HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 12191995 - C103 To: BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
FROM: Mark Finucane, Health Services Director ,1T� ;. Contra
o:
_ Costa
DATE: December 5, 1995 ^ -� County
SUBJECT: Coordination with Operation Respond Institute for Use of Rail and Motor Carrier
Data Bases to Provide Critical Information to Emergency First Responders
SPECIFIC RWUEST(S)OR RECOMIMENDATION(S)&BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION
RECOMMENDATION:
Direct the Health Services Department to coordinate with Operation Respond Institute, Washington, D.C.,
to provide software and training to Contra Costa County 911 dispatch centers and others as appropriate.
In the event of a railroad or truck accident, the software will speed emergency response by giving dispatchers
direct, immediate access to hazardous materials cargo information held by the railroads and several major
trucking firms, as well as diagrams of railroad passenger trains.
BACKGROUND:
Operation Respond Institute is a research and demonstration project funded by the Department of
Transportation. It arose out of a National Academy of Sciences study that recommended using rail and
motor carrier data bases to provide critical information to emergency first responders.
"Point and click" software developed by'the Institute connects police and fire dispatch centers with railroad
and motor carriers' mainframe computers. The software has been successfully installed and used in a Texas
pilot project, and more recently in Atlanta in preparation for the Olympics.
The Hazardous Materials Interagency Team ("HIT' Team) invited Operation Respond staff to present the
project and responded enthusiastically. The members of the Board of Supervisors have since received a
memo about the project from the Health Services Department, with a letter of inquiry from the Health
Services Department to Secretary Pena, and a November 1, 1995 West County Times article on Operation
Respond.
Health Services staff members subsequently met with the Police Chiefs and Fire Chiefs Associations, the
Emergency Communications Advisory Board, the Communications Center Managers Association, and the
Hazardous Materials Commission to discuss the project. All are interested in bringing the software to the
County. The Metropolitan Transit Commission has offered to serve as convener of representatives from
other Bay Area counties in a separate venue to learn about the project.
The County's letter to Secretary Pena was favorably received, and Operation Respond Institute staff are
prepared to meet in January 1996 with representatives of the above-noted groups, the Health Services
Department, and other interested organizations, to develop a plan for software installation and training.
Institute staff estimate that installation could occur in Spring 1996.
FISCAL IMPACT•
Operation Respond Institute will provide the training, software, and software updates at no cost to the
County. The County will provide in-kind services to coordinate the effort.
CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT: YES NO X SIGNATURE
RECOMMENDATION OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE
APPROVE OTHER
SIGNATURE(S):
ACTION OF BOARD ON (`� - q� APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED OTHER
VOTE OF SUPERVISORS
I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A TRUE
UNANIMOUS (ABSENT ) AND CORRECT COPY OF AN ACTION TAKEN
AYES: NOES: AND ENTERED ON THE MINUTES OF THE BOARD
ABSENT: ABSTAIN: OF SUPERVISORS ON THE DATE SHOWN.
Contact Person: Elinor Blake (370-5022)
CC: Health Services Director (HSD) ATTESTED ( 19 , 19 2-6'
Hazardous Materials Commission (HSD) PHIL BATCHELOR, CLERK OF THE BOARD OF
.Hazardous Materials Interagency Team (HSD) SUPERVISORS AND COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR
BY \IPA � DEPUTY