Police, fire depts. still can't talk

When the NYPD helicopter pilot circling the World Trade Center warned that "large pieces" of the South Tower looked about to topple, the report never got to the firemen inside: Their radios couldn't communicate with those of the police.

It seemed an obvious problem to fix - just as it had after the first World Trade Center bombing in 1993, the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995, and the shootings at Columbine High School in 1999. Yet three years after 9/11, the goal of compatible and adequate communication among the nation's first responders is nearly as remote as ever.

The reason isn't that no one can think of a way to do it. Possible answers range from equipping mobile trucks with patching technology to establishing a nationwide interoperable network for all first responders. The European Union plans to have such a network in place by 2010.

But while the US is just one nation, it is beset by turf battles on this issue, highlighting the way that even apparently obvious gaps in America's security apparatus can require concerted leadership to fix.

The factors inhibiting better communication among the nation's first responders range from the clout of corporations to concerns among police and fire departments that new systems may have problems of their own.

There are some 60,000 first responder organizations in the United States, and each one purchases its own equipment.

"In order for interoperability to really take hold, you would have to convince each one of those procurement officers that interoperability is a good thing," says Viktor Mayer-Schoenberger, a public policy expert at Harvard University's Kennedy School.

Nor are states eager to have Washington mandate a solution, especially one that could require more than $15 billion in local spending on new equipment. Neighboring communities that may need to cooperate in an emergency often start out with vastly different capacities to fund new equipment. Some first responders worry that a fully integrated system could compromise command-and-control in an emergency, by fostering a cacophony of instructions.

Thus, while the need is clear, the way to a solution is not.

Some states and cities are proceeding to address the problem locally, but the goal of a fully interoperable national system will take help from Washington.

The release of the final 9/11 commission report is giving this effort new momentum. The commission describes the inability to communicate as a "critical element" at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and the Somerset County, Pa., crash sites. It recommends that Congress expedite the increased assignment of radio spectrum for public safety purposes.

Page: 1 | 2