Bomb Scare Shuts Down National Disaster Drill

Bomb Scare Shuts Down National Disaster Drill
     A real bomb scare led to cancellation of a day's worth of TOPOFF terrorism-response exercise activities in Portland on October 18.

     During a routine sweep preceding the arrival of Homeland Security secretary Michael Chertoff, three separate bomb-sniffing dogs alerted in the first floor of a parking garage at the Doubletree Hotel event site. This led authorities to block off several blocks around the site and shut down mass transit in the area. A TOPOFF media briefing and photo opportunity planned for the afternoon were cancelled.

     Portland police focused on one vehicle, which turned out to belong to a TOPOFF participant. The participant was located and cooperated in their investigation, which found no explosives. Police speculated that the dogs picked up explosive or other residue on this car or others nearby. (A bus had been blown up earlier as part of the exercise.)

     "It's very unusual to have [such] a concentration of military and law enforcement vehicles in the same place," PPD spokesman Brian Schmautz told The Oregonian newspaper, adding that explosive residue can get "baked in" on vehicles and that members of his department's explosives team often trigger alarms in airports from residue on their clothing.

     This year's TOPOFF event posited dirty bombs being detonated in Portland, Phoenix and Guam.
-The Oregonian; The Columbian

PUBLIC SAFETY SPECTRUM TRUST names Cyren Call as liaison
     Cyren Call Communications has been selected as the primary liaison between the commercial sector and the Public Safety Spectrum Trust (PSST), an emergency-services consortium vying to win the right to construct a nationwide public-safety broadband wireless communications network.

     The PSST, which announced the agreement in October, is now developing a Statement of Requirements that defines the prospective network for potential commercial investors who will serve as partners in its construction. This document will describe the network's creation, operation and cost.

     Auction of recently vacated 700 MHz spectrum begins in January. At issue is spectrum in the range's D Block, which is adjacent to an area designated for public safety. By combining part of the commercial spectrum with that coming to public safety, the Trust hopes to facilitate creation of a nationwide broadband network that would enable things like on-scene video feeds, telemedicine and other high-bandwidth applications. The winning commercial bidder would get secondary access to the public-safety spectrum, and the combined network would allow commercial services while maintaining a nationwide network for public safety, including priority access during emergencies.

     The PSST's board includes members of such groups as the National Association of State EMS Officials, International Association of Fire Chiefs, National Emergency Number Association and Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO) International.
-Public Safety Spectrum Trust, Cyren Call

400 COMPRESSIONS SHOWS PROMISING RESULTS
     A departure from traditional CPR in Oklahoma is leading to improved survival rates and greater bystander intervention, the Daily Oklahoman reported in October.

     The Emergency Medical Services Authority (EMSA), which serves Tulsa and Oklahoma City, began two years ago telling 9-1-1 callers to perform 400 chest compressions, with no rescue breaths, on cardiac arrest victims. Since then, it has seen increases in both bystanders' use of CPR-up 23% since December 2005-and in patients leaving hospitals without neurological damage.

     "People are more likely to do CPR if they don't have to give the mouth-to-mouth part," EMSA communications director Frank Gresh told The Oklahoman.

     EMSA responders reach patients within 4½ minutes about 60% of the time, officials said-almost always before a caller can perform 400 compressions.
-The Oklahoman