APCO’s NG9-1-1 focused event Nexus was held live for the first time on November 2 and 3 in Arlington, VA. The event spanned two days, covering five real-life scenarios and how the 9-1-1 response could have been impacted by NG9-1-1 technologies. Coupled with these interactive panels was the 360 Experience, where our sponsors demo-ed the technological solutions discussed in each scenario.
Scenario 1: The first session highlighted a 2019 multi-vehicle accident in Alexandria, VA, resulting in reports from dozens of wireless callers to 9-1-1 and dispatch of fire, EMS and law enforcement to the scene.
The speakers walked through the incident and discussed the many challenges that the ECC experienced. “We received so many calls that evening that it was difficult to determine if this was a call about the same incident or a secondary incident as DC is known for rubbernecking causing subsequent accidents,” explained one of the panelists, Doug Campbell, City of Alexandria.
The panelists addressed how NG9-1-1 technology would have aided in their response to this incident and others like it. “Three years ago, it was harder to determine where exactly the incident occurred and where a caller was without the video and photos that we have access to now.”
Scenario 2: The second panel featured speakers from Tennessee and Kentucky to review the Nashville physical attack. In the early morning hours of Christmas day 2020, an RV began transmitting an audio message urging people to remove themselves from the area as a bomb would shortly go off. Police body cam footage captured officers attempting to evacuate the area and, eventually, the explosion itself.
The speakers discussed how initially there was much confusion surrounding the nature of the incident, and multiple calls to 9-1-1 were reporting different information. What started as an explosion with a handful of injuries turned quickly into an infrastructure event as the ECC realized that the blast impacted the AT&T building that powered the phones. Nearby ECCs were also affected, resulting in downed phones, power, CAD, email, internet and more.
The panelists discussed the importance of redundant systems in situations like these when all of an ECC’s critical communications and technologies are impacted.
Scenario 3: The next panel discussing the Surfside building collapse began with audio from actual 9-1-1 calls from the day of the incident. Panelists explained the complete confusion over the nature of the incident as dozens of 9-1-1 calls came in describing a building fire, an explosion and even fire alarm calls coming in. This was exacerbated by the shape of the building and the fact that the damage was only visible from the back. “Even as responders arrived on scene, there was confusion because of all of the dust,” the panel explained.
The panelists discussed how NG9-1-1 technologies would have assisted in this incident. “Just think how it could have helped if people on the scene could have live-streamed what they were seeing to 9-1-1. And at that same time, the telecommunicator is viewing the floor plans for the building.”
Scenario 4: The final panel of the first day convened to talk about the 9-1-1 response during hurricane Ida that made landfall in Louisiana on August 29, 2021. The powerful hurricane caused degradation and loss of 9-1-1 voice and routing.
Jack Varnado, 911 Director of Livingston Parish, recalls that the TVs stayed on because of fiber networks, and the lights were still on thanks to generators, but the calls had stopped. He spoke about receiving a call from his wife letting him know that part of their roof was gone and, at that moment, questioned where his priorities were. They were with his comm center and staff.
Roughly 60% of his staff ultimately lost their homes during the storm. And that’s where he thinks NG9-1-1 can assist – improving the systems with redundancy and resiliency to allow call takers to do their jobs regardless of circumstances. Representatives from RapidSOS talked about the importance of portability, especially in situations like a hurricane where you might have TERT teams deployed.
Day two started with an update from APCO’s Chief Counsel, Jeff Cohen, and Chief Technology Officer, Mel Maier, on the history and current status of the Next Generation 9-1-1 funding. More panel discussions followed.
Scenario 5: This panel discussed the 2020 Oregon wildfires, which were
some of the most destructive on record. At the start of the fires, mutual aid systems were activated to call in assistance from other counties. Kevin Harris, Operations Manager with Emergency Communications of Southern Oregon, said, “After a certain point, the priority changed from controlling the fire to evacuation efforts.” Throughout the event, social media was used to see what was being reported and where.
The panelists agreed that the future of 9-1-1 will need to consider data analyst positions as full-time positions in the ECC. Someone trained specifically to cull through the large amounts of data coming into the center to identify what can be used to assist in responding to these types of events.
Special Session on Remote 9-1-1: Nexus closed out with a special session on remote 9-1-1 featuring the City of Alexandria, VA, and Arlington County, VA. During the Covid-19 pandemic, both of these ECCs began allowing public safety telecommunicators to work from home out of necessity. They brought $90,000 worth of remote call taking equipment to the Nexus event and set it up as it would be in someone’s home.
“We were already down about 25% of our staff, and when Covid hit, we were down another 25% with folks in quarantine. Remote call taking was a necessity for us to keep running,” said Angelina Candelas-Reese, Arlington County.
The panel reviewed the concerns with such a setup and the lessons learned. “Connectivity was always the biggest concern. If a call dropped, where did it go? How do we set up the equipment? Issues came up that we hadn’t thought about, like secondary power if a telecommunicator lost power at their house,” explained Doug Campbell, Alexandria.
Remote call taking enabled the ECCs to get high call-traffic times covered because telecommunicators could quickly log on from their homes. The group agreed that the future of remote call taking looks like employing public safety telecommunicators from other time zones to cover the more undesirable shifts.
Thank you to those who were able to join us at Nexus this week and to our event sponsors; we hope you found it valuable and informative. We look forward to seeing you for the next Nexus in the spring of 2024.
