Ny B19 Misc Fdr- Mckinsey Interview Summaries- Draft

MY

McKinsey Interview Summaries

Confidential Interview notes INTERVIEWEE: INTERVIEWER: DATE: LOCATION:

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Chuck Burkell Caroline March, 2002 FDNY headquarters

Interview with Chuck Burkell Background Chuck is the program manager of the exec development curriculum at the National Fire Academy (as part of the US Fire Administration). He has two primary responsibilities: (1) Executive Fire officer program (EFO); (2) courses within the NFA on mgmt effectiveness and leadership.

Executive Fire Officer Program f EFO program is a 4 year program to certify fire and EMS personnel from across the country. Each year people visit the NFA training camp in MD to partake in 2 weeks of classes and workshops • Has a required course called EAFSOM (?) which covers incident command of large scale events that require significant inter-agency coordination. Includes: - How to effectively use planning, logistics, and finance - How to work with other agencies - including a drill on interagency coordination run in conjunction with EMI (an exercise with a simulated incident with other emergency mgmt personnel from EMI) - Case studies on other large scale incidents -

Simulations with special debriefs at the end

- Module on risk assessment and being aware of hazards at incidents • Courses within EFO are created by people from the field (e.g. other fire depts.)

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If Some of the courses within the EFO program can be packaged and brought to local depts. (e.g. FDNY can conduct its own 2 week EAFSOM program in NYC)

Leadership and mgmt courses offered at NFA Tf Executive Development courses: teach fire chiefs to better interact within the community (emphasis on providing quality service) *[f Executive Leadership courses: teach chiefs decision making on a more personal level If Risk mgmt course (Leading Community Risk Reduction): teaches about preventing hazards and minimizing risk before it happens

Chuck will send the student manual and the instructor manual for the EAFSOM course to Mike Vecchi within a week.

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Steve Kuhr Caroline March 26, 2002 FDNY Headquarters

Steve Kuhr Background Steve was originally an EMS Deputy Chief with the FDNY. From about 19941999 (unclear on dates), he was the Deputy Director of Operations and then the Deputy Director of Planning at OEM. Upon leaving the FDNY/OEM, he started his own consulting firm doing emergency response planning. He recently joined Kroll's Crisis Mgmt group and has since been promoted to the Managing Director (i.e. head) of a newly named Emergency Mgmt Group at Kroll. There he works with public sector clients (most notably the Port Authority) to aid them in crisis planning and training drills.

Summary OEM is primarily involved in short-term analyses of key crisis indicators and long term planning for natural disasters. Many of the OEM plans aren't implemented well in training drills due to lack of interagency coordination. Kroll uses its extensive planning knowledge and templates to develop crisis management plans and drills for each of the physical assets of its clients (e.g. JFK airport for the Port Authority). While Kroll has more success than OEM, it still faces problems ensuring that its plans are carried out well.

Overview of OEM (during the period he was there) Tf OEM divided into three sectors: Operations, Communications, and Planning/Training/Exercises TJ Responsibilities within Planning/Training/Exercises: • Crisis planning:

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- Have a fulltime staff to gather data daily from many different agencies. Data is used to calculate indicators which are then analyzed to determine whether or not an abnormal (i.e. crisis) situation exists (e.g. a large number of deaths or EMS calls, etc) -

Sets up resources to monitor crisis situations in real time (e.g. as soon as the crisis call comes in — for a strike or other natural disaster like a heat wave)

• Emergency response planning: - Focuses on creating long-term plans for natural disasters - Works directly with FBI, DOD, HHS to create plans - Uses a consensus based approach to ensure that all agencies (e.g. FDNY, NYPD) agree with plans - Issue with plans: there is no mechanism to ensure they are implemented as designed • Drills - Goal: have one broad drill (involving all agencies) every two months - Have drills for many different types of terrorism events . Hazmat, Mass Fatalities, etc. . Biological agent drill (BAD): worked with DOD to model the scenarios . Federally mandated drills: involvement from the DOD and other federal agencies in special program in 1999 (NY was testing area for tactical drills) f Status of OEM facilities and plans: most were destroyed in the WTC collapse

Steve's consulting work and his current role at Kroll f Creates emergency management plan:

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• For each client location (e.g. JFK airport for Port Authority), conducts a full day workshop to outline the crisis plan. Uses the template provided by Kroll • Involves all appropriate local (FD, PD), state (EMO, EPA) and federal (Hazmat, FBI) agencies in the workshop • Final plan includes specific role for each agency Tf Facilitates field exercises to test plans: • Arranges a range of broad (including all agencies) and targeted exercises (e.g. only for EMS or for city agencies) • Major issues with plan implementation and compliance are revealed in exercises. Specific problems revolve around ensuring accountability for the actions of all agencies ^f Role of Kroll moving forward • Could potentially use Kroll's expertise to build planning and drill capabilities within the FDNY

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Greg Parsons - Interview highlights Michael Byrnes - Office of Homeland Security f Command / Control / Coordination • FEMA uses strict adherence to the ICS structure - ICS structure provides flexibility to customize response depending on the unique / changing nature of the situation through maintaining an appropriate span of control at all times - Federal agencies working with FEMA all adhere to ICS structure and know their roles and responsibilities . Lingering question of how to enforce authority with regard to overall command without the "weight" of presidential authority - Efficiency of ICS structure at the federal level has a lot to do with practice - agencies working with FEMA have worked with the system on numerous disasters Tf Mutual Aid • Mutual Aid policy needs to be thought through at all levels (federal, state, local) - C A, FL, NC all have solid working models of mutual aid for disaster response at the state and local level • Standards exist for performance metrics of supporting units - need to be identified and possibly incorporated into McK workplan for FDNY - Ex. USAR activation time, length of continuous service expected, standard rotation, etc.... f Resource Typing • Resources must be identified and similar across different agencies (ex. a Hazmat team in NY should mean the same thing as a Hazmat team in NJ), otherwise coordination of efforts across location or jurisdiction becomes problematic

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- Great example is the USAR teams - functionality, equipment, personnel, training, response are all interchangeable among teams from different geographic locations Tf Communication • Interoperability is crucial for effective coordination - Appropriate equipment and infrastructure are one piece of the puzzle - Appropriate protocols between agencies is equally as important (who needs to talk to who) Tf Scenario Planning • Planning process for scenario analysis would be extremely useful for FDNY • Start with simple scenarios and layer in complexity - Multiple locations - Multiple incidents - WMD possibilities • Must address the question at a political level of "Acceptable Risk" as this will drive the type of response to any scenario -

Currently the civilian community has a 0 damage / 0 casualty level of risk . Is this truly appropriate in today's environment

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General Jerry Humble - USMC | Command and Control • Maintained at levels throughout the organization - responsibility of command to empower unit leaders to exercise authority in all situations • Accountability of personnel is the responsibility of unit commander at all times • FOC is a crucial piece of command of complex incidents - must train HQ, just like tactical unit training • Senior command must utilize FOC to effectively "manage the battle" ^f Unit Discipline • Needs to be enforced rigorously at all times • Starts at the top of the chain and flows through the chief ranks Tf Marine Corps Rapid Planning Process • Effective process for short time frame response to crisis incidents • Based in formal, pre-defined roles and responsibilities for all included parties • Must be trained frequently • Incorporates information from multiple sources and applies formalized process for decision making and determining proper courses of action f Interagency coordination • Information flow and link to the PD is crucial • Should start a back-channel of communication with sources inside the PD realizing that the official methods of communication will take a long time to overcome the history of isolation of the two departments

