IT Crisis Mode: How Mobile Tech Aids in Emergency Response

When the Waldo Canyon fire started about four miles outside Colorado Springs in 2012, there was no way of knowing how long or far it would rage, eventually displacing more than 32,000 people and destroying hundreds of homes in nearby communities. Considered the most destructive wild fire in Colorado state history at the time, it has since become an important case study for first responders and tech companies alike.

The global IT company Cisco, based in San Jose, California, was instrumental in establishing communications during the fire, employing its own tactical operations (TacOps) team to help first responders effectively communicate when milliseconds counted. Cisco’s experts can not only deliver highly secured communications during emergencies – from weather to terrorism-related events – they can set up everything from mobile command vehicles to portable communication kits, essentially IT on the fly, in some of the most challenging conditions.  

Rakesh Bharania, a network consulting engineer with Cisco TacOps, said that for Waldo Canyon, “We established a mesh wireless network and used emergency communications kits to provide the incident management team with IP telephony. We were providing connectivity and communications to the most senior leaders on the fire.”

The IT team also used satellite-based telepresence video conferencing to link the incident command post to the nearby El Paso County Emergency Operations Center to keep everyone – from fire to local hospitals – on the same page. The team, which has worked with FEMA, the United Nations, the American Red Cross and NetHope, a nonprofit tech solutions company, also provides mobile and portable IP-based communications solutions over satellite and Internet protocols from anywhere in the world.

“People, processes, data and things are becoming more connected, making technology and communications critical to any disaster response,” Bharania said. “Ensuring secure communications among first responders, especially during a crisis situation, is a major challenge for public safety agencies. Interoperability is also critical for success.”

With advances in networking and communications tech, the category for first responders is becoming more robust. For example, just seven years ago the market size for first responders and law enforcement tools being used by companies like Cisco was estimated at $203 million. An industry report says that number will grow to upwards of $3.7 billion by the end of this year alone.

“Every disaster is different and presents new challenges,” admitted Bharania. As a result, the IT solutions have had to evolve to meet a wide range of challenges. They have also become more portable and secure.   

New Solutions for a New World

The Department of Homeland Security has been exploring new business models that will ideally aid in emergencies by working with new start-ups on innovative networking and wearable tech. The agency recently teamed up with the Center for Innovative Technology in Virginia to rethink how wearable tech in the consumer market can be modified for first responders.

By working with startups around the country, the project has already inspired several innovative developments, like protective fabrics for firefighters, and portable cameras and health monitors for emergency responders. The wearable technology, much of which uses wireless connectivity, can share information across multiple devices and eliminate the need for often outdated, cumbersome equipment. By minimizing the size of the tools the potential for effectiveness is maximized even in the toughest emergencies.

An example of these new technologies includes Mutualink’s Wearable Smart Gateway (WSG) that allows first responders to share multimedia data in real-time over a secure network. Powered by a chip, the WSG technology includes body cameras and heart rate monitors, as well as locator beacons and handheld sensors.

Pebble, an innovator in the consumer market, has also been leveraging the technology of its smart watches with that of CommandWear, a wearable tech and public safety solutions company in Vancouver, to track activity and even sleep within one wearable device. 

Together, the companies designed an app for first responders to use on Pebble watches. “We have a solution that meets the demanding operational requirements of durability, long battery life and simplicity that all first responders need,” said CommandWear CEO Michael Morrow. He said users like Rod Salem, director of emergency management operations for British Columbia Ambulance, need communication options in noisy, often chaotic environments that tend to arise during emergencies, or in situations where the goal is to prevent emergencies.

“At festivals, concerts and other large public events, noise levels can be at a height where you can’t hear yourself think, let alone hear radio communications,” Salem said. “We have tried a number of different products; such as headsets similar to what pilots wear. Although they solve the noise issue, they are cumbersome and not conducive to caring for patients in the field.”

The need is real. Have any doubts? Then consider that The Department of Defense recently pledged $75 million to help develop flexible hybrid technologies at a new innovation center in the heart of the Silicon Valley. The Manufacturing Innovation Institute for Flexible Hybrid Electronics, as it will be called, is being developed with the help of the FlexTech Alliance in San Jose, California, and is expected to create solutions for a range of needs, like medical health monitoring and robotics care for the elderly and wounded soldiers, in cooperation from big names in tech like Boeing, Apple, Kodak and Motorola.

Behind-the-Scenes Technology

Most of the leaders in this field have come from the tech sector; companies that specialize in IT solutions for an increasingly global economy. To aid with relief efforts after flooding in Louisiana, for example, the TacOps team at Cisco provided data and voice services to the local food bank in Baton Rouge using technology developed in-house. “A portable emergency communications kit has been installed by local Cisco staff,” Bharania said, “and is being remotely monitored and supported by TacOps engineers.”

For the San Bernardino Blue Cut fires, the team arrived in a Network Emergency Response Vehicle (NERV) which has a large generator for electricity and a variety of uplinks – including a 1.8-meter satellite dish, IP phones, TelePresence HD video conferencing and other options for Internet connectivity for voice, video, radio and data services in any situation.

“Cisco’s InstantConnect, hosted inside the NERV, dissolves communication barriers between land, mobile and radio devices,” Bharania said. “This audio-bridging software allows multiple audio devices (radios, IP telephones, cell phones, etc.) operating at different frequencies to be fused together so everybody can communicate on the same or different channels.”

Swift advances in this tech category have also allowed for cybersecurity protection and cloud management capabilities that help monitor networks for threats and optimize bandwidth remotely, “from virtually anywhere,” Bharania said. “Many network attacks and files infected with malware have been identified and stopped.”

In many cases, the behind-the-scenes work continues long after the team of IT specialists head home. The smart systems they create allow communications to remain open and secure as the rebuilding begins.

To learn more about the networks supporting first responders of all kinds, check out CompTIA Network+ certification.

Natalie Hope McDonald is a writer based in Philadelphia.