Catastrophes, Routine Crises Will Soon Be A Bit Easier For Arlington To Manage
By Daniela Deane
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Shift supervisors will sit on elevated platforms to better monitor "the floor." A 14-screen digital video system will project multiple images on the wall, including live pictures of collisions and traffic jams, as well as maps, real-time power outage grids and newscasts.
Three times as many 911 lines will shave vital seconds off of response time when calls come from Arlingtonians in need of help.
And if a catastrophe strikes the county, emergency coordinators will be able to work with other jurisdictions using a new digital radio system to direct operations from a "nerve center" and to stay for days, if necessary, without sending out for supplies.
Welcome to Arlington County's new Emergency Communications Center, a state-of-the-art, 8,000-square-foot facility scheduled to open within three months at police headquarters in the Courthouse neighborhood.
"It's long overdue," said Robert P. Griffin Jr., head of Arlington's Office of Emergency Management, which was set up two years after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. "It gives us the ability to deal with day-to-day crises, as well as any large event like 9/11."
Arlington's campaign to get a new response center to replace one in an old building a block away on Uhle Street was partly based on a very important installation in the county: the Pentagon. A hijacked plane slammed into the building in 2001, killing 184.
"When the Pentagon dials 911, Arlington answers the call," noted a news release announcing the new center.
Since that attack, Arlington has spent about $60 million in federal homeland-security funding and local money to upgrade its equipment and systems in preparation for another attack or a natural disaster.
The new center and the county's digital radio system cost about $38 million, county officials said. Most of the money came from bonds issued by Arlington's Industrial Development Authority. The Justice Department provided a $2.6 million grant, and $2 million came from other county funds.
Griffin said the center will enable the county to be a "proactive part of any emergency response."
He said the facility also meets the needs of dispatchers, who work four 12-hour shifts a week answering emergency calls round-the-clock. A "decompression" room, where dispatchers can rest after a stressful call or shift, features a couch, a television and low lighting.
In 2006, Arlington 911 dispatchers answered about 104,000 calls and "delivered" at least three babies by giving instructions over the phone, officials said. Of about 28,000 fire calls dispatched last year, they said, 4,000 included units from nearby jurisdictions.
Cmdr. John Crawford, the head of the center, said the digital radio system is "truly state of the art." It will allow county officials to communicate directly with other jurisdictions.
"Our radios don't talk to each other at the moment," Crawford said.
Mark Marshall, chief of police in Smithfield, Va., and a vice president of the International Association of Chiefs of Police, said that many people think that police districts can talk with one another by radio but that most districts cannot.
"It's very surprising, and frankly distressing, when the public finds out that our radio systems have difficulty talking with one another and difficulty sharing information," Marshall said.
The problem, Marshall said, is the limited number of radio bands available. He said many have been "gobbled up" by cellphone usage. Digital systems eliminate the bandwidth issue, he said.
Many police districts can't raise the money to build an emergency center. As the home of the Pentagon, Arlington had an easier time.
"Every agency would like to have a big emergency response center," said Wendy Balazik, a spokeswoman for the Alexandria-based international police chiefs' association. "But with the cuts in federal funding for law enforcement, it's really hard for every agency to have this sort of technology."
Griffin said the digital radio system will allow Arlington to work more closely with the Pentagon during emergencies. County officials previously didn't have "the technology, the ability to share information," he said.
In the middle of the facility's "nerve center," or control room, the center leaf of a large conference table rises, revealing 12 bays for laptop computers or telephones.
"This room provides us with the ability to access a lot of information very quickly," said Jeffrey Horwitz, the center's 911 system and resource manager. "During an emergency, the last thing you want to do is set up stuff."
The center also has a kitchen that includes a commercial range and a large refrigerator.
"If there was a long-term catastrophe, the center can be self-sufficient for many days," program manager John Stevens said.
The number of 911 lines coming into the center has tripled to 48, he said. Arlington answers calls within 10 seconds, but the additional lines are expected to bring even faster response.
"In an emergency, every second counts," Stevens said. "Even shaving a second off is important."
Griffin said Arlington's 200,000 residents often don't realize how much work goes into keeping the county safe. Which, he added, is the way it should be.
"Arlington is a busy little place," he said. "But it's like a duck going along the water. It's all smooth going, but we're paddling like crazy under the surface."
View all comments that have been posted about this article.