Benchmark- Case Study_Anytown Interoperability and Communication
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Benchmark- Case Study: Anytown Interoperability and Communication
Case Study: Anytown Interoperability and Communication
Casey L. Hooper
Grand Canyon University: EMM-306
June 05, 2020 Professor Jeff Quixley
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Benchmark- Interoperability and Communication
While plain language could leave first responders vulnerable, it is easily understood by everyone involved in emergency response, leaves little room for misinterpretation, allows for a smooth transition for all entities involved, and shows how interoperability and communication are the backbone of emergency management.
September 23
rd
, 2016 is a day that will resonate in the minds of Anytown emergency response personnel. It started as any other day, the local populace was preparing to receive a significant influx of people, some there for ComiCon and others for a concert. During this same time uptown emergency personnel and first responders were preparing for a massive tornado and
downtown first responders were reacting to a large chemical spill at a hospital.
The downtown fire and police were conducting evacuation drills at the downtown high school and commercial buildings due to the chemical spill. This caused the downtown fire station to miss the initial warning of the tornado. The uptown first responders were made up of crews from different states trying to work their plan to evacuate the people affected by the tornado. During this plan a message was relayed for “buses” instead of ambulances to assist in their evacuation efforts. This request caused the hospital to contact the high school to get this fulfilled.
The communication mishaps led to the local citizens and vendors being stranded in a parking garage while the elderly and disabled were stuck at the school and in the convention center basement without any generators for power. During this same time the local media was broadcasting an inflated news story of the downtown chemical spill that caused the citizens to start their own evacuation out of the city. The misinformation of the news caused the downtown citizens to panic and try to evacuate. With both uptown and downtown trying to evacuate the 2
Benchmark- Interoperability and Communication
areas this caused an interstate traffic jam and prevented downtown first responders from getting uptown to help with the stranded citizens. The majority of these risks could be mitigated by the uptown and downtown first responders had they utilized better communication. The communication needed to be easily interpreted across multiple agencies, meaning plain language should be used. When multiple agencies come together and try to utilize their own radio lingo and codes for brevity this can cause chaotic situations to become more chaotic. Communication between the different entities became an issue causing confusion, wasted time and resources, and rendered their efforts ineffective. The first responder’s higher headquarters should have had “policies in place to facilitate channels within communication media for emergency personnel to be able to communicate with one another” (Burroughs, 2017). If this practice was already in place then the downtown fire station could have received the tornado warning in a timely fashion. Plain language is “communication your audience can understand the first time they hear it” (Plain Language, n.d.). If plain language had been utilized across the board then the right equipment would have been where it was needed, when it was needed. In this incident communication and the lack there of can be looked at as the single point of failure. The Office of Emergency Management and the mayor also had a duty to communicate accurate information to the Anytown citizens to help calm the masses. They could have accomplished this by holding a press conference to get accurate information out to the local stake
holders. They could have also shared this information on their websites and social media accounts or through the radio stations. The communication effort was in place to get out the warnings for the tornado however, the chemical spill ultimately had the ball dropped and there will need to be a lessons learned completed to keep this from happening again. 3
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Benchmark- Interoperability and Communication
Uptown and downtown first responders seemed to work well with their respective units. The one key point that these units missed in working together was ensuring everyone knew of the warnings being pushed out. This could have been minimized by having an Emergency Operations Center set in place. The EOC would have been the hub for relaying information and could have mitigated communication issues and helped to relay information to the local citizens of Anytown. James Burroughs has said “The failure of communications, particularly related to interoperability, between police and firefighters responding to dangerous situations has resulted in death or injury to themselves or those they strive to protect”, on 23 September in Anytown truer words could not be said. Had there been a set standard for the means of communication and
how information was going to be released to the public the risk for first responders would have been minimal, the citizens of Anytown would have been better informed and, better decisions made at every level. 4
Benchmark- Interoperability and Communication
References:
Burroughs, J., (2017). Three Factors Leading to the Failure of Communications in Emergency Situations. Retrieved from https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?
article=4765&context=dissertations
Plain Language, (n.d.). What is plain language? Retrieved from https://plainlanguage.gov/about/definitions/#:~:text=Plain%20language%20(also
%20called%20plain,they%20read%20or%20hear%20it.&text=Material%20is%20in
%20plain%20language,find%20to%20meet%20their%20needs
EMM-306, (2020). Topic 2 Case Study. Retrieved from https://lms-ugrad.gcu.edu/learningPlatform/user/users.lc?operation=loggedIn&token=
%2fQb%2bnh2PW8LQtbj
%2f2lLoZNdWvXnOUMu7BPUwvaTiZATafeRG1HZp15KQ8SOVGFx4&classId=234
6864#/learningPlatform/class/syllabus.lc?
operation=getClassOutlineIUView&c=prepareClassOutlineForm&fromOtherPage=true&
t=coursesMenuOption&folderContentId=47286cee-fd06-4719-ba8f-
52cc64f57233&classId=c485424a-c26d-48fc-90b1-
fd43aa018a48&tempDate=1591370334699
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