Page 3
Also on exhibit are pieces of the airplanes that crashed into the WTC
towers and a portion of a wheel assembly from one of the planes.
FDNY’s Engine Company 6 was the first to respond. Their Engine Company
was very close to the WTC, and their pumper was uniquely designed to
push water to the top of the 110 story towers.
On display is the pumper (right), which was destroyed when the North Tower
collapsed.
For those that cannot visit the museum in person, a web site showcasing
the exhibit is available,
http://www.nysm.nysed.gov/wtc/. The web site has the exhibit grouped
into three categories: Gallery Images, Teacher Guides, and A Timeline at
Ground Zero.
Pumper destroyed in the disaster.
To assist decision making, the user may specify the role they are currently performing at the scene of the incident. WISER then organizes the information in a sequence most relevant to that role - first responder, hazmat specialist or emergency medical specialist (EMS).
WISER can also help identify unknown substances. Using input about observed physical properties of the unknown substance, along with reported symptoms and observable signs among victims, WISER can assist the user by narrowing the range of substances
that may be involved in a specific incident. As the emergency responder selects observed properties and symptoms, WISER looks in its database for chemical substances that have these characteristics. As the user provides additional information, the list of suggested chemicals decreases. WISER presents the user with a list of candidate chemicals at any point in the identification process.
What do you need to run WISER? One of the following is needed: Pocket PC 2002 or Pocket PC2003 device with 15 megabytes of memory or Palm OS® PDA with version 3.5 or above and with 7.5 megabytes of memory,
or Microsoft® based personal computer with a minimum of 17 megabytes of hard disk space and Microsoft® .NET framework. (If you do not have .NET framework, the installer will assist in downloading and installing it.)
A number of organizations, for example, Baltimore County (Maryland) Hazmat Team training program, the Illinois Fire Service Institute, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program, have added WISER to their training curricula.
To obtain a free copy of WISER for PDAs or Windows desktop, it can be downloaded from http://wiser.nlm.nih.gov.
In addition, a Web-based version also is being developed and will be available by November 2005. By joining an automatic mailing list, users will be notified of important updates, some of which may be critical for the safe use of the information. (Joining the mailing list is optional.)
The City of Phoenix (Arizona) contracted for a Digital Trunked Radio System to provide communications for all city departments including the Fire Department. Trunked radio systems may be used whenever a large number of mobile radios need to share radio frequencies.
In a trunked radio network, a large number of workgroups may share fewer channels because the trunking equipment dynamically allocates an available channel when users key their radio. Rather than communications being sent radio-to-radio, each radio sends signals to a nearby tower
or receiver site, which then rebroadcasts that transmission at higher power. The contracted system utilizes the APCO Project 25 standard, a non-proprietary digital format, thus allowing the use of portable and mobile radios from multiple manufacturers.
Although trunked radio systems allow efficient use of the frequency spectrum, the Phoenix Fire Department questioned the application of trunked radio technology to firefighting. Testing was conducted to determine if the application of this technology was adequate to meet their needs.
Cont. on page 4