First Responder Support and Training (FRST) System

Transcription

1 First Responder Support and Training (FRST) System Richard A. Volz Kuncara Sukasdadi Kevin Underhill Randal Sharrock Texas A&M University College Station, TX Arun Abichandani Siebel Systems California 1 Introduction Our nation has long had mechanisms in place to respond rapidly to disasters and provide relief to those in need. In the past, the principal disasters of concern were natural in origin. Today, however, we face new, and potentially much more devastating, challenges of a nature we have traditionally not had to worry about extensively in the past, terrorists and more readily available Weapons Of Mass Destruction (WMD). We have already seen deliberately perpetrated disastrous events such as the Oklahoma City and New York bombings. Beyond explosives, the potential of chemical and biological weapons raises a frightening specter. The training and support we have provided our largely volunteer response force (5,000,000 strong) are not adequate to face these new challenges. Of particular concern in this paper are the First Responders, those who are first on the scene to handle disasters. As the first to arrive on a disaster scene, First Responders must be able to handle a wide variety of situations under highly stressful and physically constraining situations (both the environment in which they must work and the personal attire they wear, e.g., protective clothing). They must both be responsive to the immediate local situation they face, and operate as part of a larger command that deals with the entire situation. It is thus important that they have high quality training and tools available to help them learn and perform their jobs. However, at present many of their tools are essentially still unchanged from years ago. Rapid recent advances in information technology and wireless communications provide an opportunity to create an important new generation of tools to help emergency response command centers and First Responders. At a time when terrorists have more devastating weapons available and are becoming bolder in their attacks, it is important new and better tools be developed to assist those who must respond to WMD attacks. A prototype FRST system to provide tools to help the First Responders has been developed. The FRST system is intended as a first step toward applying current information and communications technology to provide a new generation of training and support for First Responders and their command centers. This paper will describe the prototype system and the directions of our future work 2 Background This project was suggested by the Texas Engineering Extension Service, which has recently been designated as the National Emergency Response Training Center and which provided much of the funding for the work. The topic was used as the basis for a project in a software engineering class taught by the first author, extended as a summer undergraduate research project, and continued with a small number of undergraduate and masters level students.

2 The first phase of the project gathered requirements from experienced First Responders or experienced trainers of First Responders. There are also some discussions between experts of WMD, which gave us insight on the emergency procedure for unnatural disasters. The development of FRST system had several goals. First, the system was designed to help First Responders in their daily actives, during the incidence and afterwards. Second, the device provides information to First Responders in their training. The portability of the FRST system enables easy access to training information without the need to carry books, which ordinarily would be a burden. By moving the information to portable devices, a responder can quickly search information for their particular need. There are few existing devices of the type we are developing; we found only one, and its capabilities fall significantly short of those in FRST. The one existing system found is the Palmtop Emergency Action for Chemicals (PEAC)[2], which has some similarity to the FRST system. However, the PEAC system is a fixed application and not readily tailorable to a variety of different situations. Nor does it have the ability to provide expert advice according to the situation entered into the device. 3 Approach The requirements for the system were elicited from training personnel at TEEX, all of whom had substantial in-the-field practical experience. The requirements development process involved not only extraction of desires from the first responders, but their reactions to suggestions from the technologists. From these, a general concept for an evolving first responder support and training system were developed. The initial requirements focused on the management of checklists, other support information (e.g., telephone numbers, maps, building plans) and communication with the Emergency Operations Center. Some of the major desirable features were: Capability to provide information support for the current situation faced by the First responder. Phone numbers of emergency support such as hospitals or police departments. Information on the locations and activity of other First Responders. A checklist of specific items to be done. Record keeping on the progress of a First Responder through a checklist, as well as the capability for data entry, e.g., o Date and time of the check-off of an item in the checklist o Text entry o Numeric entry o Voice entry Capability to enter data for the NFIRS report [4] Information on the overall situation. A map of the area including annotations depicting relevant parameters of the current situation, e.g., projected wind dispersal of a chemical or biological agent, evacuation routes. A capability to maintain and easily change the information on the Palmtop. Specialize contact information to current situation Create and modify checklists Upload data from the Palmtop and generate activity reports Capability of the First Responder to upload status information to the EOC base station database. Status report on conditions at the First Responder s site.

