United States Congressman Don Young is pleased to announce that the Operation Respond Institute (ORI, a non-profit organization) has introduced a "Ferry Boat Schematics" function for emergency responders in the State of Alaska to the suite of features in the Operation Respond software. These schematics are designed to assist first responders as they deal with potential safety and security incidents that could occur onboard ferry boats. This initiative was made possible by the support of the Congressman and his efforts to secure funding for the Operation Respond program.
ORI worked closely with the State of Alaska Department of Transportation to obtain the Alaska Marine Highway System ferry boat fire plans, as submitted to the United States Coast Guard, and developed the emergency schematics. The Operation Respond software, called OREIS, now includes schematics for all ferry boats serving the state of Alaska. These ferry boats operate along the Alaska Marine Highway System, which is centered around Juneau. The schematics include detailed drawings of the ferry boats that indicate the physical layout of the boat decks, the location of emergency equipment, onboard emergency plans and other information that could assist first responders in an emergency.
"The State of Alaska Department of Transportation should be commended for their foresight and proactive concern for the citizens and responders in the State of Alaska. By working with ORI, this important information is now readily available to Alaska's emergency responders directly through the secure OREIS software," said Congressman Young concerning this new capability.
Daniel M. Collins, President of Operation Respond, also gave credit to officials at the Port of Valdez. "This effort emulated from ORI's work with the security committee at the Port of Valdez, who strongly recommended that ferry boat information be added to OREIS. The security committee was essential in developing the concept and securing the proper diagrams. This is a critical component of many ventures that ORI has underway in the area of port and maritime safety and security," said Mr. Collins.
This new feature will soon be available to all registered and password protected OREIS users located in the State of Alaska. All new sets of OREIS in Alaska will include the diagrams.