emergency

Arlington to Hold Emergency Preparedness Forum

By ARLnow.com

Do you have any ideas for ways Arlington County can improve its emergency preparedness? If so, the county’s Emergency Preparedness Advisory Commission wants to hear from you.

The commission will be holding a public forum from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. on Tuesday, May 10, in the county board room at 2100 Clarendon Boulevard, to gather “public input on preparedness and the County’s handling of emergency events.”

The forum is intended to coincide with the upcoming 10-year anniversary of the Sept. 11 terror attacks.

“How would you rate the County’s handling of snowstorms and other disasters since 9/11,” the commission will ask residents. “Do you consider yourself better prepared for emergencies today than you were 10 years ago?”

Despite last night’s news about the death of Osama bin Laden, the timing of today’s press release about the meeting seems to be a coincidence.

Outdoor Warning Siren to Sound This Morning

By ARLnow.com

Arlington will be testing its outdoor warning systems in Rosslyn, Courthouse and Pentagon City this morning.

Between 10:00 a.m. and noon, the county’s Office of Emergency Management will sound a series of three loud beeps in each area, followed by a voice broadcast in English and Spanish.

Today is Tornado Preparedness Day in Virginia, with a statewide tornado drill scheduled for 9:45 a.m. A test tornado warning will be broadcast on television and radio stations, as well as on NOAA weather radio. The period between March and May is generally considered peak tornado season.

DEVELOPING — Arlington County Experiencing 911 Problems

By ARLnow.com

Arlington County issued the following alert this morning:

Arlington County is currently experiencing intermittent problems with the 9-1-1 system. If you call 9-1-1 and can’t get through, immediately call 703-741-3035.

A supervisor at the county’s Emergency Communications Center said she was not sure when 911 service would be back to normal.

Update at 12:25 p.m. — “This is a Verizon issue,” said Debbie Powers, Deputy Coordinator for the Arlington’s Office of Emergency Management. “It’s a regional issue and it’s intermittent.”

Update at 1:35 p.m. — Verizon tells Arlington’s Office of Emergency Management that the 911 system is now functioning normally, according to OEM’s Brian Geraci.

Update at 3:10 p.m. — Verizon spokesman Harry J. Mitchell says that the outage, which affected cell phone calls to 911, was due to a faulty piece of equipment at the company’s Fairfax switching center.

At this point it appears that a Verizon service issue starting around 9:10 a.m. affected customers primarily in Arlington and Fairfax counties. It appears that a faulty piece of equipment in Verizon’s Fairfax switching center caused the service issue.

Calls to 911 from Internet-based phones and landline phones served by the Arlington and Fairfax 911 centers were automatically redirected to these 911 centers via an alternate path in the Verizon network. The equipment failure, however, may have intermittently affected wireless calls to 911 in Arlington and Fairfax counties. This is still under investigation.

The faulty equipment was restored to normal operation around 11:30 a.m., and we continue to monitor the situation closely to ensure the issue is completely resolved.

This issue is unrelated to the 911 issues triggered by storm-related mass call events earlier this year.

Community Emergency Response Training Begins in March

By ARLnow.com

Want to learn how to help your neighbors, co-workers or family in an emergency? If so, Arlington will be offering free emergency response training in March.

The training is part of the county’s Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) program.

Recent news and weather headlines illustrate the importance of being prepared for and able to respond to all kinds of emergencies. That’s what Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training is all about. This eight-session course, sponsored by the Arlington County Citizen Corps Council, Office of Emergency Management (OEM) and Fire Department (ACFD), covers disaster preparedness, disaster medical operations, light search and rescue, team organization, disaster psychology, fire suppression and terrorism. It follows a FEMA/DHS curriculum being used around the globe.

To-date, over 480 individuals have completed CERT training in Arlington County. It is open to Arlington residents – and those who work in the County but reside elsewhere — who are at least 18 years of age (16 if accompanied by at least one parent) and able to participate in all aspects of the training, some of which requires lifting and carrying. The training is free, but participants are expected to acquire certain supplies themselves, many of which you probably already have on-hand. All classes meet at the Arlington County Fire Department (ACFD) Training Academy in Shirlington and are taught by ACFD and OEM staff and CERT members. Neighboring jurisdictions also offer CERT training for their residents.

