Houston cops are now dashing to fires alongside firefighters as part of a post 9/11 effort to improve communication between the two agencies. "Ever since 9/11, we read in a lot of reports that was a major problem with the emergency response -- that no one could communicate with each other," said Senior Houston Police Officer Pat Siddons.
Siddons, a former volunteer firefighter and a 21-year Houston police veteran, initiated a joint response program in which several designated police officers carry fire department pagers and respond 24 hours a day to multiple alarm incidents.
"I wanted to get a better relationship with the fire department, and the way I figured we could do that was if certain officers would respond to all the multiple alarm fires and see what the fire department needed," Siddons said.
Four police officers volunteered to share response duties to major fire department incidents, in addition to covering their regular assignments. Once they arrive at the fire scene, they report to designated fire officers for briefing.
This puts the police in a better position to assist with traffic control, crowd control and evacuations, Siddons said, taking those burdens off the fire department and creating an every day working relationship.
The police can now interpret the fire department's commands and actions and relay that information to police officers so they can respond appropriately, by clearing the way for approaching units, evacuating the area around a hazmat incident, etc.
Even more importantly, however, police are already on scene and up to speed in case an incident turns into a large-scale emergency or terrorist event, Siddons said. The officers get incident command started for the police department so they can quickly turn it over to department leaders for a joint fire and police response.
"What it's preparing us for is any major incident in the city of Houston," Siddons said.
The program began a year and a half ago after the city created a combined dispatch center for police, fire and EMS on the same CAD system. Before that, the fire and police departments only communicated if they had to, by phone, Siddons said.
Now, the fire and police departments each have one of the others' radio channels and can switch over when necessary. In addition, Siddons and a police sergeant have all fire department frequencies so they can talk on any channel. Each department also has radio interoperability equipment so that during a mutual aid incident, they can bring all radio channels together.
Houston Fire Department PIO Jack Williams said the police and fire departments now have the best working relationship and communication they've ever had.
"It's night and day from what it used to be," he said.
Both sides agreed that although the cooperation takes effort, it actually reduces the overall workload for both agencies by making cooperation easier and quicker. They added that as far as they know, this program is unique among major U.S. cities.
"We do this enough on small incidents and small scenes, then when that big scene comes we've already got that groundwork laid and it's just going to make things a lot better for the two agencies, and also for the general public," Williams said.
Siddons said the added cost to the police department is minimal, just the cost of additional fuel for the designated police officers to respond to fire incidents in their city vehicles. He said the police officers are not paid extra, and that it does impact their daily routine and family life. However, "We're dedicated to getting this program up and running and keeping the communication channels open between the two agencies," he said. "It's just a job responsibility that we have taken on."
The joint response program is up for review in July, and both Siddons and Williams expect to continue.
"It's a very good system," Williams said. "We're impressed with the returns we're getting."