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Steve Goodrich - State Department Office of Consequence Management Tf Interagency coordination • Must build formal and informal ties with various federal agencies • Must be proactive in seeking inclusion in joint training exercises and events • Develop relationships with FEMA to better understand the roles and responsibilities of various federal agencies t ICS structure • Must utilize the ICS system so they can work effectively with other Federal agencies offering assistance - Allows other agencies to seamlessly flow into complex operations being spearheaded by the FDNY • Must develop an understanding of the capabilities of federal agencies which will improve the department's ability to know who and what to ask for in dealing with complex incidents • Use of ICS allows the FDNY to better fit within the Federal framework for disaster and complex incident response

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Phillip Thomas - USMC warfighting laboratory | Urban Areas • Marine Corps has done a lot of experimentation and work within the urban areas focusing on the challenges of command and control and communications • Redefined tactics of small unit command - should examine Urban warrior experiments to find best practices of small unit command in difficult urban areas • Multiple types of experimental equipment are being tested to improve command and control, intelligence and communication within urban areas • FDNY should maintain relationship with the Marine Corps to capitalize on the ongoing research being done at the war-fighting laboratory Tf Communications • New types of equipment being used to augment communications in the "urban canyons" - UAV's with portable repeaters - Balloons with repeaters - Cutting edge of personnel location tracking Tf Tactical training • Small unit training course (initially developed in conjunction with the FDNY) used to develop decision making at the small unit level - Possible incorporation into the Chiefs course • Use of wargaming and sand table exercises at all levels of operational command on an aggressive basis • Can leverage Marine Corps experience and knowledge in developing and conducting sand table wargaming exercises

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Dana Maor - Israeli Military Reservist U Recall • Unit level leaders responsible for ensuring that members respond to recall orders • Standard time is given for members to report • Communication is issued verbally, in person and over the phone • Specific instructions are trained to and communicated every time a recall is issued • Recall procedures are well understood and continually reinforced at the unit level • Command determines purpose of recall and then decides on what type of recall and who to recall • Predefined trigger levels and decision points for command in determining when to utilize a recall of forces

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Boston and Chicago Fire Departments t Recall • Modular, unit based recall - workgroups form the basis of response • Recalls (usually minimal levels of force augmentation) used frequently • Authority resides only at the top of the operational chain • Trained to on a regular basis • Clear instructions given to FFs in advance of any potential training exercise U Mutual Aid • Mutual Aid used frequently with local regional units • Best attempt to standardize language and procedures • Joint training is a key component to successful implementation of mutual aid response ^f Command and Control • No real advances on the command and control side....actually behind where FDNY sees itself going

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Rob Schwartz - Maj or, USMC EWTGPAC 1 FOC • Use of a "war room" command and control enhances the commanders ability to maintain appropriate situational awareness of the entire scope of the incident - Continual focus on city-wide coverage • Must be trained to at all events, can't be used on a one-off basis Tf Wargaming • Great tool for developing operational skills of senior command, should not just be used at the small unit tactical level f Interafency Coordination • Inherent problems getting different organizations and cultures to work together, military faces it all of the time • Coordination must start from the top, city must clearly define roles and responsibilities • Departments must actively pursue opportunities to work together in simple environments to identify and fix potential friction points • Effective after action critiques need to be built into any type of joint training exercise so best practices can be developed

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Confidential Interview notes

List of Suggested People / Agencies to Speak With Agency

Name

Notes

FEMA

Ted Minette

Events of the llth

FireScope

Dallas Greene

Planning and ICS structure

Mark Illaducci Craig Fugate

Command and control

State of Pennsylvania

interoperability

NEMS / EMAC

State - state mutual aid policies

State of California

Why they aren't involved with EMAC

OEM

NYC scenario planning

Phoenix FD

operations

Forest Service

Deborah Atwood (j

US Fire

Dave Paulson (former president of I AFC

)

ICS, planning ICS, operations, training, scenarios

Mike Freeman National Fire Academy

Charlie Dickenson

911 perspective

Dennis O'neal Ken Burns (former COO US Fire Academy EPA

Federal level response planning (National Contingency Plan)

Dept of Energy

Federal Level response (Radiological Response Plan)

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Confidential Interview notes INTERVIEWEE: INTERVIEWER: DATE: LOCATION:

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DRC Caroline Gaffney, Chief Hayden, Captain Rotanz May 28, 2002 DRC in Delaware

Interviews at Disaster Research Center (DRC) Key takeaways/recommendations for FDNY • A formal city-wide and dept wide planning process needs to be put in place • Interagency coordination is the key to both successful pre-incident planning and incident response • Planning and training are continuous activities that must be updated on a regular basis. There needs to be some accountability within the organization to accomplish this

Background on DRC • 40 year old group started by Henry Quarantelli and Russell Dynes to study disaster preparedness. Started at Ohio State and currently a center within the University of Delaware • Has conducted research on planning and response for many major disasters including WTC 93 bombing, various earthquakes, floods, and other natural disasters • Met with: Dr. Kathleen Tierney (head of the center), Henry Quarantelli, Russell Dynes, Tricia Wachtendorf, Jim Kendra, Ben Aguirre

Planning • Guidelines for emergency response plans: -

Should use the All Hazards planning approach

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Should make distinctions between scale of events: regular vs extreme

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Should include plans for dealing with volunteer "convergence" (an overwhelming number of volunteers descending upon the event trying to offer free assistance

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Plans related to terrorism should include an emphasis on sharing of Intelligence information between agencies

• Even more important than what to include in the actual plan is developing a robust and cyclical planning process • This process must be continuous and must include involvement from all relevant agencies Tf Interagency coordination: need for an interagency committee within NYC (e.g. OEM) • Critical functions OEM should perform - Create and oversee joint planning/development of emergency response plan -

Coordinate resource allocation and funding for major emergency responders within NYC

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Coordinate federal, state grant distribution

• Critical capabilities within OEM - Must have high level, decision-making officials from major depts. -

Must ensure continuity of positions (e.g. OEM representatives must hold their positions for an extended period of time)

- LA County and LA City are good role models for how an OEM should function -

Must conduct an overall risk assessment for the city with input from major agency responders

• Interaction with FD and PD: use the LA riots as an example of good coordination between PD and FD Risk Assessment and Resource Allocation

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• Part of risk assessment should include an event matrix which categorizes different events by space (e.g. diffuse vs centralized/focused) and time (e.g. slow vs rapid onset) • Priorities for preparedness should be defined by this matrix • Resource allocation should be based on an analysis of scarcity. Specialized resources (which are usually most scarce) should be deployed/assigned based on certain predefined criteria ^f Command structure • Decentralization of resources (e.g. borough command structure) is key - Provides redundancy - Builds a "resilient" organization that can withstand multiple simultaneous attacks - Enables resources to be closer to the site of the incident If Training • Training is essential for building a resilient organization • Key components of training programs - Must be continuous cycle of training programs that build on each other - Evaluation of training programs must be conducted regularly to add new material - Training should be targeted to address key failures/areas of improvement within the dept (based on overall dept-wide failure analysis) - After incident critiques are one important source that can be used to revise training curricula Tf Planning organization • Key elements: - Group should have an ear to the Commissioner to provide it with legitimacy and power to make decisions -

Should have regularly scheduled update meetings between planning and select groups from the field

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- Promotions should include knowledge of planning functions to ensure that planning becomes ingrained within the dept • Skills needed within planning group -

Group should include representatives from all parts of the dept (e.g. operations, budgeting, finance, etc)

- Research skills are needed to enable the group to monitor the activities of other fire depts. across the country/world on a regular basis to compile best practices - There needs to be a liaison devoted to gathering intelligence from other agencies - An information/technology specialist is needed to work with a task force to develop recommendations on new technologies If DRC research about 9/11 • Observed operations of the OEM EOC for 2 months directly after 9/11 • Using these observations, they are identifying examples of organizational resilience in the time of crisis and trying to understand what factors were in place to enable this resilience - Examples of organizational resilience include: creative solutions to new and unanticipated problems (e.g. development of GPS to track victims) • They are also studying ways to use volunteers effectively during crisis situations

