By Kevin McGinnis, Sun Journal
Original publication date: June 12, 2011

Lewiston, Maine — An apartment house engulfed in flames. Several firefighters enter to search for victims. Every firefighter is wirelessly monitored for location in the building, heart rate, blood pressure and breathing by a safety officer. Each has a building blueprint available by projection on the face shield of their helmet which changes as they move about. Can’t do it today in Maine.

A patient trapped in a wrecked car is scanned by a paramedic (and read wirelessly in real-time by a doctor) for internal bleeding to help determine whether a LifeFlight helicopter is called for lifesaving intervention at a Trauma Center, or whether this expensive resource will be saved for another emergency while the patient is transported by ambulance to a closer hospital. Can’t do it today in Maine.

A sheriff’s deputy makes a traffic stop on an isolated road at night. The driver shoots the deputy who falls to the ground, unconscious. The car speeds away. A police dispatcher monitoring the deputy’s vehicle dash camera aimed at the stopped car sees the shooting. She calls for EMS and police response and puts out an alert to all police agencies with the car’s description and license plate number. The quick reaction saves the deputy’s life and results in a stop and arrest of the car’s driver within the hour. Can’t happen today in Maine.

Can’t happen today in Maine, but it could … today. Or at least in the near future.

But first, public safety (EMS, fire and police) must be armed with broadband communications; ironically, the same sophistication afforded to, and carried by, most teenagers today. It would take broadband support to make each of the lifesaving capabilities described above available to police, firefighters and medics in Maine. We first responders, however, are limited by the “narrowband” radios we all carry which cannot do these things.

For the past 40-50 years, public safety first responders have relied on narrowband mobile radio systems for communication. In general, these radios have been reliable and functional communications devices among all first responders. However, during the 9/11 terror attacks, when these systems failed, first responders were unable to communicate with each other, and lives were lost. Sadly, lives were lost for the same reason during Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

In addition, time and technology has moved on. Narrowband technology is extremely slow in moving data, like that required to perform those life-saving functions previously described. So while narrowband radios are good for voice, they are slower than the dial- up Internet access of the 1980s (and it was four times slower than today’s dial-up Internet access). That means that they cannot handle the volume of data public safety needs to respond quickly and effectively to emergencies.

Our nation’s emergency first responders should have the most technologically advanced and reliable portable and mobile devices.

Fortunately, Congress now has the opportunity to give public safety the tools it needs. Public safety needs, in short, a nationwide, interoperable wireless broadband network to operate on a dedicated spectrum. Congress can make this a reality by reallocating a small band of spectrum known as the “D Block,” which is fortunately located next to airwaves already used by public safety.

Bills supporting the D Block for public safety include mechanisms to not only pay for the network build-out without new tax dollars, but to reduce the federal deficit at the same time. Costs for local first responders should be no greater than replacing communications equipment as we normally would anyway.

Reallocating the D Block will save taxpayer money in another way as well. If Congress does not grant public safety use of the D Block, it could cost up to $4 billion more in additional purchases for equipment to use on a different network. This would be a terrible option for many cities and towns in Maine that are still trying to balance budgets and bounce back from a severe economic downturn.

The White House and some of the most influential Republican, Democratic and independent members of Congress — names such as McCain, Lieberman, Hutchison, Rockefeller, King and Thompson — have been or will be key sponsors of bills supporting D Block allocation to public safety and building the nationwide network.

Maine has a good showing in this support. Reps. Mike Michaud and Chellie Pingree have signed on to bills supporting this. Maine first responders really need Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins, to support us and those who we serve, by doing the same, now. They are important leaders in Congress and we need them in the lead on this.

About the Author
Kevin McGinnis is a licensed Maine paramedic, former ambulance service chief, hospital emergency department director and director of Maine EMS. He is communications technology advisor for five national EMS associations of emergency physicians, EMTs, EMS chiefs, educators and EMS officials. He chairs the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s SafeCom Program, and lives in Hallowell. 

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