How do you provide interoperable communications among 1,280 fire departments that use 450 separate radio frequencies, some with either private lines or encryption? Now attempt to connect those folks with any of 940 local law enforcement agencies and 40 state agencies, any of which may have a vital role in a large-scale natural disaster or terrorist attack. This was the challenge faced by the Ohio State Fire Marshal's Office.

In December 2001, Ohio Gov. Bob Taft unveiled the statewide fire-rescue response plan, a joint venture of the Ohio Fire Chiefs Association and the State Fire Marshal's Office. At the same time, the state fire marshal was named Ohio's statewide fire-rescue coordinator. The plan divided Ohio into five response areas, with five regional coordinators, 88 fire chiefs serving as county coordinators and two staff liaisons paid through state funds for overall project management.

County resources were compiled, collated and computerized for reference, and initial dispatch notification would be initiated through a toll-free number answered in the Columbus, Ohio, fire dispatch office. Once an emergency reaches the size or critical mass to activate the state's emergency operations center, subsequent dispatch is done through the state fire marshal's office.

Interoperability options

The principle behind the regional plan was that, if needed, any jurisdiction could call on another with a given resource to come and assist them.

H.B. 605, generally referred to as the IMAC or Intra-state Mutual Aid Compact, provided that all local and state governments were a part of the mutual aid agreement unless they specifically opted out in writing. This bill was signed into law by the governor in December 2002.

To create an effective regional response, especially in light of what was learned following the events of Sept. 11, 2001, it became critical to plan for coordinated incident command through seamless communication interoperability.

In the future, the long-term solution to this problem would be Ohio's Multi-Agency Radio Communications System. While MARCS, which currently is undergoing limited testing in central Ohio, won't be fully operational until 2006, the problem remained for the state fire marshal to find a workable solution for today's disaster or terrorist attack. Enter the MIRV, or major incident response vehicle.

The idea for MIRV dated back to a January 2001 fire that destroyed several businesses and more than a block of Georgetown, Ohio. Not only were mutual aid companies hampered by their lack of common communications, but the subsequent small army of state fire marshal investigators had to work for more than a week in adverse weather out of the trunks of their individual vehicles.

It was readily apparent that the agency needed something to act as a centralized point for investigators to use during major incidents. Following Sept. 11, the obvious uses for such a vehicle began to expand. In September 2002, Taft authorized the state fire marshal's office to begin the major incident response vehicle project as part of its homeland security effort.

The MIRV was to assume four distinct roles in support of the statewide fire-rescue response plan and homeland security:

1. Provide additional capability for investigators at a major incident.

2. Offer interoperable communications among local jurisdictions.

3. Act as a command post, if needed, for the local incident commander.

4. Assume a counter-terrorism investigative role with federal agencies, such as the Joint Task Forces in northern and southern Ohio.

MIRV capabilities

The state controlling board authorized the fire marshal's office to purchase a “new” Marion Body Works Rescue Truck — a 1994 Ford truck. The vehicle was one of 30 manufactured for a customer in Brazil during the mid-1990s, but several were never delivered and remained in storage until 2002.

The rescue vehicle that would eventually be purchased for the MIRV had never been titled outside the manufacturer and was purchased through Finley Fire Equipment of McConnelsville, Ohio for $98,000. A comparable vehicle today would have been valued conservatively in excess of $300,000.

Once purchased, the transformation of this rescue vehicle into the MIRV began in the apparatus bay of the Ohio Fire Academy, the training agency of the state fire marshal's office. The vehicle work was handled by three academy staff members who engineered the changes to the unit to accommodate both the communications and investigative equipment to fit the missions of the MIRV. Conveniently, the vehicle already had been outfitted with a complete remote weather station, decontamination equipment and a 7.5 kw generator.

Investigations

A list of investigative equipment was compiled by Asst. Fire Marshal Steve Southard, Fire and Explosive Investigations Bureau, and Forensic Laboratory Bureau Chief Sonja Rawn. In addition to drawing from their collective experience, they referenced equipment lists from the Tennessee State Fire Marshal's Office and the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms to form a comprehensive list of tools, instruments and equipment to carry out the investigative role.

The equipment included some of the normal tools used on most fire and explosive investigations: axes, shovels, hand tools, power tools, screens, pike poles, rope, collapsible ladder and scene lights. In addition, a full range of personal protective equipment, including SCBA with extra air bottles, cool vests and a variety of filter masks, can support up to five responders. Specialized equipment includes a thermal imager, digital camera, evacuator and laser range finder. Cots, sleeping bags, a Coleman stove, water, Gatorade and MRE rations are carried for remote deployment.

Communications

To solve the interoperable radio communications issue, Asst. Fire Marshal Keith Loreno and Academy Supervisor Ken Johnson recommended the purchase of an ACU-1000 from JPS Communications, with some additions.

Normally, the unit contains multiple radios preselected and tuned for local responders in the area. However, rather than this standard solution, Loreno and Johnson recommended purchasing four Kenwood 160-channel programmable radios for the two VHF (low), VHF and UHF emergency band spectrums. A separate Motorola 800MHZ radio programmed to Ohio's MARCS provided the key to link any local agency with state response assets. This unit is capable of both analog and digital operations and can be programmed to work with nearly all trunked systems.