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SEATTLE FIRE DEPARTMENT DISCUSSION NOTES May9-2002

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Participants

;

H Seattle Fire Department {Seattle FD)

\ Fire Chief, Gary Morris (206)

• Deputy Chief, A.D. Vickery (206) 386 1895

;

• Battalion Chief, Randy Hansenj

I (cell)

• Battalion Chief, David Jacobs (206) 386 1484 H FDNY • Joe Pfeifer • John Peruggia • Lisa Frazier Summary If The majority of our time was spent with Fire Chief Morris who has been with the department for approximately 12 months. He was originally with the Phoenix FD and therefore has strong influences from Chief Brunicini. He shared with us his insight of Fire Service as a whole and his strategic initiatives to date at Seattle H Seattle FD is quite small, consisting of 5 battalions Key learnings H Incident command system • Deployment is similar to Phoenix FD • EOC operation - City EOC has tables set up for operations, planning, logistics and finance for all agencies to come together at

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EOC is a support role, it does not run the incident

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Fire Chief plus and assistant chief and lower ranking staff are deployed to EOC once activated

- EOC can be activated by any agency - Overall responsibility for running the EOC is with Seattle PD. This was formerly FD responsibility. Given the change in potential hazards it was agreed PD should have overall responsibility however, depending upon the nature of the incident the correct agency takes the incident command role • Resource Management Center (RMC) -

Have own emergency operating center to support incident

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RMC is activated on all multiple alarms in the city

- All but 1 on-duty Battalion Chiefs respond to a multiple alarm incident, the fifth Battalion Chief responds directly to the RMC - The Staff-10 position also responds to the RMC and is responsible for supplying resources either to the incident or to the city (through recall and staffing additional apparatus). Dispatch informs Staff-10 of the resource needs at the incident and then staff-10 recalls personnel -

Upon arrival of an Assistant Chief at RMC the Battalion Chief is relieved and put back into operations

• Command structure recommendation - Seattle recommend that Battalion Chiefs (BC) be the designated Incident commander and that senior staff support theBC -

If Assistant Chief (AC) believes it is too big then he takes the Incident command position however he leaves the BC in the operations section chief position. . "Let the guy with the radio keep the radio so he can continue to coordinate operations and tactics. This not only ensures continuity of operations but also lets the AC step back and take in the bigger picture."

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. NY scenario would be - BC has command; DC arrives and assumes 1C position but leaves operations with BC. CWTC arrives and either leaves DC and BC to run the incident or assume 1C and let DC and BC operate . COO should support and advise 1C . COD should handle media, mayor etc . Other BC and DC supervise companies on the fire ground e.g., North Division, South Division. Assign others to ICS roles (Planning, logistics etc) -

Planning chief at the incident must always be thinking about what the 1C needs in the next 20 minutes and what will he need in the next 2 hours and fulfill those needs. Needs to coordinate other agency needs as well

• ICS at incidents where Fire not 1C -

Use unified command, set up "command village" co-located with PD

- "Think of unified command as social etiquette. When you are invited to someone's home for dinner you do not try to run the kitchen, however if you invite someone over for dinner you need to provide a space for them at the table so they will come and participate in the social event" -

Best way to coordinate agencies is at the planning table, all needs and issues identified here, agencies are given the space to discuss issues and the 1C receives the synthesized version

• Institutionalizing ICS - Take existing guidelines and edit to make it NY specific (see Seattle document) -

Develop training program similar to Airline pilots . Train in officer academy . Role play scenarios (lots of cheap software now available)

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. Senior staff advise new Chiefs in incidents (mentor role) . Provide quarterly training on ICS - "refresher course" f Planning • Strategic planning not in place at Seattle but working towards it • Best planning model currently is Phoenix • Recommend starting with the basics - budget and forecasting and taking opportunities when they present themselves -

Develop detailed budget and forecasts for mayor's office so there are "no surprises"

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Outline a plan including costs to do certain things so that when the city requests the FD to take on the responsibility you are in a position to say "to take on this task the FD will need $X) . PD scenario given - when they are asked to accept a new role they immediately say they will but they will need $x, when the FD is asked to take on a new role they say yes without a cost assessment and end up having to 'make do'

• Seattle today is gathering senior staff to develop budget and forecast with the help of an external consultant. - They are identifying current and future needs and forecasting the budget impact -

Identifying low hanging fruit and communicating and celebrating successes to all FD personnel e.g., receiving $10mill for new apparatus

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Developing a community advocacy program to ensure support of the FD in the future

f Recall • Regularly carried out on multiple alarms (see below)

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Information received f CD containing all Seattle procedures ^f Seattle specific ICS documentation

Details 1. Describe your department's utilization of the Incident Command System (ICS)? Based on NIIMS (National Interagency Incident Management System). Used extensively at all levels and implemented for all incidents beyond one fire unit for fire responses, and three or more units on EMS responses. All members are required to understand and implement ICS procedures to whatever degree is appropriate for the given situation. POG5011. 2. Do you have policies and procedures regarding incident command that you could share with us? Yes - two copies on two CD's containing our entire Policy and Operating Guidelines (POG) will be provided for you. 3. How is training conducted for ICS? Formally and informally at every level starting at Recruit School. Formal ICS courses are offered both internally and externally throughout the year. Additionally, all Probationary Firefighters are tested during their one-year probation on ICS procedures. Cognitive and field-based training is conducted with all operations companies. 4. How are roles assigned during incidents? Roles/positions are assigned/assumed based on the needs of the incident and at the discretion of the Incident Commander—who may be an acting lieutenant or a tenured deputy chief. The ICS model provides

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the prescribed structure and roles appropriate to the size/nature of the incident ebb and flow accordingly. 5. How are staging areas established and managed? At the discretion of the 1C, and managed as described in POG 5011-3. 6. How are incidents reviewed after completion to capture learnings? Through a process called "Post-Incident Analysis" (PIA) —a structured review designed to walk back through the event for all to understand the overall picture of what transpired, followed by a specific "lessons learned - what went right/wrong" synopsis. POG 5016. In reality, this often does not get done, most important is the immediate debrief post incident of all companies involved 7. How does fire operations coordinate with other responding agencies at an incident? Several ways: 1) (larger events) Through a Unified Command established at the Command Post wherein the onsite ranking officials from responding agencies gather to discuss the objectives, strategies, and tactics (laid out in an Incident Action Plan on longer-duration incidents). 2) (smaller incidents) Via less-formalized face-to-face discussions at the Command Post of the agency having authority for the given situation (e.g. police in a civil disobedience situation; fire for a fire/EMS situation; public utilities for a water main break). 3) (initially) Via our respective dispatch and communications centers, who then communicate with the appropriate agency. 4) (larger incidents) Sometimes through our agency representatives at our Resource Management Center (RMC) and/or at the Emergency Operations Center (EOC). 8. (Pre-lncident planning) How and for what purpose does your department plan (e.g. emergency response, resource allocation/budgeting)? HOW: Via foundational training, SOP's, continuing education/training, building inspection programs, formalized "Pre-lncident Survey" /

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"Dangerous Building Program" (POG 6003). WHAT PURPOSE: Safety of responding firefighters, emergency incident strategies, resource distribution/coverage (earthquake), inter-agency coordination. 9. What is the structure of the planning organization (e.g. reporting, types of resources)? Integrated at the company level; at the Health & Safety Office (HSO); and at the Fire Marshal's Office (FMO) for hazmat permitting and overall building inspection programs. 10.

What techniques or methods are used for planning (e.g. scenarios)? Both cognitive and field-based. Pre-lncident Surveys are a detailed field inspection, often accompanied by a multi-company drill with neighboring units. Operations companies conduct building inspections eight months per year and FMO inspectors work year-around. Earthquake surveys are reviewed and updated annually. Dangerous Building inspections are conducted as needed. Scenario-driven exercises are conducted more at the battalion / company levels, based upon need.

