Hermiston, Oregon network aids emergency response – WOW!!!

As Portland discusses how best to build a WiFi network to deliver wireless Internet access to the downtown area, those working on the project could do worse than to look at the network now operating in Eastern Oregon.

Aliza Earnshaw

Business Journal staff writer

http://www.bizjournals.com/industries/high_tech/networking/2004/12/13/portland_focus4.html

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Many thanks to Tom Rolfstad for passing this excellent information along- Russ

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The network Fred Ziari built now covers about 700 square miles, delivering broadband to cities in Morrow and Umatilla counties. Since February, police, fire and emergency medical personnel in Hermis-ton, Boardman, Lexington, Heppner and other cities have been using the WiFi network to file reports, search databases, and communicate complex information between offices and field personnel.

Ziari owns Hermiston-based IRZ Consulting LLC and EZ Wireless LLC. Experienced in bringing technology to irrigation, including wireless technology, he began talking with community safety managers about how technology could be used to better plan for managing any emergency that might occur at the Umatilla Chemical Weapons Depot, where munitions are stockpiled and incinerated.

The result is a network that stretches the boundaries of what most people think WiFi can do. Using enterprise-grade equipment, EZ Wireless’ engineering expertise and software the firm has developed, Ziari’s team has created a dependable service that has won rave reviews after 10 months of real-world use.

"We were maxing out, but the technology adds a whole different flavor," said Dan Coulombe, chief of the Hermiston police department. "The technology increases our effectiveness, so now we are working smarter, not harder."

The original idea of having a wireless data network was to be able to send detailed, real-time information to "first responders" — police, fire and medical personnel — in case of an accident, chemical fire or other emergency at the weapons depot.

Police would be able to view maps and live video footage on their laptops, showing where a chemical-fire plume was headed, and view data telling them how quickly the contamination would spread. They would then be able to divert traffic and organize evacuations if necessary, taking advantage of cameras that show traffic flow on roads in Umatilla and Morrow counties.

Emergency medical personnel would be able to send medical data ahead to hospitals while transporting victims, and could also be told, in real time, whether destination hospitals were full, and whether they should go elsewhere.

The regionwide emergency communications system was funded by $1.5 million from the Department of Defense to the Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program. The program is run by Morrow County Emergency Management, in cooperation with Umatilla County and Washington state emergency management departments and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

That $1.5 million has bought a lot of technology, said Police Chief Coulombe, not just for his department, but for police in Boardman and Umatilla, fire departments in Hermiston, Umatilla and Pendleton, sheriff’s offices in Morrow and Umatilla counties, and for the Umatilla Chemical Depot.

Most of the technology that has been installed is part of the Immediate Response Information System designed for the region by Ziari’s companies.

The emergency system has already gone through several rounds of testing and drills, and found to be working well. But the wireless network has also proved its value in the course of routine police work, said Police Chief Coulombe.

"We have been monitoring traffic flows for our day-to-day work," said Coulombe.

Using video footage from road cameras that is sent wirelessly to a computer server at police headquarters, Coulombe’s department can investigate traffic accidents. They also can investigate whether a given traffic location has enough problems to indicate it should be re-engineered to forestall future accidents.

Traffic stops are also more efficient now. Before the WiFi network was in place, each traffic stop meant four radio calls: The police officer would call two separate departments to inquire about a driver’s license and about the car license plate, and receive two calls back.

"We probably make 1,000 traffic stops per month," said Coulombe. "That’s 2,000 calls to dispatch and 2,000 replies that won’t be happening." Instead, officers can now pull up the data they want on their laptops, much more quickly.

The Hermiston police and emergency-staff now use software created for them by Ziari’s team, and more applications are on the way. Soon, police officers will be able to write reports on their laptops while they are out on patrol.

Coulombe said that he expects his 23 officers will save at least half of the 4,000 hours they spend per year writing reports by hand, and then typing them on a computer keyboard, once they are back at the office. Officers will gain more time for patrolling neighborhoods and other police activities, he said.

The Port of Umatilla has also joined the wireless network. General Manager Kim Puzey plans to put an automated system in place that will allow only authorized personnel to enter and leave port grounds. The system will check identities through thumbprints or iris scans, and will not only lock out unauthorized people, but also immediately report any unauthorized attempts to enter port property.

Puzey also plans to implement a tracking system similar to that used by Federal Express or United Parcel Service, so customers can track where their shipments are, in real time.

The port has invested about $4,000 in equipment, said Puzey, not just to get broadband, but as a platform for the security systems he plans to put in place. The broadband service itself actually saves the port money, while delivering faster Internet connection. For dial-up service, the port was spending $216 per month to connect eight computers in two locations.

Now, the port pays EZ Wireless $208 per month for fast connections for eight computers in four locations. Two of the computers are laptops that port contractors are using to work from their homes.

The work of Morrow County Emergency Management, where the whole WiFi discussion started, has been made much more efficient, said Director Casey Beard.

Though there have been no chemical depot emergencies, his staff is using the WiFi network and various software applications for drills and exercises, on the theory that "if you don’t use it day-to-day, you won’t be able to use it in an emergency — you won’t know how," Beard said.

Beard is using the wireless system to track the people who participate in emergency drills and exercises, to more efficiently process the paperwork needed to reimburse them for their time. But that same system, Beard said, will be used for tracking people out in the field during a real emergency, to make sure everyone is accounted for, properly equipped and safe.

So far, Beard’s department has seen a 65 percent reduction in paperwork, he said, because of the wireless network, the software and the array of devices Ziari’s team has supplied. Beard expects that the tracking systems his department is now using will be extended to the public works department, for tracking field work and inventory, and to the area’s fire departments, to test hydrants and report back to the fire stations.

The longer the EZ Wireless system is up and running, the more uses the public safety departments are finding for it, said Beard and Coulombe. "We’re such a small community, we have to be innovative out here," Coulombe said.

Contact Aliza Earnshaw at [email protected].