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Emergency response agencies learn about new technology

A sharp inspector in Alaska discovers a cache of weapons in a snowmobile crate. Questions are asked. Interrogations are made.

Quickly, it is learned that the weapons are part of a wider plot, one that involves trucking a bomb from the state of Washington to Montana State University.

By SCOTT McMILLION Chronicle Staff Writer

http://bozemandailychronicle.com/articles/2004/03/20/news/burnsbzbigs.txt

In the near future, thanks to an emerging information system, police, firefighters and hospitals along the truck’s route are quickly alerted and disaster is averted.

That was the scenario spelled out Friday in a demonstration at Montana State University’s Burns Telecommunication Center.

"We live in a different time," since the terrorism events of Sept. 11, 2001, Sen. Conrad Burns, R-Mont., told about 40 people who gathered to watch the demonstration. "People are here that want to hurt us."

A major hurdle in responding to tragedies — whether they be terrorism, toxic releases or terrible storms — is that the country contains 80,000 organizations designed to respond to those events.

Getting the right information to the right agencies, and giving it to them in a form they can use, has traditionally been a major hurdle. Clearing that hurdle is the goal behind the Emergency Provider Access Directory (EPAD), the program that was demonstrated Friday.

It allows entities like fire or police departments to sign up for various types of alerts, based on geography and the nature of the threat.

For example, police in Bozeman might want to know about car wrecks there, but not in Butte. But if there were a release of toxic gas in Butte, Bozeman officials would want to know about it quickly. Once a hospital or fire department is signed up, the alerts they need can go out immediately on cell phones, pagers or email, saving dispatchers the time it takes to look up numbers and addresses.

"It’s all about data and moving data quickly," said David Aylward, of ComCARE, a nationwide coalition of emergency providers implementing the final stages of EPAD.

The system still has some bugs, but they should be worked out in coming weeks, according to Nels Sanddal, director of the Rural Emergency Medical Services and Trauma Technical Assistance Center in Bozeman.

Another problem is that different states and jurisdictions sometimes use different communications methods and frequencies, Burns said, and he is working on legislation to standardize that.

"There is no better friend in the Congress" than Burns for emergency service providers, Aylward said.

The EPAD system extends from earlier legislation that Burns pushed that standardized 911 emergency systems around the country. Federal rules now require that when someone makes a 911 call with a cellular phone, the call goes immediately to the nearest dispatch center and that tracers can locate that phone within 15 meters.

Burns said that privacy concerns delayed that "no brainer" bill for almost four years, but the concerns have been met. Cell phones cannot be tracked geographically unless the user dials 911, he said.

In Montana, 16 of 58 emergency dispatch centers are up to speed on that program, said Jenny Hansen, director of Montana’s 911 program.

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