11.

If scenarios are used, how are they developed?

Varies by level. Company and battalion levels most often informally develop scenarios for 1-3 hour exercises. Significant field or tabletop exercises —generally aimed more at Weapons of Mass Destruction / HazMat type situations— are generated through the Special Operations Division utilizing an exercise design coordinator (ranking officer typically). 12.

What types of plans are created?

"Pre-lncident Surveys", "Post-Earthquake Damage Assessment Survey Routes", and "Dangerous Building" plans are maintained at the company and battalion levels. No specific "plans" are maintained for various structures utilized for exercises other than mentioned.

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How are those plans used in the field? Pre-lncident Survey hardcopies are maintained and carried on individual apparatus for buildings within their district. Battalion Chiefs apparatus maintain via computer all existing Pre-lncident Surveys, with the capability to print on the fly (Pre-lncident Surveys include all Dangerous Building Plans). Post-Earthquake Damage Assessment Survey routes are maintained on the respective apparatus in that geographic area.

14.

What types of training/drills are conducted to help prepare for emergency response? See #11 above.

15.

Does your department have an explicit recall plan? Have recalls been issued in the recent past? Yes - we have specific "Calling Plans" (POG 5007) for different situations. We do not have a "general recall" plan that, for instance, utilizes local media resources. This is currently under consideration for major events such as earthquakes where phone lines and paging capabilities may be compromised. Yes - every multiple alarm fire generates some degree of recall.

16.

How frequently is local or regional mutual aid used by your department? Relatively frequently - both incoming and outgoing. We have mutual aid agreements in place with neighboring agencies to provide and receive EMS, fire, and specialty resources with one phone request. Composition and quantity are incident driven. (POG 5015)

17.

What is the nature of the mutual aid agreements?

See #16 and POG 5015. For the specific legal agreement, contact Assistant Chief Mike Johnson for assistance.

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How does the process work to enact mutual aid (e.g. authorization, communication, logistics, command, coordination)?

See POG 5015. Also, mutual aid beyond our pre-existing agreements with neighboring jurisdictions, or for unusual requests, e.g. National Guard humvee's with drivers during extreme snow conditions, the EOC is either stood-up or the Duty Officer is contacted. This is covered more thoroughly in the City of Seattle Disaster Readiness Plan. 19.

What communications products does your department use for radios or other means of communications?

Various models of Motorola radios; portable, mobile, and base station, operating on a countywide trunked 800 MHz system. We also maintain a small, Command/ Control backup system utilizing 450 MHz radios — conventionally repeated and simplex. Paging equipment is Motorola (Advisor Gold and other alpha-numeric styles) running on a proprietary 450 MHz CAD-based system. Cell phones are used extensively (several manufacturers and models) on commercial systems (AT&T and others). We have a pending system upgrade which will place laptop computers, tied into a new CAD system, on all apparatus. This will utilize CD-PD and provide an additional layer of communication. For more specific information on this pending system, please contact Chris Lombard in our MIS division at 206-386-1400. 20.

How are radio channels allocated for emergency services?

Assuming you are referring to fire department-specific, as follows: Channels are specifically assigned to certain functions, e.g. 1 A, 2A, 3A as primary, secondary, and tertiary Fire Response; 4A for dispatch of all alarms; 5A, 6A as primary and secondary EMS channels, etc. A complete matrix is located in POG 5006-15,16. There are common channels in our programming for inter-agency communication. The Dispatchers can also "patch" various agencies together such as a Strike Team coming into Seattle and working alongside Seattle units. 21.

What difficulties, if any, have you experienced with radio communications in urban environments? What solutions have you

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developed to overcome these challenges? "Bonking" (out of range audible alert) is common in highrise structures, concrete basements, tunnels, some elevators, and shipboard environments. All members are familiar with the prevalence of this situation and the department utilizes a standard channel assignment on a simplex channel to overcome this. Concurrently, Battalion Chiefs carry and monitor this second radio channel on all working incidents. In times of major system strain (e.g. earthquakes), the system becomes overloaded with radio traffic and availability of a clear frequency is significantly delayed or non-existent (no 800 MHz comm. for three hours during the recent Nisqually earthquake). The internal paging system, running on 450 MHz, remained intact and, in combination with the CAD system (also intact), provided the backbone of our system. The major drawback was one-way communication. Without radios, there was no way to confirm receipt of the page or CAD dispatch sheet. Phones were down longer, including cellular. 22.

In what ways does dispatch communicate with firefighters (e.g. radio, mobile data terminal)? Station CAD terminals (via rip-and-run dispatch printouts); radio (800MHz primary); and pager (all responses are sent via page as well). Non-emergency functions may utilize cellular phone, and the pending CAD upgrade will incorporate Mobile Data Computers (MDC's) transmitting via CD-PD (a system piggy-backing onto the cellular network's already-existing and robust infrastructure).

23.

How does your department communicate with EMS and other agencies (PD, OEM, etc.)? EMS - same as fire units (Seattle provides integrated Fire/EMS) PD - typically via our dispatch center. Battalion Chiefs do have these channels available in their radios, but seldom cross over to them. OEM - through our dispatch center generally, but sometimes via cellular phone depending upon the nature and duration of the event.

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How do you evaluate new communication technologies? Please contact John Pritchard, Deputy Chief of Communications at 206386-1492.

25.

What tools/technologies are used to keep track of which personnel are at an incident (and where they are within the incident)? The tools and technologies consist of computer, radio, Velcro, and grease pencil. The personnel accountability process starts at the beginning of every shift when all members are required to log themselves onto the CAD system. This includes logging their individual portable radios onto the system, which uniquely identify them anytime they key their mic or push their radio's "emergency button" (transmits a Mayday). By logging the crew onto a specific apparatus, CAD maintains awareness of every person presently on-duty and/or dispatched to an incident (this information is readily available from any computer terminal). Next, all members place their individual Passport (see POG 5010) tags onto the Primary Passport for their apparatus. This is handed to the 1C upon arrival at an incident and allows the 1C to track which crews are onscene. When a crew is assigned to a Sector/Division, their Passport is taken from the 1C and presented to the Sector/Division Supervisor upon arrival at his/her position. This allows the individual Sector/Division/Group Supervisors to know what units/members are currently assigned to his/her Sector/Division/Group. Overall accountability of units, assignments, locations, etc., is maintained/shadowed by the 1C at the Command Post - with the assistance of a Field Incident Technician (a field staff officer known in Seattle as "StafflO"). In the initial stages of an incident, the 1C may be a company officer who maintains the Passport accountability and tracking of unit location/assignment via a Status Board (see POG 5010). The use of Velcro tags and grease pencil drawings is the typical field process for most incidents. There is no system in place to track real-time where individual members are on the fireground (e.g. a GPS auto-tracking system).

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Confidential Interview notes 26.

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How do you track which personnel are on duty at any given time? See #25, paragraph one.

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Confidential Interview notes interviewee interviewer Date Location

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San Francisco Fire Department Joe Pfeifer, John Peruggia, Lisa Frazier May 12, 2002 San Francisco

San Francisco Fire Department Discussion Notes May 8, 2001 SUMMARY The San Francisco Fire Department (SFFD) appears to be significantly different from the other West Coast FDs. From our conversations it seems that their operation and culture is similar to FDNY but on a smaller scale (1500 personnel)

KEY LEARNINGS Two years ago SFFD switched to SOOmHz radios and a new CAD system all at once. They have system capabilities to identify personnel via radio numbers, this is valuable in emergency situations where the personnel at risk communicated to on a designated emergency frequency and the Incident commander is aware of the identification of personnel at risk. Incident command is not institutionalized within the department. They are struggling with training and deployment of ICS as well as developing capabilities to scale up ICS. SFFD operates the city's inter-agency emergency operations room. All inter-agency personnel respond to SFFD communications center and are provided with phones and computers access to relevant department information In addition, they have their own emergency operations room that is utilized in support of large incidents. They have summary job descriptions for each role in the center which will be provided to us. Planning is not existent beyond special event planning

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Tf SFFD provides mutual aid during brush fires however they have never asked for mutual aid. A recall of personnel is also rare.

