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You could call it the FDNY’s
Operations Center on wheels.
After years of development, the
Department’s new Command Tactical Unit (CTU)
went into service this September.
The unit was created as part of Fire
Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta and
Chief of Department Salvatore Cassano’s
initiative to increase communications
between the incident commander (IC) and
members in the FDNY Operations Center (FDOC).
It allows for documents, visual images
and other information to be sent
wirelessly between members at the scene
and in the FDOC, helping everyone make
more educated decisions about their
course of action at a job.
“CTU’s main purpose is to save lives
and prevent injuries,” said Supervising
Fire Marshal Ralph Bernard, director of
imaging technology, who helped develop
the unit. “It’s an information
collecting and distribution hub, the
liaison between the scene and the
Operations Center. The more information
the IC has, the better equipped he or
she will be to mitigate the incident.”
Deputy Assistant Chief Joseph Pfeifer
of the Counterterrorism and Emergency
Preparedness Unit added: “This is
cutting edge technology. This drives
interoperability and situational
awareness at any job.”
CTU is staffed 24-hours a day by one
officer and one firefighter per tour.
They respond to jobs that reach a second
alarm or higher and other unusual
incidents.
When they arrive at an incident, the
members set up Tactical Access Points -
hard-wearing cases that include wireless
cameras and computer networks - around
the perimeter and activate a tower
camera located on the roof of their
vehicle. Video footage collected from
these cameras then is fed back to
computer screens in the CTU rig as well
as in the FDOC.
Members in both locations can use
controls to change the camera angles up
to 180 degrees and zoom the lenses,
ensuring they get optimal views.
“It’s improving safety, giving the
command chief a clear picture of what is
happening at a job,” said Capt. Peter
Carino, who supervises the unit. “And
instead of just getting reports at the
FDOC, members will be able to see images
of the fire from many different points
of view. They can monitor a fire’s
progress as if they were there and
provide the IC with any other resources
or tactical information they need.”
The CTU firefighter monitors the
camera feeds from the rig and organizes
the documents received from the FDOC,
including floor plans, locations of gas
lines and building code violations. He
or she also records the video and can
burn this footage to a DVD for the
incident commander immediately after a
job for operational critique.
Once the video feed is streaming, the
CTU officer takes tablet computers to
the command post for the IC, EMS
officer, Safety Command officer and
anyone else who might require this
information, enabling everyone to make
more informed decisions about the
incident.
“When they see what we can do,
they’re thrilled,” said Capt. Carino.
The Department initially received
$115,000 in funding from the Department
of Homeland Security and another $4,000
from the Honorary Fire Officers’
Association for the project, which
helped the unit take shape.
The FDNY Assistant Commissioner of
Fleet and Technical Services James
Basile and his team then provided a used
ambulance for use as the Command
Tactical vehicle. They also helped build
it, installing the electronic system
that powers the unit, assembling the
video tower, and creating brackets and
racks for its antennas and cameras.
“Many, many people had their hand in
putting this together,” said SFM
Bernard. “It was a grassroots effort.”
Following a second-alarm fire at a
Staten Island furniture store on Sept.
21, Deputy Assistant Chief John Sudnik
said the information he received from
the CTU was beneficial.
When fire was blowing out the rear
windows of the first floor of the
three-story building at 530 Bay St., he
said he usually relies only on members’
reports regarding the status of the
fire. But the images he received from
the CTU cameras gave him “a picture to
put with the reports I was getting. And
that’s exactly what you want when you’re
the incident commander standing in front
of the building.”
“It’s a great tool,” he added. “Any
time you can take advantage of
technology in this day in age it makes
the job easier and our members safer.” |
