Chicago`s OEMC: A Unified Approach to First Response

     By being together in the same room, fire/EMS, police and city department managers work as a team in managing both natural and manmade incidents.

Everything all in one place: That's the rationale behind Chicago's Office of Emergency Management and Communications' (OEMC) four-story headquarters in Chicago's West Loop community. It is home to a centralized 9-1-1/dispatch for the Chicago Fire Department (including EMS) and the Chicago Police Department, with consoles located within a 16,000-square-foot operations floor. Meanwhile, both the police and fire departments are represented, along with the city's Departments of Transportation, Streets and Sanitation and Water Management, in the 2,000-square-foot Operations Center (OC).

     "City agencies now have a single command center, so they can work together more efficiently to prevent, prepare for and respond to incidents and emergencies happening throughout the city," said Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley when the OC was officially opened on November 16, 2004. "This center will provide our managers with the information they need to deploy emergency personnel and vehicles to the place where they're most needed."

     The OEMC building has 161,000 square feet of floor space, which is why the OC is just one of four operational centers housed there. The others are the Joint Operations Center (JOC), City Incident Center (CIC) and the city's 9-1-1 operations floor. Together, they form an integrated unit that can truly command all of Chicago's resources during local emergencies, or large-scale catastrophes that require participation from state and federal agencies. For first responders, the result is more accurate and timely direction in the field, better preparation for receiving casualties at the city's trauma centers, and enhanced safety and backup.

     "Thanks to the OEMC facility, everyone involved in Chicago first response now has better situational awareness of what's going on and what each player is doing to deal with it," says OEMC executive director Andrew Velasquez III. "When you have better awareness of what's going on, you can provide your first responders with better information, plus maximize the resources you have to best effect."

Operations center
     The OC handles day-to-day command and control in Chicago. Staff from the member departments keep on top of events at 13 arc-shaped workstations, each equipped with three UXGA flat-panel monitors. Each workstation has direct access to relevant city databases, allowing for real-time exchanges of vital information between departments, first responders and the 9-1-1 center.

     The workstations also access feeds from more than 2,000 video surveillance cameras spread across the city. All are connected to the OC via the city's fiberoptic network, comprised of hundreds of miles of cable laid throughout Chicago. Collectively, these resources form the heart of Chicago's "Operation Virtual Shield" project, aimed at providing the community with enhanced public safety, homeland security and traffic management.

     Some of the OC's most important operational data comes from the city's Traffic Management Authority (TMA), which manages Chicago's roads. This means monitoring and managing traffic light timing, tracking traffic flows using in-road sensors and video cameras. When cars break down or accidents occur, TMA staff are responsible for dispatching tow trucks and civilian traffic-control aides to the scene, plus alerting the OC to these problems and responses.

     All of this activity is overseen by a city watch manager in a raised, centralized chair. Although this point might make one think of Star Trek, the design is actually derived from 20th century battleship bridges. The OC's walls also have large displays for showing selected feeds, broadcast news, National Weather Service graphics, FAA flight tracking maps, or any other imagery deemed important at the time.

     By being together in the same room, fire/EMS, police and city department managers work as a team in managing both natural and manmade incidents. Being together fosters a broader, shared situational awareness that can also minimize the kinds of misunderstandings that occur between first responder agencies working in separate locations.

     "Our OC makes a real difference to the quality of response we deliver," says James Argiropolous, the OEMC's Deputy Director for Information Technology. "Thanks to our cameras, commanders are able to make fast, accurate assessments of what's going on and what resources need to be dispatched. This improved decision-making means we can send the right number of EMS units to incidents, rather than making a 'best guess' based on what we've heard over public safety radio and telephone. This also means ambulances get to casualties sooner, reaching more of them within the 'Golden Hour.'

     "We had a fire on the CTA Blue Line subway that resulted in a mass casualty incident," he continues. "Staff here at the OC were able to see how many people were exiting the station and what injuries they had suffered--namely, battering, bleeding and respiratory problems. Knowing this in real time allowed us to brief the EMS crews as to what to expect, and also to alert local hospitals."

Joint operations center (JOC)
     When major incidents occur in Chicago and outside agencies join in the response, the action switches to the OEMC's JOC. Its work area consists of four rows of tables laden with telephones and computer workstations.

     At the front of the JOC stands a podium backed by three large-screen multi-display monitors. These can be connected to any feeds being generated by the JOC's resources, be they camera video, computer graphics, television broadcasts and/or computer-aided dispatch information.