INFORMATION REQUESTED/PROVIDED Tf Department organization chart If Communications overview f Basic guide to developing a CAD system Tf Recall and mutual aid procedures Tf Job checklists for operations rooms (department and inter-agency)

DETAILS Incident Command System Tf ICS operation developed/based upon California Fire Scope Operation. (See LA County and LA City visit notes) | SFFD struggle with uniformity across chiefs, in training they have witnessed varying degrees of deployment of ICS If Most developed ICS operation is carried out in their high rise operations f Incident commander is responsible for risk assessment, resource management and taking in intelligence information • The 1C operates outside the building (not in lobby of high rise) • Units are staged in the lobby and at a "base" 200ft from the incident f Operations chief operates inside the building (fire tactic position), not alongside the 1C Tf Logistics chief coordinates people and equipment in the lobby, evaluates elevators and develops access strategy to deploy personnel up the building f Believe fire ground management is key to success, must have high level of control of operations at the incident

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Tf Post incident critique involves a meeting of officers involved at the incident in question • It is currently an informal process • Some critiques are carried out as a result of mandate from Department of Health (EMS operations) Disaster Management f City's Emergency Operations Center (EOC) is operated by SFFD at their communications center, this was developed in response to inter-agency coordination issues post 1989 earthquake • The agency most effected is designated the incident commander • The city EOC can be activated by any agency • Within the EOC they have established a "Policy Area" for the mayor and key agency personnel. The mayor and key liaisons respond to this room to make necessary decisions involving the city • All positions have job checklists so personnel are aware of their responsibilities ]f SFFD has a Fire operations center upstairs from the inter-agency EOC • Command staff deployed to the operations room include DC, BC and a one of two Deputy Chiefs (the other Deputy Chief responds to the incident) • They have the capabilities to switch dispatch operations into this operations room so that key operations and personnel are informed of the situation • Room is activated on a 3rd alarm assignment • Personnel respond to operations room upon informal procedures or phone calls, roles are subsequently assigned 1 Training • Similar to FDNY, personnel who are self motivated attend external courses

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• Currently the department is scooping out/ developing ICS training however it is a long way from implementation • Most personnel learn on the job • Normally would train on promotions, however currently SFFD are not maintaining promotion lists • Inter-agency drills are carried out on a monthly basis • Dispatch personnel receive basic ICS training module as part of their dispatch training Planning unit | Focuses on special operations | Developed as a result of the need to plan for Y2K f Develop Incident Action Plans for each event | Staff include a captain who facilitates information flow from other agencies into the IAP development

Communications | Switched to SoomHz radio system 2 years ago (refer to overview document) 1J Posses 16 radio channels • Al, A2, A3 utilized for dispatch communications • A4 spare for dispatch • A5 an A6 are designated Division command channels (one for each channel) • A7 to A16 are Battalion tactical channels • Command channel is assigned by dispatch based upon which division commander is responding to the incident • Tactical channels are assigned by the 1C in coordination with dispatch

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• In addition, they have a B bank of channels and a C bank of channels (C is utilized for mutual aid) • At large incidents an EMS designated channel is also assigned • Development on new radio/CAD system involved -

Cross agency work group to define city's radio needs (all but one agency are on 800 mHz and can scan other agency frequencies)

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A SFFD task force was formed to carry out project

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Task force visited Baltimore for information gathering (Baltimore had previously switched to SOOmHz)

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SFFD developed a pilot program for testing

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Utilized operations personnel to test in the field

• Have an 8-repeater system throughout the city that meets spec (98% coverage 95% of the time). • Currently are testing a mobile repeater system - Motorola suggestion is to take mobile repeater into building across the street from the fire building to ensure communications • Currently are experiencing issues in high-rise and underground (have repeater system in subway, utilize Ericsson technology as subway agency opted not to use Motorola 800 mHz radio system). • Radios can be utilized as a wireless telephone, however they take up a whole frequency when used in this way, dispatch must switch radio to phone mode • Dispatch has capabilities of issuing evacuation signal to all personnel at the incident (distinct tone) 9/11 Law Enforcement Sensitive

Personnel tracking Radio Ids are utilized as part of personnel tracking (personnel log on at beginning of shift). If emergency button pressed dispatch receives emergency alert tone, they attempt to contact person on automatically

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designated frequency, dispatch informs incident commander, who proceeds with rescue operations If Are currently considering ID card/bar code swipe system to register personnel operating at incident. This would include use of PDAs to capture and wirelessly beam information to HQs | Utilize MDTs in apparatus. Recommend new laptop system with DVD capabilities so local information on apparatus can be easily updated If Fire prevention inspection data is very important to be included in CAD system as this is the latest information the department has on any one building ]f Have commenced dialogue with people at the University of San Francisco about command board software, initial stages of discussions, however they are very optimistic that software will be developed

Other The city has pre-designated casualty collection points throughout the city, these are activated by the Incident Commander when required Hospitals are also automatically alerted via computer when there are more than 6 critically injured people at the incident or more than 10 injured people (HART system)

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PHOENIX FIRE DEPARTMENT DISCUSSION NOTES (5/6/02)

Summary Phoenix Fire department is considered to be the most progressive of fire departments. The visit was very instrumental in learning about institutionalizing ICS in day-to-day operations, personnel tracking technology solution and the use of unique management/labor teams to manage of fire department operations.

Key learnings were in the following areas: • Incident command system routine implementation • Labor/management task forces utilized continuously to manage issues at the fire department - Working management teams in place to develop solutions to issues, understand needs of department • Communications/technology systems - Panasonic laptop computers provide CAD assignment, road maps, reports on buildings stored in system - Enable personnel tracking of individuals, personnel log on at beginning of tour, can correct on apparatus while responding DETAILS Communications and Personnel Tracking Discussions t Communications products utilized • Portable radios (Motorola Sabers VHP and UHF, Motorola HT 1000s) • Mobile radios (Motorola spectra VHP) • Mobile computers • Cellular / Nextel • Alpha numeric pagers Radio Channel Allocation 1

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• Fire use tactical channels in high band VHF (150s) • EMS use own channel (UHF 460s) • Separate channel for mutual aid If Current dispatch system allows dispatch of 19 different fire service agencies (auto-aid) If Current communications issues • Feedback on portable radios • Coverage of entire area as city continue to grow • In building and below grade coverage similar to FDNY 1f New radio system in transition • Motorola Astro 25 Smartzone, 800 mHz • Trunked • Digital • Roaming capabilities for multiple zones Tf Mobile computers - in apparatus have touch screens • Receive CAD dispatch data • Access road maps (onscreen mapping) • Information retrieval (buildings information) • Update information monthly • Track personnel by individuals logging on and off, can change while on route to incident Tf Desktop computers in all fire houses • At lead 2 in each fire house • Utilize Email extensively for department communications, meetings • On duty members train in fire house Recall Discussion Tf Utilized to cover city when experiencing large incident

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Tf Call members to cover city, have additional ladder apparatus (ladder tenders - small ladder companies) | Admin chief responsible for carrying out recall If Alarm room (dispatch) monitors needs to cover city f Order of system • First move up companies • Auto aid • Off-duty Tf Incident commander (anybody can) issue recall; most likely | Carried out recall last year with 35th Ave fire; • Recalled personnel who had volunteered themselves first, kept names as people called in • Otherwise call specific people who are need; maintain constant manning list at all times (manual magnet staffing board) Tf Don't have specific process for a total recall, don't have apparatus to support a total recall • At most could get 2-5 pumpers 1f Personnel instructed to go to firehouse to get equipment & report to incident • Alternative is to have personnel report to central location with equipment and then bus to incident Staffing system f Telestaff system is automated staffing system to do all stuff automatically (can do recall) • System has capability to do auto recall; predefined list of people to be called; don't have outgoing phone bank to do this now; INCIDENT COMMAND SYSTEM DISCUSSION How to prevent losing command structure