Some complete this training simply to be safer in their own homes and workplaces. Others choose to complete additional requirements necessary to become active members of neighborhood teams trained to assist in major disasters. All help make Arlington County a safer place to live, work and play!

Spring CERT classes are scheduled to begin on March 16 and 22 and there are seats available in both that will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis. Advance registration is required. If you’d like additional information or would like to sign up, please contact the program’s volunteer coordinator, Cynthia Kellams, at [email protected].

Emergency Vehicle Preemption, Fiber Optic Line Approved

By ARLnow.com

The county board has approved two projects designed to improve traffic flow and reduce emergency response times.

The board awarded a $651,000 contract to install an emergency vehicle preemption system along the entire Arlington stretch of Lee Highway. The system will allow emergency vehicles to get an automatic green light at approaching intersections, thus reducing travel times and enhancing safety.

“Emergency vehicle preemption technology is critical to saving lives by giving responders safe, speedy passage through intersections and cutting precious minutes off the time it takes to get patients to life-saving care at a hospital,” Arlington Fire Chief James Schwartz said in a statement.

The board also awarded a $4.7 million contract to install six miles of fiber optic line. The line will run from Rosslyn to Ballston, down Glebe Road and along the eastern end of Columbia Pike. It’s part of a larger, $20 million project to upgrade the county’s communication and traffic management systems.

The fiber line will connect 54 county traffic signals and will allow for the installation of additional traffic monitoring cameras and motorist information signs.

“Arlington’s dense urban corridors require a modern system that offers greater efficiency and flexibility for monitoring traffic, operating signals, and providing real time driver information,” said William O’Connor, Director of Arlington’s Department of Environmental Services. “Expanding and enhancing the system will help ensure that the Arlington streets operate as seamlessly and safely as possible both day-to-day and during emergency situations.”

The fiber line will replace an aging copper line as well as lines leased from Comcast.

“Built in the early 1980s, the County’s current communications network lacks the speed and capacity to meet present and future demands, and is nearing the end of its useful life,” the county noted in a press release. “It consists of outdated and increasingly unreliable twisted pair (copper) cables and a leased private network.”

Chesapeake Electrical Systems has been chosen as the contractor on both projects, which are expected to take six to eight months to complete. The work is being paid for with a combination of federal and local funds.

Flickr pool photo by Chris Rief

Lee Highway to Get Emergency Vehicle Preemption System

By ARLnow.com

The county board is expected to award a contract on Saturday that would install an emergency vehicle preemption (EVP) system down the entire length of Lee Highway, from Rosslyn to Falls Church.

The system would improve the response times of emergency responders by preemptively turning traffic lights red for conflicting traffic in the path of an emergency vehicle.

The $563,902 contract, which includes an $87,384 cost overage contingency, would install the EVP system at 31 traffic signals on Lee Highway. The federal government is providing most of the funding for the project, with Arlington County chipping in about $130,000.

In addition to improving response times for the three fire stations on Lee Highway, the new EVP system would “also provide the infrastructure for a Transit Signal Priority system in the future,” according to the staff report.

EVP systems are currently in place on parts of Glebe Road and Columbia Pike, according to county spokesperson Mary Curtius.

Winter Storm Warning Issued

By ARLnow.com

Update at 2:00 p.m. — The winter storm warning has been dropped. Arlington is now expected to just get a dusting of snow.

Update at 3:00 a.m. — It now appears that the storm will be smaller than anticipated locally.

The Arlington Office of Emergency Management has broadcast the following alert about the snowstorm that will be impacting the Washington area tomorrow.

The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Storm Warning for NCR, effective from 6AM Sunday to 6AM Monday. Currently, the anticipated amount of snowfall is 6-7 inches. However, the area is right on the borderline between receiving a direct hit by the storm, and only receiving moderate snow, so anywhere from 3-10 inches should be anticipated. Light snow will start early Sun morning, and become heavier from mid-morning to early evening. High temp 30. Snow will taper off at night, but winds will pick up. Low 23. Monday will provide clearing but with windy conditions, and possibly blowing snow. High 31.

Arlington OEM would like to offer the following tips:

-Drive only if it is absolutely necessary. If you must drive, stay on main roads, and avoid back roads and alleys.