     Like the OC, the JOC's purpose is to foster teamwork and cooperation between first responder agencies, and to ensure they have fast access to information and develop a shared situational awareness.

     Among the JOC's many leading-edge resources is a Northrop Grumman display table located in the executive conference room adjacent to the JOC. The table, which brings into great detail satellite images of the city, also is capable of allowing areas to be defined with the touch of a fingertip. Those boundaries can then be converted to geospatial data, allowing presentation of multiple images and maps that can be sorted, expanded or shrunk. Remember the touch-controlled computer in the Tom Cruise film Minority Report? That's how this technology works.

     To aid the display table's usefulness, the OEMC's database is loaded with the locations of hospitals, schools and other public buildings, all of which can be called up with a few finger taps. As well, the display table can access a 3D rotatable image of the Central Business District. Buildings in the Loop that are 540 feet or taller are shown in amber, while those 740 feet or taller are indicated in red. City ordinances require building owners to provide floor plans of their facilities, which are then entered into the OEMC database. During emergencies, OEMC managers can use this information to tell firefighters where the elevators, staircases and other important features are located. This information, while easily accessed via the display table, can be reached from any of the workstations in the JOC as well.

City incident center (CIC)
     Located adjacent to the OC, the CIC's job is to keep the roads clear, which is why CIC is sometimes called "Snow Command" during the winter months. Besides dispatching snowplows, CIC staff also dispatch repair crews to fix broken water mains and downed power wires.

     To do the job, the CIC has 24 touchscreen-controlled workstations plugged into the OEMC's network. There are also 12 42" TV monitors built into the ceiling that can be lowered as needed, and a movable video track that allows other TV monitors to move around the walls as needed. Add an 18' high-resolution video wall for displaying traffic camera feeds, news and Doppler weather, and the CIC has what it takes to keep Chicago moving.

     Having the CIC "will result in more effective snow removal and water-main reports, and a more effective deployment of resources to major emergencies that require a response from several city departments," said Mayor Daley. "In an emergency, every minute counts. And when you have all your dispatchers in one place, you get the job done faster and better."

9-1-1 center
     Last, but certainly not least, the OEMC building is home to the city's combined 9-1-1 Dispatch Center. In fact, the 9-1-1 center was the first part of this project to be built, just a few years ago.

     Using computer-aided dispatching systems, OEMC personnel work together to answer 9-1-1 calls and send appropriate help, whether the caller needs police assistance, firefighting crews or an emergency medical response. The result is fast 'one-stop shopping' for emergency aid. For first responders, a unified dispatch center means less confusion, more cooperation and better service to the public.

     "Our plan is for 9-1-1 dispatchers to access video from the nearest cameras to the calls they are responding to," says Velasquez. "By being able to see the scene in real time, they will be able to make more informed dispatch decisions. This is why we are also working to link privately operated CCTV surveillance systems to the OEMC wherever feasible. More coverage means better situational assessments, and enhanced safety for the public and our people."

OEMC'S Unified communicatons vehicle
     There are times when complex incidents have to be managed from the scene, rather than headquarters. This is why the OEMC has invested in a unified communications vehicle--a large rescue-style truck equipped with a wide range of radio communications and interoperability equipment. The truck also has the ability to uplink to satellites, capture and transmit real-time video and support up to 100 telephone lines. This means that it can stand in for the OEMC's own communications systems should something happen to the building, essentially replicating the abilities available in each of the OEMC's center exactly where officials need them.

A total approach to command and control
     Chicago's OEMC facility is more than just a centralized command and control solution--it is a statement of what is possible in the world of first response when backed by political will and popular support.

     In this instance, Daley threw his political weight behind a project that is supported by the majority of Chicago residents. Add first responder agencies that were willing to work together even before 9/11 occurred, and the result is the OEMC.

     "Our experience proves that total integration works when it comes to first response," says Argiropolous. "Now that everyone is working together, we can make better, more informed decisions faster. We can also maximize the deployment of city resources and help people sooner. Finally, we are able to deal with traffic tie-ups sooner, minimizing congestion and improving traffic flow."

     The bottom line: Getting everyone together under one roof is paying off for the City of Chicago. Its success is an example worth studying by other jurisdictions.

James Careless is a freelance journalist with extensive experience covering public-safety communications issues.