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f Have second command vehicle to restore command; more importantly, first command vehicle should be outside hazard zone; 1 Phoenix is currently rethinking command re-establishment and operation based on 9/11 Tf ICS scenario • First unit on scene takes command • Upon arrival of first officer command is transferred • Battalion chief assumes 1C position upon arrival • Deputy chief is support officer to Battalion chief • On a first alarm assignment (structural fire) the command vehicle is dispatched - Command vehicle is unique in fire service - All ICS positions have assigned seating -

Down feed from helicopters is available as well as own camera for fire ground surveillance

- Panasonic "MDT" system available in command vehicle • Every officer has a Field Incident Technician (FIT) (a Captain who is chiefs aid) • FIT arriving with first chiefs assume safety and logistics postions in ICS role • All Battalion Chiefs are dispatched on first alarm and are assigned to fire ground supervision (operation tactics) • All staff Chiefs are deployed on 2nd alarm (FDNY 3rd alarm) -

Chief of communications responds to alarm room (monitor incident and city resources)

• As incident escalates and Deputy Chiefs role they are assigned senior advisor, planning and administrative positions • Developed new protocol for standby rescue team - Team of units (4 engines, 2 trucks, 1 rescue ambulance + 1 BC) rapid intervention is responsible for making fire ground safe and rescuing any members office

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- Have separate frequency for emergency operations • A liaison is sent to inter-agency emergency operations • Maintaining span of control critical in successful implementation, if have more than 5 things to manage need to delegate out to officer to manage • EMS branch is established within ICS to manage operations • Staging is managed under logistics branch of ICS Tf EOC activated by head of dept.; city Office of Emergency Mgmt • Fire liaison role: liaison with PD to get operations branch • Express needs of FD to other agencies • Goal is to have unified command If If EMS only incident (e.g., school shooting), deploy command vehicle for EMS as per any fire incident If Fundamentally believe "Don't have strategic level of command until have stationary, isolated person in command van" • May set up somebody 3 blocks away Tf Phoenix very successful in applying ICS to routine day-to-day operations;

Training Training is a continuous cycle • Write SOPs (get agreement) • Train personnel on SOPs • Apply procedures in day to day operations • Evaluate performance

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- Asked standard critique questions (condition, outcome) - Reward good performance - Otherwise send to training or revised procedures and retrain everyone;

MANAGEMENT OF FIRE DEPARTMENT OPERATIONS U Formulated 5 labor/management taskforce teams fire (topics deployment, human services, physical resources, medical services, community involvement) • Task forces in place throughout the year • Host a 3 day retreat to establish task force objectives • Develop Action plans for each task fore • Steering committee oversees all taskforces, consists of Fire Chief, assistant chiefs and Union presidents • All task forces report quarterly to steering committee • All teams have administrative support RISK MANAGEMENT Tf Mainly utilize scenario, tabletop exercises

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PLANNING DISCUSSION Tf Special events carried out by tactical Services Group e.g., world series • Captain utilized to coordinate inter-agency operation If Community involvement group plans routine events e.g. annual parades • Comm. Involvement (deputy chief in charge + cpt); annual events & can predict resource needs; t Strategic planning through labor mgmt teams (per above) e.g., Labor mgnit groups determine how many fire stations are needed • Other fire departments suggested that Phoenix most advanced in planning

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Confidential Interview notes INTERVIEWEE: INTERVIEWER: DATE: LOCATION:

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members of OEM Caroline March, 2002 OEM headquarters

Interview with OEM members I went to OEM headquarters and had a brief meeting with Calvin Drayton, Richie Rotanz, and Ed Gabriel. We discussed the McKinsey/FDNY project, the various roles of OEM, and the role of OEM on 9/11.

Background on people I spoke with If Cal Drayton: has been with OEM since it was developed in 1996 as a separate agency. Background in Red Cross. Is Deputy Director of Operations. Is responsible for two main areas within OEM: (1) the field, i.e. the operational aspects of coordinating various city agencies at incidents (e.g. the role of OEM is to provide support for the Incident Commander); (2) Watch Command: central office that monitors the radio frequencies of all city agencies as well as the news, etc. Also monitors key indicators to determine if there is an event/outbreak (e.g. heat alert, etc.) f Richie Rotanz: Is Deputy Director of Planning & Research. Responsible for coordinating city-wide drills, looking at hazards and risk. Was heavily involved in coordination at the site ^f Ed Gabriel: Is Deputy Director of Health Services. Responsible for coordinating bio-related preparedness (e.g. anthrax, etc.) Knows about mutual aid response for EMS.

Role of OEM at large incidents f OEM's role is to provide support to the Incident Commander at citywide incidents

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• Good at sourcing equipment easily • Supposed to coordinate with state and federal agencies (FEMA) • Have Emergency Operations Command center (EOC) to coordinate activity in the event of a disaster (was in WTC 7, now at Water St. in Brooklyn)

Brief info on OEM's planning/drill capabilities If Responsible for coordinating drills involving all NYC agencies, state and federal govt agencies • Try to do at least 1-2 large scale drills per year • Currently coordinating a large exercise in May Tf OEM believes that training and education are the most important parts of the drill process (even more important than the preplanning that goes into them) • Need advanced education for high level personnel (e.g. FDNY chiefs and above) • Need consistent resources devoted to drills from all agencies

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LOS ANGELES CITY AND COUNTY FIRE DEPARTMENTS UNSYNTHESIZED DISCUSSION NOTES (5/7/02)

Communications Equipment - we received multiple handouts regarding the radio equipment used by the LA FDs LA County Fire Department LA County uses wireless conventional analog voice VHP & UHF systems: UHF for command communications and VHP for tactical communications. Everybody carries a VHP radio (assigned to the post position rather than the individual person). UHF radios are for company commander (in addition to the VHP radio). UHF radios have 12 channels simulcast with 2 channels county wide duplex. VHP radios have 6 channels: 4 are primary fireground tactical frequencies, one is for air to ground, and 2 are backup channels (simplex). Both systems use geographical separation to maintain independent usage. The wireless Mobile Data Terminals (MDT) data system includes 6 channels and 11 sites. It has the technology of an early cellular phone system. The MDTs are not intelligent (i.e., not a computer). PRC is their current vendor. It uses a UHF (480) channel with automatic voting that looks for the closest of 11 sites and lock onto that site. The computer aided dispatch (CAD) system automatically interprets address and gets closest unit based upon station site. If units move, the location on record is updated. LA County does not use an automated vehicle locator (AVL) system. They are towards the end of the life cycle with this technology. They are working with the sheriffs department on a project to determine their next generation technology. They have done a very comprehensive needs assessment using focus groups and experts (57 interviews). Their next generation joint public safety communications equipment may be either TDMA or FDMA with narrow band which will increase channels and coverage. They also plan to get mobile data computers to replace the MDTs. Fire and EMS/paramedics are all on the same system. The mutual aid arrangement is with the same VHP channel but is not seamless. Also have a radio to contact medical authorities. Wireless communication for tactical mutual aid: different agencies communicate in the VHP realm. There are 144 channels (don't have all) divided into 9 groups of 16. Groups are programmed to map with agencies normally work with. However, there is not a great ability to coordinated with PD because it is somewhat cumbersome. They must use a console type patches to tie PD UHF channels with FD channels. They can also do this with LA 1