A Capsat M4 satellite phone for high-speed data and voice and a Verizon cell phone for standard voice communications are also included, while an ICOM multi-band (160 meter to 70 centimeter) amateur transceiver provides communications with any of Ohio's area RACES nets.

Since the ACU-1000 can provide interoperability for up to 14 separate frequencies, space remains to plug and play with other agencies such as the FBI, Defense Department or Red Cross by connecting one of their radios or portables into the unit with a coaxial cord.

A Dell laptop computer with a Pentium IV processor houses the software to reprogram the radios, provides connective control for the ACU-1000, offers real-time GPS positioning for mapping the scene and provides wireless Internet capability. A Hewlett-Packard 5110 color printer/copier/scanner/fax rounds out the wireless system.

A 14-inch color television with built-in VCR helps the MIRV's response personnel keep track of the media's coverage of an incident or provides a better view of video from the unit's Sony camcorder, which is used to document both the scene and the evidence collection. To supply electricity for these systems, twin 100-amp redundant power supplies are wired to work off the generator or the truck's batteries.

A bank of 10 extra UHF portable radios are available so that every member of the state fire marshal's office responding to the incident can maintain communications with one another. The MIRV is equipped with a UHF repeater on the office's frequencies so that clear communications can be maintained even if an investigator needs to travel to other nearby venues to gather additional witness statements; check out leads; or conference with local fire, law enforcement or county prosecutor's personnel. These radios have the ability to use a high-security encryption to maintain privacy.

Because of the rolling terrain in parts of Ohio, the antenna system was designed around a Will-Burt 34-foot telescoping pneumatic tower, which extends using the air tank fed by the truck's compressor system. The tower retracts into a rear compartment and is raised and lowered by a single control switch. Five antennae are suspended from a cross bar attached to the top of the tower and are fed by a central coil of coaxial cables. These antennae service the MARCS Motorola and each of the four Kenwood radios. A separate hinged roof-mounted vertical antenna handles the RACES amateur communications with a matching system that automatically tunes the wavelength to the selected band.

Command post

To accommodate the needs of local incident commanders, the MIRV is equipped with an elevated platform that has four panoramic windows to view the incident. Thus, despite the weather, the IC can be centralized with the communications system and have an unrestricted view of the emergency incident as it unfolds.

A collapsible cantilever conference table can serve as an additional area for the staff or act as an area to interview witnesses and gather statements during the investigative phase of an incident. Sets of IC vests are carried to lend to local command staff, and other vests identify the state fire marshal's technicians assigned to staff the MIRV's communications equipment.

Homeland security

The state fire marshal's role in homeland security is increasing on a daily basis. Because the unit can be deployed near an ongoing incident in support of the fire service, law enforcement or a request from one of the federal Joint Task Forces, the unit is equipped with dosimeters for monitoring radioactive particulates and kits to detect a variety of chemical agents.

As a member of the State of Ohio Security Task Force's First Responders Committee, the state fire marshal's office helped develop a special package of personal protective equipment designed for escape from a developing chemical or biological incident. The equipment consists of Tyvek F coveralls, gloves and over-shoes plus an MSA Millennium filter mask. Enough sets are carried for the fire marshal's staff plus five spares. This set of PPE is being offered statewide to all first responders via a state bid contract.

Appreciation

Early in the MIRV project, the Kroger Co. of Cincinnati contacted the state fire marshal's office to make a donation that could be used for equipment beneficial to all firefighters across the state. When informed of the MIRV and its mission, Kroger donated $6,000 toward the project. This money was used to offset the cost of the amateur radio, camcorder, printer and laptop computer not available on state contract.

In addition, the collective knowledge and experience of the communications staffs from the Ohio National Guard's 52nd Weapons of Mass Destruction Civil Support Team, the Ohio State Highway Patrol and the MARCS operations group collectively saved the state more than $10,000 in the selection of communications equipment.

Perhaps the biggest cost saving was through the efforts of John W. Finley of Finley Fire Equipment. From the outset he knew the type of vehicle that the fire marshal's office envisioned, and he secured one of the Marion Body Works Rescue Trucks while patiently waiting for the state's bid process to catch up to the actual purchase request. Without that help, Ohio never would have been able to place this unit on the road for a total cost of $212,000.

The final thanks go to the men and women of the state fire marshal's office, whose innovative ideas and dedication led to the MIRV project. It may sound simple, but on major incidents the forensic lab, investigations, codes and public information bureaus didn't have a central point to gather and disseminate information among themselves. Now all the pieces of the investigative puzzle can come together during an incident.

The MIRV, if used for nothing else, will bring a sharper focus on centralized operations for everyone in the state fire marshal's office.

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Robert R. Rielage, EFO, MIFireE, currently serves as the fire marshal for the state of Ohio. He holds a master's degree in public administration from Norwich University and has pursued graduate studies at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government. Rielage is the president of the U.S. Branch of the Institute of Fire Engineers and a member of the State Fire Commission, National Association of State Fire Marshals, Building Officials and Code Administrators International, National Fire Protection Association, Fire Service Administrative Risk Management Committee, and the Standard on Development of Fire Protection Service for the Public.