In order to stay one step ahead of potential emergencies, the Houston Airport System has begun utilizing a new 40-foot mobile incident command vehicle equipped with cutting-edge technology to improve public safety.
The three airports in the Houston area form one of the largest airport systems in the United States by serving more than 55 million passengers annually, and the new vehicle with its interoperable communications system allows airport safety officials to strengthen their emergency preparedness efforts.
“Most airports do have incident command vehicles that are utilized by the fire departments or police. What makes this unique is that this is truly Houston airports’ own stand-alone incident command vehicle,” said Frank Ciaccio, the emergency management coordinator for the Houston Airport System’s Safety & Emergency Management Division.
“All of the technology is the most up-to-date technology from Motorola,” he told Homeland Preparedness News in a recent interview. Motorola supplies critical technology behind communication systems that help public safety by providing greater connectivity and interoperability to airports and all types of first responders.
With room for 12 people, the vehicle is equipped with a 48-foot boom with a high-definition camera that links to four external cameras, Wi-Fi, cellular and satellite connection capabilities, radio, and on-board and backup generators for power.
The incident command vehicle is used as a back-up command center in the event the airports’ main communications system is compromised, such as during extreme weather. It also can provide support on the scene of any type of emergency, such as an active shooter situation like the shooting earlier this month that killed five people at Florida’s Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.
“In the event we had a plane crash or an active shooter situation, this vehicle would be one of the primary vehicles that would be staged close to the incident site,” Ciaccio said. From within the vehicle, officials can monitor cameras, answer emergency phone lines and fully plan operations and emergency response.
The incident command vehicle is connected with the Houston Airport System’s own communications network, as well as its Emergency Operations Center database. The on-board communications system would allow personnel to upload video information from a plane crash and transmit it to the National Transportation Safety Board or to the FBI. Information can also be shared with the Houston Police Department, Houston Fire Department and state police.
“One of the limitations we had previously was we didn’t have a place where everyone could be at one time in the event of an emergency,” Ciaccio said. “We had people on different channels and different frequencies. Through this vehicle, everyone can come together in a more unified command.”
The mobile command vehicle has so far been deployed to monitor the Wings Over Houston event last year and a 5K run at Ellington Airport.
The incident command vehicle will also help monitor safety at the Super Bowl in Houston on Feb. 5, serving to back-up law enforcement for the aviation support operations command, Ciaccio said.