HomeMy WebLinkAboutStaff Report 219-072:City of Palo Alto
,,City Manager’s Report~ ~ ~ ~
TO:HONO~BLE CITY COUNCIL
FROM:CITY MANAGER DEPARTMENT:POLICE
FIRE
DATE:
SUBJECT:
APRIL 23, 2007 CMR:219:07
SUMMARY OF REDWOOD CITY FIRE/COMMUNITY ALERTING SYSTEM
(TELEMINDER) FAILURE
This is an informational report. No Council action is required.
BACKGROUND
On Saturday, April 7, 2007, shortly after 8:00 a.m., a large fire broke out in Redwood City. At 11:55
a.m., the Palo Alto Police Department’s 9-1-1 center received its first indication of the fire, receiving
numerous 9-1-1 and telephone calls on its business and seven-digit emergency phone lines. For the
next 90 minutes, the dispatchers fielded hundreds of phone calls from residents making inquiries and
seeking information about the reason for visible smoke in the neighborhoods. The purpose of this
report is to provide the City Council with an accurate and detailed account of the incident, chain of
events, and the actions taken by the City’s Police and Fire Departments during this incident. It also
provides answers to questions raised by the City Council, the media and residents concerning this
incident.
DISCUSSION
On Saturday April 7, 2007, at 8:07 a.m., the Redwood City Fire Department responded to a fire at
Sims Auto Recycling located at 699 Seaport Boulevard. Due to weather conditions (wind shifts and
the inversion layer from cloud cover), pockets of heavy to light smoke were visible from as far away
as South San Jose. The four on-duty Palo Alto Public Safety dispatchers took hundreds of phone calls
beginning at about 11:55 a.m. from residents asking questions about the fire, the location of the fire
and seeking instruction regarding the smoke. See Attachment "A" for a breakdown of the 9-1-1 calls
during the time frame. (Note: Attachment A does not reflect the large volume of calls received on
seven-digit emergency and other business lines in the dispatch center.)
Palo Alto dispatchers notified the on-duty Fire Battalion Chief (BC) and Acting Police Watch
Commander about the calls and viewed details of the fire on news reports via the Internet. Initial
CMR:219:07 Page I of 5
attempts to gather additional details by Palo Alto staff about the fire were unsuccessful due to the
overwhelming activity levels in Redwood City’s dispatch center.
Between the hours of 12:45 and 1:00 pm., Palo Alto dispatchers, following standard protocol, notified
the Department’s Technical Services Coordinator Communications Manager. Redwood City did not
provide any information from the fire’s Incident Commander that there was any danger to residents.
The Patrol Captain was also notified who in turn notified the Police Chief. The on-duty Battalion
Chief advised the Fire Chief. Both chiefs informed the City Manager. As the volume of calls
continued into the 9-1-1 Center, the Captain asked the Communications Manager to make contact
directly with the on-duty BC to obtain additional information. It should be noted that the 9-1-1
dispatchers did an exceptional job handling the large volume of calls.
Even though neither the San Mateo nor Santa Clara County Offices of Emergency Services provided
any information regarding any potential health hazards, Palo Alto staffdecided that in order to provide
information to the community on the fire, given the large volume of phone calls, as a precautionary
measure the community alerting and notification system (Teleminder) would be activated. The BC
asked that instructions be provided to the elderly, small children and individuals with respiratory
problems to "Shelter in Place" within their residence or business should they experience any ill-effects
from the smoke. The BC was asked to remain in touch with Redwood City to provide any updates
for the Teleminder and to advise Technical Services when the instructions should be canceled.
At approximately 1:45 p.m., Technical Services staff recorded the Shelter in Place message and
launched the Teleminder system. The initial instruction was to conduct a citywide notification, an
incorrect action taken by a staff member, which resulted in an attempt to send the message to the entire
City (132,000 phone numbers). This action immediately caused the system to lock-up. Numerous
attempts, supported by Information Technology and Office of Emergency Services (OES) staff, proved
futile. The Teleminder system has no vendor support, as the product was sold by the vendor to an
outside company. Several attempts to reboot the software were unsuccessful, as well as efforts to
reduce the size of the notification area. At approximately 4:00 p.m. the Technical Services
Coordinator informed the Police and Fire Chiefs that the Teleminder system was not working and that
it did not appear that any warning information concerning the fire could be sent out to residents via
this system.
