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The EMCOM system provides Emergency Management personnel with the capability to issue alert notifications to every home and business within their
jurisdiction (or any subset thereof) that are received within 90 seconds of notification, and to receive detailed situation reports on a street by street, neighborhood by neighborhood basis within minutes of an emergency situation.
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The EMCOM project was designed to provide the critical elements and interfaces
required for
a comprehensive nationally integrated emergency preparedness and alert notification system. It incorporates the required elements for:
- Communications
- Fully interactive at all levels, utilizing all viable communications media
- Coordination
- Intra/Inter Agency, public, media, EMCOM Community Emergency Preparedness Coordinators, participating ARES/RACES emergency radio operators, Neighborhood Watch, etc.
- Notification
- Single entry system provides simultaneous multi-lingual voice & data notifications over all viable communications media.
- Education/Training
- Built in systems for prepatory training of in-house and public personnel
- Multiple functions for providing real time instructions to the public during emergency situations
- Feedback (Situation Reporting)
- Fully intra/interagency interactive status reporting/display system
- Fully integrated, Interactive GIS Mapping/Annotation system allows all authorized participants at all levels and any geographic location to display and/or update situation display maps.
- "Click" within a shape drawn on the map and the system can immediately utilized its full resources to notify all persons within the designated area.
Anticipated alert areas (shapes) for areas around nuclear, biological or
chemical facilities, storage tanks, along rivers, etc. can be pre-stored
for immediate activation. Maps designated for "public" use with hazard
areas, evacuation routes, shelter/aid station locations, etc. can be
immediately viewed by the public on the Emergency Information web sites, as
well as on their own internet capable cell phones, PDA's etc. to show them
the route as they evacuate, or show others outside the affected region the
areas and routes to avoid.
- EMCOM Community Emergency Preparedness Coordinators can provide street by
street, neighborhood by neighborhood situation reports (including photos/video) within moments of an emergency situation that display on the EOC's status
displays.
It is by far, the most comprehensive system of its kind, and due
to its "economy of scale" design, the most cost effective. Combining
state-of-the-art technology with its nationwide network of neighborhood based
Community Emergency Preparedness Coordinators, it provides for the fastest and most widespread targeted alert notifications as well as for virtually immediate
street by street, neighborhood by neighborhood situation reporting.
The system includes the following elements:
- National Emergency Alert Notification System
This system provides a single common interface for use by all emergency
agencies at all federal, state and local levels to issue public or private
notifications from a single entry, which is then disseminated via all viable
text and voice based communications methodologies to user-defined groups and/or geographic
locations. The system was designed to provide notifications to significant
percentages of targeted populations within 30-90 seconds of the alert
being sent. Notifications include local severe weather notifications from
the National Weather Service, Homeland Security notifications, FBI/DOJ/NIPC warnings, as well as alert notifications from state and local authorities for
their own areas.
Initially these notifications were delivered to members of our
nationwide network of neighborhood based Community Emergency Preparedness
Coordinators as well as the general public. However, as of October 24,
2002, notifications to the general public outside of areas in which there is
participation by their local public emergency agencies were discontinued.
Specific information can be found HERE.
- Community Emergency Preparedness Coordinator Program
EMCOM has launched and currently operates a nationwide network of Community
Emergency Preparedness Coordinators (block captains), whose responsibility
is to provide leadership, information, training and coordination for their
individual neighborhoods. They also set up emergency back-up radio
communications per the EMCOM NERCS (Neighborhood Emergency Radio Communications System) specification, that integrates with the existing ARES/RACES emergency
communications networks.
Another critical function of the neighborhood coordinators is to provide a
street by street, neighborhood by neighborhood situation reporting network which
provides key information such as number of missing, injured, fatalities, fires,
collapsed buildings, gas mains broken, etc., as well as important
meteorological data and either digital photos or web-cam views of the area.
These are received via numerous primary or back-up communications methodologies,
and available within minutes of the occurence of an incident. EMCOM can
currently receive these situation reports from tens of thousands of persons
in neighborhoods across the country.
- Emergency Information Websites (Disaster Information Portal)
The system includes Emergency Information websites for every state, county
and municipality in the nation (over 30,000) which provide important
emergency information. These pages are "PubAlert" and "PopAlert" activated
such that alerts or bulletins sent by any agency are immediately popped up
to users by geographic area. Emergency agencies can also instantly update
these pages to provide additional information, bulletins, shelter or aid
station locations, evacuation routes, etc. They also have the ability
to broadcast LIVE voice information or instructions through these pages
via the EMCOM LiveAlert system.
- Emergency Victim Locator
The system provides a universally accessible emergency victim locator for
the families and friends of persons displaced by an incident to learn the
location and status of those they seek. It incorporates a number of
advanced features helpful to emergency agencies, hospitals and medical
workers, etc. Community Coordinators have access to the system to input
data about neighbors which are transported by medical personnel, seek
shelters or aid stations, or go to homes of other family or friends.
Utilization of the system allows for a significant decrease in telephone
congestion by families having to call each relief agency, hospital, shelter,
etc. seeking information about loved ones.
The system provides for multiple levels of redundancy, with many
technologically advanced features, including the ability for Emergency Management
personnel to issue alerts and situation reports while "on-the-go" from Nextel
Blackberry devices.
A single notification entry can be delivered to targeted populations within
minutes via virtually every viable communications methodology (including
personal visit by emergency coordinator personnel), for less cost than the
commonly available "phone dialer" type systems.
Please reference the applicable sections
of the EMCOM web site for complete details.
Contact EMCOM for more information.
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