Cities slow to use 911 systems

A recent nationwide survey found some law enforcement agencies are not fully implementing an information-sharing system to use during emergencies.

Ball State University’s Advanced Crisis Communications Training program surveyed the membership of the National Emergency Number Association, an association of 911 professionals, and found several gaps in the use of the National Incident Management System, said co-author of the study John Pichtel, natural resources professor at Ball State.  

The National Incident Management System was created in 2003 when former President George W. Bush directed the Secretary of Homeland Security to develop and administer a system that identifies the requirement for a standardized framework for communications, information management and information sharing at all levels of incident management.  

The Bloomington Police Department uses the incident system, but only for large-scale events, not daily dispatch, said Jeff Schemmer, Communications Manager of Monroe County Central Emergency Dispatch Center.

But fire departments, including Bloomington’s, use the system every day, said Bloomington Fire Department Battalion Chief Rob Stumpf.  

BPD has 25 emergency dispatchers divided between three eight-hour shifts, but they are subject to 12-hour shifts if an emergency requires, Schemmer said. If an incident were to arise where BPD 911 would use the system, a series of steps would follow.  

A call would get placed to BPD 911. The dispatcher is able to see on the computer screen the phone number calling and the address from which the call is being placed, or if it is a cell phone, the tower it is striking. If, for example, there were an armed robbery, the dispatcher would speak out loud to the small dispatch room, “We have an armed robbery.”

“Everyone else can look and see what they need to do to put the call in, and they’ll continue to update the information as more is received so the police dispatcher can see the new information,” Schemmer said.

An average 911 phone call will take about 90 seconds, and depending on the officer’s location, BPD can be on the scene in as little as two minutes, Schemmer said.  

With the armed robbery example, law enforcement, possibly EMS, city government officials and fire departments would respond. With the National Incident Management System, one person representing each agency would report to a centralized spot to collect information, updates or commands. It structures down, where the most personnel any one person has to direct is seven. If someone has more than seven people, it is broken down again, Schemmer said.

“It’s all about trying to control large divisions and make everybody responsible for their particular part,” Schemmer said. So, if a person from the fire department says, “I’m in command,” he is the person with whom every agency’s representative should communicate.  

Stumpf said the system is extremely vital to everyday calls at the fire department.
“Essentially, NIMS is just an organizational structure that affords us to manage our resources,” he said. “When we implement NIMS, we are organizing what otherwise might be a chaotic situation.”  

According to the survey, a conflict between fire and police departments in some jurisdictions can cancel out the effect of the system because law enforcement officials do not feel they should have to share information when on a scene with firemen or EMS crew.

“Bloomington is a bit of an anomaly in the sense that we have a remarkable relationship with law enforcement here, and we go out of our way to make certain that we train on the same page and operate on the same page,” Stumpf said.  

Fire departments have been using the system on a daily basis much longer than law enforcement agencies, Stumpf said.

“It’s applicable to virtually any type of emergency,” he said.  

But BPD’s rare use of the system in only large-scale incidents is what Pichtel said he thinks is a problem nationwide with many other law enforcement departments.  

“This is proven to be the way to go with response to a number of emergency situations, from small-scale incidents to large-scale incidents,” he said. “Not only does the federal government mandate this, but this has been proven to be effective.”  

Ball State University was awarded $2.5 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency for a project to bolster local-level preparedness for natural and man-made disasters across the nation by formulating several online and on-site training courses for 911 staff and their supervisors.  

Pichtel said the training will focus on providing timely, accurate and understandable information to the public during an incident to dispel rumors and help responders save lives and minimize damage to property so these gaps in implementing the system can be filled.  

“We were not expecting these results,” Pichtel said.