Area schools to be mapped for security

By Cathy Logg

Herald Writer

EVERETT — Beginning in February, 60 Snohomish County schools will be mapped in the first phase of a $450,000 emergency response project that eventually will be used statewide.

The project’s computer software will enable authorities to have at their fingertips instant information about the layout of public and private school buildings, including floor plans and the location of entrances and utility controls. That means responders can better plan a swift, efficient and coordinated response.

Police, fire, emergency medical and school personnel will test an effectiveness during a drill in March at Mariner High School. The drill will be a repeat of one in June 2001 in which authorities practiced responding to a school shooting incident.

Snohomish County Sheriff Rick Bart beamed with pride Friday as he and others announced the $450,000 project, which is funded by the state Legislature in six counties. Snohomish County is the first.

"We’re kind of like Boeing," he said. "We’re rolling out a new plane. This has been a long time coming. We’re really proud of what’s coming."

Some of the most important lessons in life come through great tragedies, such as the Columbine High School shooting in 1999, officials said in unveiling the program.

"Columbine was a watershed event for police and fire," Snohomish County sheriff’s Lt. Steve Dittoe said.

"We said, ‘This is a tragedy and we can’t let that happen in our community,’" Dittoe said.

They began planning how different agencies that communicate on different frequencies could work more effectively to save lives and bring an incident to a swift conclusion.

"In a major incident, it’s going to be many agencies responding into a community to support them," Dittoe said.

In last year’s drill, authorities found some holes in the system and discovered communications problems. As an example, King County deputies and officers from outside Snohomish County couldn’t talk to local police as they arrived because they use different radio channels. They had to pass information through their dispatch centers, a cumbersome and time-consuming process. Authorities hope to show improved response and communication in this year’s drill.

State Rep. John Lovick, D-Mill Creek, sponsored a House bill last year that charged the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs and the Washington Association of Fire Chiefs with finding a mapping system to help emergency responders control school violence incidents. After the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the project’s scope expanded to include disaster response for all public and private facilities.

The agencies licensed the Rapid Responder program from Rapid Response Inc., a Tacoma company, and URS, a nationwide engineering company.

"The purpose is to save lives, mitigate property damage and protect first responders," said Sterling Griffin, Response president and chief executive officer. "Sept. 11 has driven us to make sure we’re in a position to protect the community’s buildings and the marketplace."

Once the school mapping is completed, public buildings and large industrial sites such as Kimberly-Clark will be mapped, Deputy Mike Roskind said.

After Snohomish County, the program will be developed for King, Pierce, Kitsap, Clallam and Spokane counties.

Future parts of the program include getting site owners to pay for the mapping process and keeping it updated, mapping pipeline locations, and getting the more than 900 police agencies across the state to use a standard format, Roskind said. For example, 42 police and fire agencies in Snohomish County use eight different maps, he said.

A pipeline bill proposed by U.S. Rep. Jay Inslee, D-Wash., would require gas or hazardous liquid pipeline operators to provide maps of their lines for emergency responders, he said, adding that only 3 percent of the nation’s pipelines are now mapped.

You can call Herald Writer Cathy Logg at 425-339-3437

or send e-mail to logg@heraldnet.com.

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