they stood solemnly by outside the burning building. The scene above is every fire chief’s nightmare, Larry Efferson, former chief of safety for the Baton Rouge, La., Fire Department, told Homeland Security Today. “As a fire commander,” Efferson said, “I AP PHOTO/SALISBURY POST, JON C. LAKEY Internet to the rescue Innovations in Internet-enabled digital data communications are changing that situation by enabling local response teams to access and distribute critical, potentially life-saving data about the fire before they’ve even arrived on scene. One new system, the NetTalon System 3000, developed by Fredericksburg, Va.based NetTalon, hooks up to smoke detectors, cameras and alarm sensors in buildings, digitally transmitting key data to any Internet protocol (IP) pipe to fire trucks, command posts or central dispatch, so firefighters can see what’s going on immediately, using data on rising temperatures to identify probable location of fire and critical hazard conditions. “Alarms have always been thought of as just alarms,” Efferson said. “They rang when they sensed there might be a fire and then their job was done. In reality, alarms have a much fuller story to tell, and designing them to communicate that story can save lives.” While serving with the Baton Rouge Fire Department, Efferson participated in the first demonstration of the system in a simulated arson fire in a 200,000-square-foot complex in downtown Baton Rouge. What he saw, he recalled, was a lifesaving convergence of situational awareness and communications technology. “By widely communicating data gathered remotely from the fire scene,” he explained, “we saw that command could constantly be in touch with responders— not reactively but proactively. As trucks approach the fire site, we could be working out a collaborative game plan based on Two firefighters console each other after hearing that two colleagues died fighting a fire on March 7, 2008 in Salisbury, NC. can’t tell you how many times I’ve stood in the command vehicle across the street from a fire helpless, just praying for the best. Because traditionally when you go into a fire you have absolutely no idea of what you’re dealing with until you physically move into the building and start searching floor by floor, room by room, and even when you think you have the fire under control, you can be completely, and tragically blindsided by what’s going on down the hall that you’re unaware of.” The All Hazards Consortium is a 501c3 non-profit guided by the regional states of NC, MD, DC, VA, WV, DE, PA, NJ and NY focused on emergency management and homeland security within the Mid-Atlantic and surrounding states. Our mission is to help create new resources and funding opportunities for the states to support regional multi-state collaboration efforts among all stakeholders from government, private sector, higher education and non-profit/volunteer organizations. Sign up to attend an upcoming informational webinar at www.ahcusa.org. For more information, email info@ahcusa.org Register online today for exclusive online content and eNewsletters HSToday Magazine | April 2009 11