At 2:08 p.m., the Redwood City Emergency Operations Center called to advise that Air Quality
Environment officials were at the fire and that they would not be issuing a "Shelter in Place" warning
to their residents.
As a result, Police personnel use a number of other avenues to notify residents about the fire. Stanford
University’s radio station, KZSU, was notified and they were provided with information about the fire
and the recommendations to "Shelter in Place." KZSU staff broadcasted this information every 30
minutes to their listeners. The Editor of the Palo Alto Weekly was advised and was asked to update its
web-page and put out three "e-bulletins" advising subscribers of the fire and recommended actions.
CMR:219:07 Page 2 of 5
The same information and request was made to the San Jose Mercury News who also updated its
website. The Mercury also provided the City with a new website that would enable the City to get
information immediately to the editors for the Mercury News’ website for faster notifications.
The City’s Emergency Line was updated to include information about the fire and recommended
actions. This line was updated several times on Saturday and Sunday morning so that residents had
the most up-to-date information on the status of the fire. Information was included on the Police
Department’s website. Additionally, an email message was sent to Palo Alto Neighborhoods (PAN)
representatives asking them to send the information out on its email lists. Police personnel also
personally contacted a PAN leader seeking assistance. An update via email was sent to the City’s
Executive Staff and the City Council. In addition, contact was made with Stanford University
Hospital Emergency Room staff alerting them to the situation should they receive inquiries. The
Stanford Emergency Room had no knowledge of the fire and had no patients complaining of fire
related symptoms.
Police personnel contacted San Mateo County Sheriff’s Department requesting additional information
on the fire. Contact was also made with one of the Redwood City Fire Department’s captains assigned
to the Emergency Operations Center. At approximately 3:00 p.m., Police personnel obtained up-to-
date information on the fire’s status, Redwood City Fire Department’s predictions when the fire would
be extinguished and the weather/wind conditions. This information was passed along to neighborhood
associations.
Palo Alto Rangers closed Baylands Park when a number of visitors at the park complained of irritated
eyes from the smoke. No medical response by Fire Department personnel was requested or required.
It is important to note, that no information was ever received from either San Mateo or Santa Clara
County OES offices, the Redwood City Fire Department, or the Air Quality Board about any toxicity
or health hazards associated with the fire.
Questions from the Council, Community and Media
Why did the Teleminder fail?
An attempt was made to activate the system using the entire citywide map, initiating a message to
132,000 telephone lines. This action caused the system to lock up and additional attempts to reboot
the system and re-initiate the request proved unsuccessful. The system was tested during the week of
April 9 and was functioning normally.
Are regular tests conducted on the Teleminder?
Because the system draws on the 9-1-1 database for telephone numbers, there is no mechanism is the
current system to run actual tests that dial phone numbers. However, Technical Services staff
routinely checks out the system, and at a minimum, checks the systems function (short of dialing
CMR:219:07 Page 3 of 5
numbers) on a monthly basis when it uploads the revised 9-1-1 database CD from the telephone
company.
Why didn’t Police and Fire personnel go through the neighborhood with loudspeakers making an
announcement about the fire?
The threat that the fire presented did not rise to the level where Police and Fire personnel would be
directed to drive through neighborhoods and make announcements with their public address systems.
As noted above, there was no indication from the Redwood City Fire Department, the San Mateo
County Office of Emergency Services or the San Mateo CountyDepartment of Public Health that the
Fire had caused any smoke or fumes that were dangerous to the public. The message via the San
Mateo County’s alerting system, which first went out at 1:06 p.m., issued just cautionary information
about staying indoors. Notifications would have had to have been made to all areas of the City using
the PA system method, including the downtown and Stanford Shopping Center. While the fire was
occurring in Redwood City, Palo Alto Police, Fire and Communications personnel were engaged in
other unrelated emergency and non-emergency calls for service (Attachment B). It would have been
extremely difficult for the limited number of police and fire resources to provide coverage to all the
neighborhoods and areas in the City making announcements on loudspeakers and it would have taken
a considerable amount of time to do so. If this strategy were employed, staff believe it would have
resulted in an over-reaction by the public which would have heightened the level of concern, causing
additional calls to the already over-taxed 9-1-1 Dispatch Center.
