The 2004 Super Bowl presented a unique set of safety and security challenges to Houston area emergency responders. The game brought an influx of people and traffic into the City of Houston and Harris County. All Emergency Management, Fire, Rescue, EMS and Law Enforcement agencies had to consider issues of communication and cooperation should an incident occur. Houston and Harris County also sees a large quantity of railroad and motor carrier hazardous materials traffic, and this is a major concern for emergency agencies.
As part of a comprehensive approach to assist responders and community leaders, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) teamed up with the Operation Respond Institute (ORI) and its affiliated firm, the Emergency Services Information Network Corporation (ESINC), to launch a safety and security program aimed to assist emergency responders in the area surrounding Super Bowl XXXVIII in Houston, Texas. This program involved providing the technology to help area responders communicate, receive information during an emergency, and deal with potential safety and security issues involving hazardous materials and its movements in and around Houston.
Through the Houston TransStar traffic management center, which serves as a central emergency and transportation communications hub, Emergency Services Information Network Corporation (ESINC) was linked to every Houston area emergency response and management agency. The involved agencies were provided with the Operation Respond Emergency Information System (OREIS™) software, which provides real-time content information and response guidance for dealing with hazardous materials and transportation incidents. As an OREIS™ installation, these sites automatically became part of the ESINC network. The ESINC network allows these agencies to receive emergency security and incident notification and alerts, as well as, communicate directly with other departments, through email, fax and phone. The ESINC network was tied in with the Union Pacific, BNSF Railroad Police and AAR Rail Alert Network to establish and maintain communications and intelligence sharing during the event.
"The AAR and its member railroads should be commended for their dedication to responder safety and national security," said Dale Everitt, Acting President of ESINC. Mr. Robert Vander Clute, Senior Vice President of the AAR, praised the dedication of local responders and the ORI/ESINC staff. He was pleased that the procedures implemented during the Super Bowl will remain in place as a permanent aspect of response in the greater Houston area.
This project is part of an ongoing agreement between the AAR and ORI to assist emergency responders, promote safety and increase security along our nation's railroad system. This agreement, signed in November 2003, involves three main aspects; the development of an "information sharing system" to benefit emergency responders and railroad carriers, an "incident location" program that utilizes GPS technology to assist first responders identify a specific location on the railroad, and the integration of the ESINC network and the AAR Rail Alert Network.
Operation Respond Institute (www.oreis.org) is a not-for-profit organization that develops software tools and training for emergency responders. The Association of American Railroads (www.aar.org) is an industry group comprised of railroad carriers in the United States, Canada and Mexico. The Super Bowl project demonstrates a strategy to identify events with a high threat level and take extra measures to secure those areas. This cooperative venture between the AAR and ORI/ESINC may be used to help secure national sporting and other high-profile events in the future.