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City FD but it must be initiated by LA City. LA City command vehicles are able to communicate with LA County. Under ICS, they can assign a communications specialist to an incident. Also they assign a channel to the incident and issue radios for that channel. They have a TRP 1000 system. To utilize this effectively, it needs to be permanently mounted into vehicle the vehicle (I believe this is for the patch system-confirm what the TRP 1000 system does). With mutual aid, some companies need to have 4-5 radios because of multiple mutual aid agreements and therefore multiple radios to communicate with each of the fire departments/agencies. There is a county wide integrated radio system with 800 MHz trunked analog system. They can talk to any county agency on this system or national/international agencies that use the same system. They have a backup system using ham radios with volunteers. They also have an alpha paging system with Verizon and use cell phones from Nextel and Verizon. Information comes into fire command and control. They predetermine who needs to be notified and send group messages to these people via paging system. With UHF system, they have the ability to voice page out assistant chiefs and above using Flextron system. However, this system is at the end of its lifespan. On the telephone and IT side, they have wireline telephone and data systems using fractional Tl but going to Tl. They anticipate a lot more wireline data usage when they get a wireless LAN connection to the internet. They are looking into the government emergency telecom services which provides priority queuing in system. Dialing 800-710-GETS and then entering code puts the caller in the top of queue for the next available line to complete the call. The have speed dial wireline system from Meridiam and have firehouse direct line hotlines to LA City (i.e., picking up phone automatically dials LA City). The have access to the intranet throughout department. They distribute actions and required procedural directions that go directly to station computers. Some personnel have internet access by position or for a specific user need (predetermined). How evaluate new technology? The are conducting a study with the LA County sheriff. They have hired an RCC consultant to act as a technical advisor and represent their interests when dealing with vendors. They have followed the typical roadmap: 1) defined operational needs across all applications (e.g., Fire, EMS, air, hazmat, sheriff) by conducting focus groups and picking key individuals to speak with the consulting company. They conducted 173 field interviews to define the needs. 2) They are looking at voice, data and imagery products to meet needs and research. The looked at different functions (e.g., EMS, truck company operations, administrative, fire 2

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operations). 3) They brought the needs and wants to one location through the consultant who wrote a document of the needs. The consultant looked at how they could meet their communication needs with current and future technology. They made 3-4 recommendations for each area (voice, data, imagery) and also made recommendations for how they could get funding. They are also meeting with vendors: Maycom (spelling?) and Motorola. To test the new equipment, it takes lots of money trying to go from 74% to 95% (does this mean coverage or reliability?). To test the new equipment, they use computer software as part of the test. To get buy in, they need to get the right people on board. They are building a request for proposal (RFP), then they have the vendors meet their requirements. They will conduct a pilot test before they go to a full implementation. The vendor's equipment will have to meet milestones before the equipment will be implemented. They also make site visits to departments to test equipment. When they incorporated their existing dispatch system, they hired a technology guy to keep contractors honest and to make sure what they were hearing from the vendor was accurate. Bob Bender was the tech guy 9-10 years ago. They are retaining RCC consultants to protect interests in the RFP process.

LA City The technology evaluation process is similar for LA City. The define their needs and develop an RFP. They encourage vendors to meet their needs and hire consultants to protect their interest. They encourage concept trials but don't do training exercises. They are using [Motorola] STS to replace [Motorola] MX radio. They saw what happened in Washington DC and didn't want this to happen to them in LA **We need to find out what this refers to (perhaps 9/11 pentagon response?**. They select a battalion to pilot/trial the new radio to determine if it meets their needs. They did training with all personnel and tested for dead spots to find them and determine where they needed repeaters. The penetration of 800 MHz radios is much better than other radio. They need to revisit this since they did this test 10 years ago when the city was somewhat different. They have 10 800 MHz conventional system repeaters. They think that NYC should look at bidirectional system. They have 6 channels in their subway system. They had to do drills show the need to have this system. The subway has 100% cable coverage (is this right?) and 60% of subway system has voice powered phones for backup. LA City FD sponsored a 2002 CAD (computer aided dispatch) consortium to discuss needs with vendors and to discuss problems with other fire departments. This forum consolidates the needs of several FDs.

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LA City FD has 4 channel 500 MHz system. The have Panasonic laptop toughbooks (instead of MDT). They have 3 versions due to funding problems. They have 6 repeater sites. The system is used for delivery of messaging and status. Dispatch sends to stations. In CAD, they have GIS based mapping system but these maps are not currently available in the laptops. They will have the capability to provide maps in laptop at later date. They have a PRC system with inhouse modifications. Their radios working fairly well in high rise conditions. The Motorola XTS does have some problems. They don't know if this problem is due to programming or something else (e.g., hardware problem). It could be caused by the infrastructure. Motorola is working with them to solve this problem. Motorola's relationship with LAFD is that Motorola says here is product that is best for FD but this is frequently not the case. They are trying to link each radio to a specific person. They are using a radio identifier as part of their accountability system. They are transitioning to a different system. Motorola ASTA Saver (Saber?) is used to communicate with PD and hospitals. Each company has 1 of these. They have a readiness system with the hospitals which shows which hospitals have capacity to receive patients. The hospitals enter the information, and LAFD can view the info. Communications system redundancy with dispatch: 25 years ago they had 3 centers, then they consolidated to one. They rely on PD to get [911] calls. LAPD is developing 2 centers that are linked and redundant. They are separated by 25 miles. LAFD has a backup center 10 miles from the primary center. From the backup center, they can only dispatch from radio and MDT (need to see dispatch message). **Fm not sure how this is different from the primary center system**

LA COUNTY: A battalion chief (BC) and an engine company are locked into the dispatch function with a joint communication system with the sheriff. They have redundancy and can run each others files.

Field communications LA City: They have a book on tactical alert. They will give us a book on this. There is an Assistant Chief (AC) on platoon duty. For a 24 hour period, the AC can set up an

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area. All calls given by MDT or fax to the center. They set up quarters in office. They have a large communications (or command??) van. With the Lakers celebration parade, they had to move command as the parade moved. A communication problem is that they have too few channels (18) so they have to effectively manage there use. This could be as large as division or battalion **what does this mean**. 3 channels are used for 911 dispatch. 1 channel is solely for emergency trigger. Others are used for tactical communication. The CAD system automatically assigns a tactical channel on the printout. The incident commander (1C) can decide to get more channels. All channels can have duplex or simplex modes. In addition to the 18 channels mentioned, they have 6 mutual aid channels. They can record duplex channels. LA County doesn't record tactical channels. LA City They can handle 10 simultaneous dispatches (10 incidents). It runs from stations. They had vehicle locator on a wheel of their vehicles, but they had a lot of problems with this system. There system can't guarantee that they are sending the closest resources. GPS is answer in the future. They like to be right behind cutting edge but not at the bleeding edge. They want to let others work out the technology problems.

Tracking individuals at incident LA City has the radio tracking system mentioned before. LA County uses a command board and worksheet. They stress unity of companies for personnel accountability. Each company officer has a list of personnel on duty for the day. It is a written list. They are on 24 hour shifts. They have a passport system. The company officers are responsible for the companies assigned to them. In addition, they have magnetic tags on the apparatus (i.e., truck). They also have a system for mutual aid. The tag system is held by person, so if lose you lose him, you lose the info. A backup system is to input data every morning at Sam about who logged in for each unit. They want to use/leverage (**or are using??**) time keeping system (i.e., payroll) to track which personnel are on duty. Electronic payroll is currently done manually on the computer. With ICS, they should know which units are assigned to an incident. They looked at an electronic tracking system, but it had multiple pages of data entry required and they system could not keep up with the resources being 5

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assigned to the incident due to the cumbersome data entry. The need a graphics based system that does not require typing data. They are looking to the military to see what they do for these issues. They don't think that anybody has an ideal solution yet. Victim tracking EMS; ICS medical transport person; paper based tracking GPS doesn't give adequate coverage because of buildings blocking line of site Helicopters: Division suburbans have TVs that have transponders with helicopters ($3,500 per unit), which allow for them to get video feeds (**is this correct?**) and communicate with the helicopters. The FD helicopters have infrared and heat sensing abilities to see hot spots. John Tripp - for many brush fires, they must track a large number of units. The BC is responsibility for a lst-2nd alarm. Resource unit leaders are responsible for tracking. Resource unit start with a verbal incident action plan but then make a written incident action plan using form 204. They establish capture points around an incident to know who going to the incident. They don't allow freelancing and send people who aren't requested/dispatched away. They control each access point and get resource tracking info to a central resource unit. They go through the logistics section to order more resources. The resource group usually communicates on the command channel but can sometimes get its own channel. They establish a staging check-in location. The 1st arriving unit in 2nd alarm becomes the staging chief. They have had up to 500 units on wildland fires. This require the 1C to have a staging location for all new resources ordered to be able to keep track of resources.