Why wasn’t the Council notified by telephone about the activation of the Teleminder?
Since no specific instruction had been given by the Santa Clara County Health Department or
Redwood City Emergency Operations Center, staffinformed the City Council via email. In the future,
either the command staff of the Police/Fire Departments and!or members of the City Manager’s Office
will notify Council members via telephone anytime the teleminder system is activated
New Alertin. g System
During the past several months, Police staff, with active participation from PAN representatives, has
been conducting research, surveying neighborhood association members, and developing the bid
specifications for a new community alerting and emergency notification system for the City. City staff
and community members are in the final stages of the evaluation process of eight bid proposal and will
be selecting finalists for interviews and demonstrations in the coming weeks. Staffwill present the
City Council with a recommendation no later than the end of May for a new system that will provide
the tools needed to handle situations like those faced during this incident much more effectively and
efficiently.
As with all police and fire incidents, staff continually review and evaluate actions taken by City
personnel to determine lessons learned. In this instance, the technical, communications, and
CMR:219:07 Page 4 of 5
operational issues as well as training opportunities that were identified have either been implemented
or are in the process of being discussed with personnel to avoid any similar problems in the future.
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A: 9-1-1 Call Volume Chart
Attachment B: Police and Fire Activity Levels
PREPARED BY:
SHERYLA. CONTOIS ~’~
Director, Police Technical Services
DEPARTMENT HEAD:
DENNIS BURNS
Police Chief
DEPARTMENT HEAD:
NICKk~VIAR1NARO
Fire Chief
CITY MANAGER APPROVAL:
Assistant City Manager
CMR:219:07 Page 5 of 5
120
100
80
60
4O
20
O
103 98
26 272318
58
48
41
0 t 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 O 10 11 12 13 t4 15 16 |7 18 10 20 2t 22 23
Call Hour
PSAP: 1218 Palo Alto Police
4/1/07
4/2/07
4/3/07
4/4/07
4/5/07
4/6/07
4/7/07
Total
Calls Per Hour
Total
4/1/2007 thru 4/7/2007
78
126
73
95
105
90
189
756
0
4
14
3
1
2
2
3
29
1
3
1
1
1
0
1
3
10
2
2
1
0
0
3
0
6
12
All Calls
3 4
0 1
1 0
1 0
0 1
1 2
0 2
0 1
3 7
5 6
0
0
0
0
1
1
0
2
0
0
1
0
5
2
0
8
7
1
2
4
2
2
7
0
18
o
3
2
1
7
1
o
14
0
4
4
6
2
4
3
23
10
1
8
8
3
4
6
3
33
11
1
3
6
10
5
3
1
29
12
2
7
3
5
10
5
71
103
13
5
13
6
8
7
4
55
98
14
2
3
3
5
2
8
3
26
15
7
2
4
5
5
2
2
27
16
4
4
5
12
8
5
10
48
17
3
6
5
5
7
9
6
41
18
3
6
3
4
8
7
3
34
19
1
2
4
4
5
4
1
21
20
4
5
5
3
5
6
4
32
Fire Calls for Service During the Time Frame
TYPE OF TIME OF TIME TIME TIME ON
DATE CALL DISPATCH ENROUTE CLEARED CALL
