firefighting, policing and communications ideas for mass transit

Firefighting, Policing and Communications ideas Mass Transit

With regards to how to deal with the issues related to communications, policing and firefighting in mass transit, the specific transit systems have to work with the police and fire departments that would be required to respond. This is so that there will be proper communications channels and proper training especially for the fire departments.

· Starting with the firefighters and their training for subway tunnel fires set up an abandoned subway tunnel that can still support train traffic or build a tunnel system that is a realistic mock up of a subway tunnel with stations for each subway line. Also set up trains that are no longer used by the mass transit system in various points in the mock up to help the training along. As part of the training they should be taught too properly maneuver the trains incase the train is hindering their ability to work the fire or dealing with the aftermath of the fire. Include every city and town in the training that has subway tunnels and subway stations in them.

· In the process of training firefighters, find out if current equipment is adequate or if new equipment needs to be designed to better fight the subway fires especially if the firefighters are being hindered in someway from properly fighting the fire.

· Set up firefighting teams that would have the appropriate equipment for subway tunnel and subway station fires, including vehicles that can fit in the tunnels and can be driven on both the streets and on railroad tracks.

· Regarding the transit police, hire more police officers to bring the transit police department up to the necessary staffing levels to appropriately police the property owned by the mass transit system. Give the police more in-depth and more prolonged training with particular emphasis on what is considered suspicious activity. Do it even if it means hiring outside people that are trained to train the private sector to watch for suspicious activity that may have not been considered by the mass transit system but would be useful in promoting better security.

· Any new communications system that is installed has to have the capability of allowing the people trained to operate the system to access the whole system and allow all of the relevant people to directly patch into the system. The communication system should also have the capability to allow people to talk to each other in the tunnels, with it being in real time, with out the need for repeaters phones being hard wired in the tunnels. Each relevant responding city, state and/or federal agency should be able to communicate using a standardized frequency or frequencies designated for emergency responders.

· Design the communication system so that it cuts down on the ability to eavesdrop on the system but allows the mass transit system, along with the local police and fire departments to utilize the system when needed with each department having the proper tools and training to tap into the system. Also design it so that way it will not be adversely affected by intense heat or fire for prolonged periods of time along with designing it so that it has an automatic back up system in place that would compensate for any problems if they should arise.

· For times where the system cannot use a land line, use the same or similar walkie-talkie technology that Nextel uses for its direct connect phones to provide some level of privacy and protection against eavesdroppers. Using the walkie-talkie technology of the Nextel network set up a completely independent communications network specifically for use by the transit workers and the emergency response agencies on all levels.