Report lauds response to Pentagon, calls for better communication
ARLINGTON, Va. (AP) – Firefighters, medics and police performed well following the Sept. 11 attack on the Pentagon but poor communication is one of several areas that needs to be fixed, according to a report released Tuesday. The authors also warned that firefighters and others who went to the scene without notifying those in charge sometimes caused more problems than they solved.
Similar concerns have been raised in New York, where more than 300 firefighters and other emergency workers died in the World Trade Center attack on the same day.
Officials have said communication in the two towers was poor and that some would-be rescuers showed up without orders.
Titan Systems Corp., a San Diego technology and defense company, prepared the 200-page report at Arlington County’s request with money from a federal grant.
The report team interviewed about 475 people who responded after a plane was crashed into the Pentagon.
The report said the FBI’s Washington field office knew at 9:20 a.m., 18 minutes before the Pentagon crash, that American Airlines Flight 77 had been hijacked after takeoff from Washington Dulles International Airport. That information wasn’t shared with local law enforcement, but Arlington Police Chief Ed Flynn said that information would not have been helpful.
“No one knew where that plane was headed,” Flynn said.
The report is generally favorable, but it makes 235 recommendations for improving emergency response. It highlights five areas that need improvement, especially communications.
“Almost all aspects of communications continue to be problematic, from initial notification to tactical operations,” the report said.
Cell phones didn’t work in the hours after the attack, and radio channels were oversaturated. Pagers worked best, but most firefighter do not carry them, according to the report.
“In the first few hours, foot messengers at times proved to be the most reliable means of communicating,” according to the report, which recommended cell phone priority access for rescue workers.
The authors also said organizations and response units that dispatched themselves to the scene sometimes complicated the command structure. No rescuers were killed at the Pentagon.
County Manager Ron Carlee said some changes have already been made to implement the recommendations. New communications equipment, including a paging system, has been purchased. Arlington and Pentagon police have signed an agreement providing for joint jurisdiction outside the Pentagon.
—
On the Net:
Report: http://www.co.arlington.va.us/fire/edu/about/docs/aar.htm