04/07/2007 ALARM 10:10:54 10:11:18 10:35:26 0:24:32
’ 04/07/2007 ALARM 12:34:08 12:34:21 13:04:04 0:29:56
04/07/2007 EMS 12:49:25 12:49:29 14:09:11 1:19:46
04/07/2007 ALARM 12:51:30 12:51:58 13:04:05 0:12:35
04/07/2007 ALARM 12:56:54 12:57:13 13:12:38 0:15:44
04/07/2007 SERVICE 13:11:14 13:11:31 13:27:53 0:16:39
04/07/2007 ALARM 17:25:06 17:25:21 17:28:29 0:03:23
Attachment B
Police Calls During the Time Frame
DATE
04/07/2007
04/07/2007
04/07/2007
04/07/2007
04/07/2007
04/07/2007
TIME OF
CALL
10:10:53
10:26:46
10:34:17
10:52:55
ll:07:10
11:15:53
CLEARED
CALL
10:12:20
11:44:48
11:13:30
11:11:29
11:07:18
TIME
ON
CALL
0:01:27
1:18:02
0:39:13
0:18:34
0:00:08
0:10:2611:26:19
04/07/2007 11:24:43 11:24:52 0:00:09
04/07/2007
11:29:27 12:14:42 0:45:15
04/07/2007
12:09:00 12:10:34 0:01:34
04/07/2007
12:12:03 12:14:22 0:02:19
04/07/2007
12:23:46 12:42:22 0:18:36
04/07/2007
12:34:07 13:08:49 0:34:42
04/07/2007
12:40:59 13:49:21 1:08:22
04/07/2007
12:49:25 13:08:54 0:19:29
04/07/2007
12:51:30 13:08:58 0:17:28
04/07/2007
12:56:54 13:09:02 0:12:08
04/07/2007
12:58:28 13:11:34 0:13:06
04/07/2007
13:00:19 16:29:36 3:29.00
04/07/2007
13:06:34 16:38:07 3:31:33
04/07/2007
13:11:18 32:07:00 8:55:42
04/07/2007
13:15:26 13:41:16 0:25:50
04/07/2007
13:16:49 13:57:09 0:40:20
04/07/2007
TYPE OF CALL
FIREINFO
MEET CITIZEN
VEH RELEASE
SHOPLIFTING
BARKING DOG
ALARM
ABANDONED
VEHICLE
FOUND PROPERTY
911 HANGUP
911 HANGUP
RECKLESS VEHICE
FIREINFO
SHOPLIFTING
MEDINFO
FIREINFO
FIREINFO
TRAFFIC CONTROL
BE ON LOOKOUT
PHONE CALL
TRESSPASSING
PHONE CALL
MEET CITIZEN
04/07/2007
04/07/2007
04/07/2007
04/07/2007
04/07/2007
04/07/2007
04/07/2007
04/07/2007
04/07/2007
04/07/2007
04/07/2007
04/07/2007
04/07/2007
04/07/2007
04/07/2007
04/07/2007
04/07/2007
04/07/2007
04/07/2007
04/07/2007
04/07/2007
04/07/2007
04/07/2007
04/07/2007
13:17:26
13:32:27
13:37:34
13:39:22
13:40:30
13:44:38
13:47:01
13:47:41
13:49:28
13:51:35
14:09:19
14:10:27
14:25:53
14:26:16
14:31:33
14:45:34
15:11:31
15:13:41
15:24:00
16:!4:37
16:21:06
16:30:25
16:33:44
16:41:33
16:55:03
13:19:12
1~.~5.25
13:54:26
14:16:46
14:04:09
14:18:47
14:08:03
14:17:41
14:36:19
14:12:43
14:50:59
14:53:46
15:30:53
15:32112
15:22:51
14:52:06
16:25:22
15:28:55
16:25:34
16:14:42
16:27:10
16:35:28
16:59:04
17:04:31
16:58:18
0:01:46
0:02:58
0:16:52
0:37:24
0:23:39
0:34:09
0:21:02
0:30:00
0:46:51
0:21:08
0:41:40
0:43:19
1:05:00
1:05:56
0:51:18
0:06:32
1:13:51
0:15:14
1:01:34
0:00:05
0:06:04
0:05:03
0:25:20
0:22:58
0:03:15
PERSON STOP
CAR STOP
DISTURBANCE
THEFT
MEET CITIZEN
CAR STOP
PARKING
VIOLATION
PHONE CALL
SHOPLIFTING
VEHICLE RELEASE
SUSPICIOUS
VEHICLE
MEET CITIZEN
CAR STOP
MEET CITIZEN
PHONE CALL
PANIC ALARM
VEHICLE RELEASE
PARKING
VIOLATION
VEHICLE RELEASE
BARKING DOG
CAR STOP
CAR STOP
DISTURBANCE
BARKING DOG
PERSON STOP
00
00