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INCIDENT COMMAND SYSTEM Institutionalized ICS in 1984 and began to use on day-to-day basis. They use it for even the smallest incidents. They consider ICS to be a toolbox with many tools. ICS is a flexible system which allows an 1C to use each of the tools as required. While positions within ICS are frequently assigned in a similar order, the 1C has complete ability to assign the positions as he thinks appropriate given the specifics of the incident. There are also variations of ICS for specific types of incidents (e.g., high rise, hazmat) Below is an example of what happens with ICS for a multiple alarm incident: Normally first officer at scene assumes command. He takes action and informs dispatch. For LA County (but NOT LA City), the 1C can pass command to someone en route to take a tactical role if the situation requires immediate action. Terminology is: Passing command is not face to face vs. transfer of command is face-to-face with info transfer on objectives. 1C assumes command over the air (e.g., on radio) to inform dispatch of who is 1C They name each incident command post and functional sections (e.g., Calibasis command, communications). Each incident takes on life of its own. For when there are multiple incidents, the names help distinguish what is happening at each incident. Test for ICS on promotional exams (written and oral exams); discuss philosophy of ICS at fires, multi-casualty; will get info on ICS classes and tests; employees take classes on their own time b/c they become more promotable; FD pays for some classes; may go on planning track and take multiple classes to qualify as planning section chief; when tranfer to ops, play role of planner at incident; gives advantage points for promotion when have taken classes; often small differences in who gets promoted, so competitive and gives big edge; oral exam, given incident scenario and graded on how effectively they implement ICS; everyone goes through ICS self-study course (ICS 100) in 1994; probationary FF must complete the self-study; experienced based system; have curriculum for classes and workbook; must practice; have variations of ICS for special functions (e.g., high rise); in 2nd alarm must assign staging area (takes name of incident if only one) or take on names of other if multiple; for large incidence (brush fire) have multiple staging areas for resources coming from each direction Staging vs base: base - don't respond immediately, but staging should be able to respond in 3 minutes; base is feeding and resting; 2nd alarm or greater often have

Confidential Interview notes

DRAFT

base; someone is assigned to manage staging locations and base to document and capture info on resources; Planning & ops dealing with staging areas (staging works for ops section chief); planning; chief officer given staging assignment if complex (e.g., high rise) but generally company officer does this; have self study for staging command; Most in ops track and have one other track to supplement (e.g., ops and planning); Criteria for staging location: depends on incident, put in location where out of way of ops but close enough so that ops can access; at least 2 floors below fire in high rise; usually completely outside of building; 2nd alarm, do not have adjucants; capture captain to establish command post; larger incident asks for planning section; incident action plan established every 12 hours; 27 members on incident mgmt team; can ask for specific people/functions components (e.g., planning or logistics) or entire team to maintain 12 hr shifts; 1C & duty chief make decision; dispatch can offer suggestions; BC is 1C; Assistant Fire Chief often assumes 1C; 2nd BC can be assigned to tactics (typically ops oriented) or divide fire up into sections or could do planning if necessary; 3r BC could build more on ops (multiple branches/geographic divisions) or become planning or other functional role; next BC may be safety chief; if high rise, may need logistics Division Group Span of control 3-7 people; safety and accountability is important; if given division and objective If Group Can complete functional tasks through multiple division boundaries Sector = specific geographic are Task force = multiple resources of different kind; not at command level; strike team = multiple task force = 5 lite engines plus supervisor of them; division, group supervisor, branch section; IN ICS BOOK; strike teams are not part of regular response; staging check in 1 person for strike team rather than each company; mutual aid helps operate seamlessly to send a few strike teams; coordinate areas; statewide mutual aid; get reimbursed after 12 hours; does include volunteer companies; 2 coordinating areas in state; Mutual aid; volunteers, have certification system starting in CA (2 year grandfathering) to show capabilities; senate bill 1841, must comply for SEMS (standardized emergency management system); use cleartext; standardized terminology in CA; hazmat qualification system; putting people on interagency

Confidential Interview notes

DRAFT

teams gives people experience; help qualify others; FD reimbursed by cost of incident for use of person for 2 weeks; State CA does good job bringing (OES) local agencies to agree on standards; communication, terminology; active on helping with emergencies; have meetings across agencies to flesh out issues; committee work, regional reps for FD and PD; work with local agencies to make sure being done; want to be able to work inside ICS/mutual aid system CA Master mutual aid agreement; committee meetings travel funded; board of fire scope (fire chiefs on it) meet 2-4 times/year; CA North and CA South; hand issues to task force; decisions disceminated across state; Sometimes allow sections underneath ops; other set of docs on ICS; Back to scenario 3rd alarm deputy FC and another AC; getting into environment of unified command with other agencies; get rep of equal rank from other agency at command post; incident objective plus mgmt obj (e.g., FF safety); 1C agree on this; operational periods; public utilities understand ICS and can play their role; invite agencies to FD ICS simulation/drills (e.g., wild land scenario, 4 incident teams; multi-day workshop; role play, worst case scenario drill) focus is to train Cnty ICS training but invite other agencies; City does similar thing; officer continuation training; scenario building exercise; do post incident analysis; build scenario using; play out incident; 5-6BCs division used for simulation; city does alittle different with passing or transfer of command (don't allow passing until on scene; officer of equal rank); if higher ranking officer; BC does not have to transfer command to AC but AC is not responsible ICS is toolbox; SEMS allows civilians to see how ICS works; For high rise = cover all bases; 1C min of 200 ft away from building (to avoid falling glass) First Interstate fire was huge high rise fire; ICS discussion continued on handwritten notes.

Confidential Interview notes

DRAFT

Planning (pre-incident)

Scenario planning is part of Training group Planning deals with budget issues Chief Wilkinsons does facilities 95 preplan incident facilities; ICS function is facilities Looked at potential sites; say where trailers go, comm., etc. Target hazards - company officer develops pre-plan for target hazard (e.g., Latin Grammees on 9/11) BC forms 201-206 to do incident action plan; have generic incident action plan on disk (Chief Neamy) Contingency plans for critical infrastructure (e.g, firestations, electricity) Team for Y2K tasked with putting plan together (Chief Wilkinson) Put generic plan together for special events (e.g., Laker parade); no permanent staff dedicated to it; ad hoc team of 6 people Ruedia deals with planning (LA City) Planning deals with Can tap into IMT (incident mgmt teams) to help with planning

Longer term planning (e.g., need David Stones (LA CNTY planning community services); long term projections for demographics, where new fire stations need to be; 57 contract cities, facilities improvements Long range planning - needs tools (Decadent & ) modelers to see where need fire resources How decide if you need more special ops? Had hazmat task forces comes down to political decision about whether or not to fund; have 3 hazmat task forces; 1 per division or use all 3 during 24 hours; based on previous experience Planning discussion continued on handwritten notes.

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