Wildfires force people to flee from their homes. Hurricanes have devastated entire cities. Emergency response teams need to act quickly, often in challenging circumstances, and in a well-coordinated manner to help keep people safe. Yes, something seemingly as simple as a power outage can limit access to essential public services. Success as a first responder relies on staying in constant communication with the rest of the team. Even a momentary connection failure, or having an emergency response system experience downtime, could potentially jeopardize efforts to reduce risks or even put lives in danger.
Emergency teams must also sometimes rely on legacy technologies or tools that weren't designed with the work they do in mind. This can make an already difficult job harder.
The importance of modern technology has never been clearer.
A new approach for emergency response teams
As a recent Harvard Business Review article pointed out, the future of managing emergencies may require a different approach— one "that views all phases of disaster as not only cyclic and overlapping but also integrated." For example, the National Incident Command System (ICS) is a process to help standardize equipment, roles, and terminology provided to active responders when multiple organizations simultaneously respond to the same event. ICS can help reduce secondary impacts, such as neighboring fire departments using incompatible radios while fighting the same fire.
Modern technology can help realize the validity of that approach. The right network and applications can bring real-time data to first responders, offer visibility into areas that were once challenging to monitor, and help agencies coordinate and communicate. This includes a range of emergency response solutions, such as:
Modernizing emergency operations centers (EOCs)
Emergency operation centers (EOCs) are constantly evolving as technology matures. The world-famous White House Situation Room receives regular technological updates to allow for better integration. An EOC brings together highly trained experts and state-of-the-art technology to help coordinate resources, information and functions and serves as the central conduit and primary point of contact for emergency management issues. Of course, there is much technology that supports the field operations, such as secured servers, communication tools and other responder applications. Increasingly these services are hosted in secured clouds specially designed for the requirements of government agencies and emergency operations centers.
Running these applications and services on the cloud brings the maintainability, flexibility and scalability needed in emergency response functions and incident management systems. Software updates are kept current and services are remotely available 24/7— meaning, easy access to data and applications stored in the cloud. These applications can send and receive near real-time data from the field (think video) in order to help monitor and maintain situational awareness of the crisis at hand. And there's a safety factor as the virtual capabilities of an EOC allow for collaboration with remote experts without the need to physically bring them into a disaster zone—if that is even possible.
Having a robust, reliable network is essential for maintaining connectivity to the services hosted in the cloud. Emergency management functions can be activated and established in minutes and operated from remote locations.
Permanent emergency operations center facilities can offer dedicated infrastructure, such as video walls that display applications crawling social media for information or maps for logistical operations using data consolidated from sensors and other sources. EOCs can run command and control software that allows for ongoing monitoring of key risk areas and task and mission tracking software to help inform decision making.
Advancements in dispatch data collection
It is not just control rooms where access to the right data can save lives, the same principle applies to emergency dispatch operators.
Computer-aided dispatch (CAD) systems enable dispatchers to prioritize and record calls, help identify the status and location of responders in the field, and provide operator prompts. For example, prompts such as Is the incident in progress? Are there weapons involved?, could be crucial for the personnel responding to the call. A CAD system can also be linked to vehicle analytics and other sensors to provide better location information, enhance decision-making and ultimately help save lives. All these services benefit from being hosted in the cloud.
Companies can use emergency response data platforms to digitally share with 911 sensitive contextual data such as precise location, medical profile, and real-time sensor data when certain pre-agreed requirements are met, like a fire or medical incident at a company facility. Digitally sharing incident data with first responders improves data accuracy and reduces human transcription errors.
The records management component of dispatch data collection systems also assists with after-incident reporting, training and public outreach. Again, by storing this data in a secure cloud, it is better protected and more easily accessed for later analysis and use.
Intelligent platforms and modern network capabilities
Emergency personnel cannot afford to get stuck in traffic or take the wrong route to a crisis scene. Fortunately, the increased use of sensors embedded on roadways, vehicles and other objects as part of the Internet of Things (IoT) offers promise in alleviating those concerns. You might already be aware of these systems if you have ridden a public transit bus recently.
By connecting emergency vehicles to IoT devices in near real time, first responders can access precise information about where help is needed and receive incident updates. Incident Command (IC) can see equipment on scene, equipment inbound, and available other resources when IoT devices connect to smart traffic management and fleet management applications allowing them to determine things like the optimal route to the scene. These intelligent platforms can also allow IC to stay in contact with those working in the emergency operations center.
In areas where smart cities networks have been deployed, traffic signal priority control systems can change traffic light signals to prioritize emergency vehicle movements. Smart cars with similar technology can also receive notification that emergency vehicles will be driving nearby soon, allowing everyday drivers to change their route, helping to clear the path for emergency vehicles to pass.
Mobile mesh technology, meanwhile, could allow first responders to set up wireless, ad hoc networks that can provide connectivity in remote locations with the ability to link back to IC and provide information to an emergency operations center. For example, this would allow first responders to wirelessly connect body cameras or other modern communication tools. Private networks and priority mobile services can also help to prevent communication breakdowns. At the heart of these systems is a cloud hosted set of data collectors and controllers that support these devices in the field.
Purpose-built tools and applications
First responders depend on having a high level of situational awareness—in other words, an understanding of everything that's happening during a crisis at a particular moment. That's difficult to do when teams can't reliably connect to each other's devices or share information easily.
A study in the Journal of Emergency Management found proper use of information and communications technology can allow teams to optimize their performance in emergencies and even prevent casualties. That's why modern tools —like rugged mobile devices with push-to-talk capabilities, for example—help make communication quick and dependable.
Beyond assisting communication, there are other purpose-built tools that utilize artificial intelligence (AI) to help modernize emergency response. For example, visual recognition technology can use existing surveillance cameras and other data sources like ground sensors to help detect fires in less populated areas such as forests or natural parks.
Essential elements of an integrated emergency response system
Interoperability is a cornerstone of empowering emergency response teams. According to a study in Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness, for example, operating a common platform is critical to acquiring, analyzing and sharing all the data first responders need.
As public safety teams find and adopt interoperable common platforms, they can be in a better position to manage disasters in as timely and as effective a manner as possible. A properly integrated emergency response system will allow information to flow both ways in a positive feedback loop. Intelligent platforms in emergency vehicles can use information sourced from the emergency operations center and dispatch operators to determine the optimal route, while simultaneously sending back the information it gathers during the route to dispatch and the control room, allowing for future decisions to be based on more accurate data.
Discover how the right connectivity, operations solutions and devices can enhance and modernize emergency services.
The author of this content is a paid contributor for Verizon.