Friday, November 23, 2012

In Considering The Readiness Of Emergency Communication Equipment Pennsylvania Will Have Similar Concerns As Other States

By Rebekah Alford


Among the numerous states nationwide with concerns about how ready they are and the condition of their emergency communication equipment Pennsylvania is high on the list. Pennsylvania has important cities like Philadelphia which increases the need for emergency preparedness measures. An important part of these preparations involves ensuring that equipment is good order.

Many different components exist with respect to emergencies in the processes involved in preparation. Two primary components that are taken into account by professionals involved in the planning. Both systems are important in ensuring that the emergency is responded to as effectively as possible.

The first of the systems is the notification system. This system refers to the collection of processes that facilitate the broadcast of information to people about an event that is either occurring currently or going to happen soon. Notification system may be composed of such avenues as twitter or e-mail or text messages. Some of the events that systems are used for include tornadoes tsunamis etc. The primary characteristic of these communications is that they are one-way communications.

Emergency communication systems on the other hand are two-way communications. They often utilize the same tools and they are usually between the authorities staff and the people who are affected by the events. Communication systems are also distinguishable by the fact that they have the ability to provide detail about the event whereas notification systems will usually be focused on just notification.

In the process of making sure that that these systems are functioning to the best of their ability there are many factors that need to be taken into consideration. One of the tools that states use to ensure that they're as prepared as possible is a review of the experiences of past events. Such reviews serve as learning tools that can help states determine to what to do and what not to do in the case of an emergency.

One such case that the New York City world trade center attacks. During this event telecommunications systems was severely overloaded. This resulted in the phone networks been severely congested all over the east coast. Departments had not trained in interoperability best practices prior to the attack. As a result communication between first respondents was severely impacted. Firefighters died because they were unable to receive communications from emergency control stations

There was another total breakdown of systems during the London subway bombings. The day that the bombings occurred phone networks were completely overwhelmed by 10 am. The radio system that would regularly have been used to communicate between trains that had been damaged and the control centers were completely out of date. This went completely useless. After the incident measures were taken to remedy the situation. One of these fixes that was instituted was a requirement that digital radio be utilized in communication systems. There was also a requirement put in place that these digital systems be usable under ground.

In the evaluation of emergency communication equipment Pennsylvania can learn a lot from these these case studies to make sure that they are better prepared. The evaluation process is a daunting responsibility and there are a lot of factors that will need to be considered in determining the most appropriate equipment for the systems. This is a responsibility that should be taken very seriously and should only be undertaken by very qualified professionals




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