California Report Calls For Emergency Communications and Notification Standards
The California PUC, in a report to be filed with the state legislature Jan. 1, said a major problem with telecom systems in emergencies is lack of standards for backup power supplies to cordless phones and other devices in homes and offices that are not powered from phone lines, and a lack of standards for emergency notification systems used by emergency responders, and the reverse E-911 systems. “Without common communications standards and protocols, individual people and emergency notification systems may be unable to communicate with other systems or with the public outside the targeted area,” the report said.
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The report recommended development of uniform statewide standards for emergency notification systems and telecom backup battery systems, along with development of consumer education programs on backup power supplies and emergency communications so people understand what services and technologies they have available during emergencies. The goal in Case R-07-04-015 is to identify regulatory and legislative steps needed to maintain telecom network performance in disasters and emergencies. The PUC plans a Jan. 7 workshop session to review landline and wireless performance during the recent southern California wildfires, including performance of reverse 911 systems for warning homeowners and businesses of imminent danger.
The report said backup battery power often is provided in homes and offices after fiber cable, which doesn’t provide line power to devices, is deployed. But it said there presently is “a lack of standards to regulate these backup batteries.” The report was required by a 2006 state law that directed the PUC to investigate emergency communications standards, but not to adopt any unless the benefits of standards clearly outweighed the cost. The report said the PUC Communications Division is still looking into whether mandatory standards for notification systems would be imposed, whether current telecom technologies can support statewide rollout of emergency notification systems, and whether random activation of emergency notification systems may interfere with other emergency communications.
The November wildfires in southern California showed how vital emergency notification systems are in preventing loss of life during a major disaster. The reverse 911 systems operated by San Diego City and San Diego County together placed almost 500,000 calls to people in neighborhoods in immediate danger of burning up. Matt McGarvey, San Diego chief information officer, called reverse 911 “a real lifesaver” during the fires. He said it was very effective in getting the word out and may have helped prevent deaths. The fires were the first test of the city’s reverse 911, which went online in October.
The wildfires also were the first test of an Internet- based emergency management system installed for San Diego County in late 2006 by Georgia-based ESi Acquisition Inc. The system somewhat resembles the Wikipedia web site, in that it allows a variety of users to post updates about significant events and share maps and files. The result, said local officials, is more immediate local awareness, but the risk is posting of unverified information. They said the county and city also had backup wireless communications through cellphone and satellite phone services.
To the north, Los Angeles escaped unscathed. But the nation’s largest city that faces constant threats from earthquakes, landslides, flash floods and civil disturbances has only a very limited reverse E-911 system run by the city Fire Department that can place only 22 calls at a time. Landline numbers are provided by local exchange carriers, but wireless numbers and e-mail addresses must be registered by individual customers. The system was designed to warn neighborhoods of localized hazards, and some emergency service officials question whether it could handle a massive citywide emergency. The San Diego County system, by contrast, can dial 4,000 calls per minute.
Emergency communications systems “are most fragile when you most need them,” said Tom Cova, director of the University of Utah’s Center for Natural and Technological Hazards. He said systems vary from county to county, city to city, depending on the phone company or private-sector provider. Cova said emergency notification systems “buy time.” He said early warning can make up for risks like poor roads and traffic tieups. Cova said emergency notification systems have the most value for emergency events that come with days or hours of warning like storms, floods or wildfires. “For events with zero warning times, like an earthquake, there’s not much you can do.”