South Sound, JBLM To Join 911 Systems By 2020

TACOMA, WA — Nearly one year ago an Amtrak Cascades passenger train carrying more than 80 people derailed near DuPont during its inaugural trip on the Point Defiance Bypass. Three passengers were killed and more than 60 others were hurt in the wreck.

In response to the disaster, Pierce County's consolidated emergency service, South Sound 911, coordinated with multiple fire and police agencies from multiple cities and counties to assist the injured, clear Interstate 5, and connect those who needed with hospitals in Gig Harbor, Tacoma, Puyallup, Lakewood, and Olympia.

Additional services were provided by emergency responders from Joint Base Lewis-McChord, but the disconnect between South Sound 911 and JBLM's services — while by no means hindering the agencies' respective abilities to provide assistance — highlighted a hurdle that needed clearing: namely the use of two computer-aided dispatch (CAD) systems.

To streamline local emergency responses and avoid any duplication of efforts, such as inadvertently sending two ambulances to the same incident, South Sound 911 and JBLM officials over the past two years — even before the train derailment — developed plans for a partnership to provide JBLM access to South Sound 911's CAD system, allowing JBLM and South Sound 911 to be more aware of what each agency is doing in response to any one specific incident.

According to South Sound 911 officials, that partnership should be ready for a full launch by 2019's end.

"It's a win-win for the responders and community," South Sound 911 Executive Director Andrew Neiditz said in a statement. "Our community as a whole experienced several major multi-jurisdictional events in the last year alone — including those which involved JBLM — where we’ve seen the benefits of interoperability, improved communications, and shared information.

"When we agree to partner and work together, we can — and will — do better."

Speaking with Patch this week, South Sound 911 Assistant Director Tim Hannah and CAD system Administrator Mark McNamar explained how the partnership will take shape over the next year and what Pierce County residents should expect.

The joint effort with JBLM reportedly came from an examination of the Ft. Hood shooting on Nov. 5, 2009, and the Washington Naval Yard shooting in D.C. on Sept. 16, 2013. In both instances, military emergency responders coordinated with civilian emergency services to provide aid.

JBLM and South Sound 911, acknowledging the need to get out in front of any potential emergency in the Pierce County area, began coordinating in 2016 on a way to join their systems and streamline their responses.

The train derailment, if anything, fueled the urgency of that need.

"This Intergovernmental Service Agreement will finally bridge the gap for full interoperability with our community partners, thus providing for the best in emergency response to our communities," JBLM Fire & Emergency Services Fire Chief Ken Rhault said in a statement.

Priority one will be retraining JBLM staff who are currently unfamiliar with South Sound 911's system. Once JBLM is online, however, the benefits for the community will be profound.

South Sound 911 already coordinates the emergency responses of 41 police and fire agencies in Pierce County. Allowing JBLM access to their CAD system means an emergency close to the base could receive an even quicker response and/or allow other resources to remain available.

South Sound 911's overall ability to effectively respond to any given emergency will be enhanced, McNamar said.

While some folks may be fine with too many emergency responders coming to their aid during a crisis, the agencies themselves suffer by depleting too many resources from a given area, he explained. The partnership will help prevent that from happening.

"Being on two systems currently, we may receive the same call for service as JBLM without knowing they're already sending someone; or our call center may get flooded with calls for an emergency that JBLM responders could get to quicker, and they may not even know about it," Hannah said. "This system will help each agency be more aware of what the other is doing."

From car crashes and wildfires to active shooting situations, the coordinated responses will simply make emergency services in Pierce County faster for community members and easier for the agencies providing them.

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Image via Kris McNamar/South Sound 911