-Avoid overexertion when shoveling snow. Overexertion can bring on a heart attack—a major cause of death during the winter.

-Listen to your radio, television or NOAA Weather Radio for weather reports and emergency information.

-Dress for the weather. Wear several layers of loose fitting, lightweight, warm clothing rather than one layer of heavy clothing. Wear mittens, a hat and cover your mouth with a scarf to protect your lungs.

-Watch for signs of frostbite (skin appears white and waxy, numbness or no feeling) and hypothermia (shivering, confusion or dizziness, slow or slurred speech). Go to a medical facility immediately if you or someone you know is experiencing these symptoms.

Officials Tout 911 Texting Technology

By ARLnow.com

(Updated at 3:45 p.m.) At some point in the future, Arlington residents may be able to text 911 to receive emergency help.

County public safety leaders held a press conference with FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski this morning to discuss next-generation 911 services, which “will one day enable consumers to send text messages, videos and photos to 911 call centers via broadband applications.”

“The current 911 system is efficient and reliable… but [it] doesn’t support the communications tools of tomorrow, Genachowski said, pointing out that 70 percent of all 911 calls now come from mobile phones.

“With today’s advances in commercial mobile broadband technologies, consumers are using their phones less to make calls and more for texting and sending pictures… but right now, you can’t text 911,” he added. “It’s time to bring 911 into the digital age.”

Genachowski cited the 2007 shootings at Virginia Tech as an example of why a the new technology is necessary.

“Some students and witnesses tried to text 911 during that emergency,” he said. “Those messages never went through and were never received by local 911 dispatchers.”

In addition to emergencies where speaking to a dispatcher could jeopardize a caller’s safety, Genachowski said 911 texting systems could help in other situations.

“Next generation 911 could allow a caller to transmit a photo of a car leaving the scene of an armed robbery, [or] could enable a deaf person to communicate with an emergency call center by sending text messages to the call taker,” he said. Devices like environmental sensors, highway cameras or personal medical devices could be set up to text 911 in the event of emergency situations.

Genachowski announced that at its meeting next month, the FCC will take an “important first step” toward figuring out how to roll out next-generation 911 nationwide. No time frame was given for the technology’s implementation.

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Afternoon Notes: Library Closure, Memorial Day Tax Holiday

By ARLnow.com

Glencarlyn Library Closed This Week — The Glencarlyn library will be closed tomorrow through Friday for repairs to the library’s 50 year old water pipes. The bookdrop will remain open.

Tax Holiday for Emergency Supplies — Starting tomorrow, Virginia is holding a tax holiday for emergency hurricane preparedness supplies. So stock up on batteries, bungie cords, bottled water and anything else you may need in the event of the near-perfect storm.

Arlington to Spend $275k on Prison Laundry Machines — Arlington County will spend $272,550 to replace three washers and dryers at the county jail, the Examiner reports. Arlington spends more per inmate than per public school student, but still spends less than most Northern Virginia jurisdictions.

WaPo Examines Fate of Crystal City Underground Post-BRAC — What will happen to the 140 Crystal City Underground merchants when thousands of DoD and contract jobs leave next year as a result of BRAC? The Washington Post spoke to a few business owners who were remarkably optimistic.

DC EMS Using Arlington Radio Frequencies

By ARLnow.com

The District’s emergency communications system went down Monday night, prompting Arlington to allow D.C. radio traffic on some of the county’s channels.

ARLnow.com heard D.C. paramedics being dispatched on a fire department administrative channel. Among the calls broadcast on Arlington frequencies was a report of a stabbing in northeast Washington.

The cross-jurisdiction transmissions have since stopped.

More from the Washington Post.

Blizzard by the Numbers

By ARLnow.com

Here’s an update on the blizzard statistics we’ve compiled today.

  • 11+ inches of fresh snow on the ground in South Arlington
  • 41 mile per hour wind gusts recorded at Reagan National Airport
  • 1,253 Dominion customers in Northern Virginia without power (at 5:20 PM)

Emergency calls in Arlington, from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM:

  • 10 calls for downed trees, downed power lines, transformer fires, etc.
  • 5 calls for stuck vehicles, including a fire engine
  • 2 calls for women in labor