3 Requests for additional information. Data on the completion of checklist items. Capability for including training scenarios and help information. Periodic automatic reported of the location of the First Responder, as determined from a GPS system. Transmission of alerts requiring immediate action from the EOC. Transmission of alerts of locally observed phenomenon from First Responder to EOC. A number of these requirements involved technologies just becoming available and not readily available in an easily packaged form. Hence, the initial prototyping efforts were restricted to those items that could be included on a stand alone palmtop and downloaded from a base station via the standard serial or universal serial bus (USB) connection. as Our approach to developing the prototype included a number of practical considerations such Visibility of screens in different lighting conditions Legibility by color blind people Cost e.g., use of a database with both standard formats and interfaces, as well as little or no cost per deployed system so that delivered system costs could be minimized. Packaging of components for easy use Battery life to ensure uninterrupted support for responders during an incidence Sufficient memory capacity for data and templates storage As initial versions of the prototype began to appear, additional requirements surfaced. The first major addition was a desire to be able to provide advice to first responders. In order to address this, a simple rule based system was developed that would allow the system to take several different actions based upon logical combinations of entries made (or not made) in the checklists. Subsequent to the development of a prototype version with the rule based system, a request arose for guiding the user through a sequence of procedures for diagnosis, with alternatives being made according to entries made previously. 3.1 Framework The concept for FRST system is illustrated in Figure 1. There would be a number of First Responder Pocket PC (PPC) units in contact with an Emergency Operation Center (EOC) base station. It is the combination of the EOC base station and the PPC First Responder units that gives the overall system its power and utility. We initially focused primarily on the PPC systems and gave the base station minimal database, checklist maintenance and report generating capabilities. There are several possible form factors that could be used, including the pocket sized PPC and the hand held PC, both in either color or black/white. Others not illustrated include wearable computers of various forms. The utility of FRTS is based on two concepts, providing the First Responders with the information they need at their fingertips, and providing convenient mechanisms for them to enter data (which can be either stored for later analysis or transmitted to the EOC). Discussion with several experienced First Responders has revealed that many aspects of their work are formalized in checklist procedures they are supposed to know. However, it is difficult for them to take these checklists into the field for reference. Further, they continually need to make notes for

4 subsequent reports and have no easy mechanisms for doing so. Reports of jotting notes on matchbook covers are common. First Responder CDPD Emergency Operations Ctr 9.6 Kbps or WLAN Incident Commander 1 Mpbs Operations Chief Connection to External Resources Figure 1. Concept of First Responder field units in communication with EOC base station. Thus, the FRST system was designed to focus on providing checklist and report writing support, along with useful contact information. The mechanisms created for this support also provided a means for incorporating training scenarios. In addition, we included a small rulebased alert system that can raise alarms if specific combinations of circumstances are reported. This system can also provide expert guidance through diagnostic situations. Currently, the support that FRST provides includes: 1) extensive information support using checklists, 2) report generation, and 3) rule-based system support for the checklists. Further capabilities that we are currently developing are 1) up to the second data communications between field units and the command center and 2) enhanced emergency planning capabilities. For FRST system, we utilized a distributed computing comprised of computers that accompany the First Responder wherever he/she goes (e.g., Pocket PCs or wearable computers), wireless data networks and base station PCs. The components are becoming available at affordable prices and now have the power needed to build a new generation of WMD emergency response tools. 3.2 Rule-Based Assistant In order to provide assistance of various forms to FRST users, a simple rule based system was developed. Rules are Boolean-valued functions of tri-state variables associated each checkbox in a checklist. Associated with each rule is an action that is taken whenever the rule function changes value from FALSE to TRUE. The three states associated with each checkbox are: 1) checked, 2) not checked (but previously checked) and 3) never checked. The reason for distinguishing the never checked state is to allow greater flexibility in the actions that can be taken, specifically things associated with initial conditions.

5 A restricted set of actions is allowed. These were motivated by two areas of expert guidance: 1) to provide alerts to users based upon the conditions they have entered, and 2) to provide procedural guidance and diagnosis. To support the first area, the following types of actions can be taken: Flash an alert and sound an audible alarm on the users screen. Provide a message, which will be printed on the screen. Provide a link to a different area of the checklist, which is pertinent to the situation covered by the Boolean function. Provide an additional checkbox pertinent to the situation covered by the Boolean function. These can be used in combination. Typically, an alert would be given and at least one of the other actions included. The relation between the alert and the other actions required invocation by the user. The user double taps the alert icon; this results in a new screen being displayed with the information relevant to the secondary actions. The second area of support builds on the alert capabilities by adding the capability to gray-out or release graying-out other checkboxes. This capability can be used to guide the user through diagnoses in an if-then-else fashion. As the user answers a multiple choice question (e.g., does the patient have a rash), the action ungrays the answer checkboxes of the next question that is to be answered. Grayed-out checkboxes have the attribute that they cannot be checked; thus, the user is not allowed to answer inappropriate questions. When coupled with the alerts, this system can lead the user through a diagnosis and then provide a link directly to the appropriate treatment. To facilitate the creation of the rules and their corresponding actions, our GUI allows the checklist creator to select items from the checklists, select the relevant state (checked, unchecked, never checked) and add it to a Boolean expression. Boolean operators can be selected from a displayed list. Once the Boolean expression has been completed, the checklist creator can select the action type from a list, enter any new messages or checkbox text to be used, and select link points from the checklist. 4 Prototype We have developed a prototype FRST system based on the Pocket PC. The prototype was tested using a Compaq IPAQ H3650 [6]. For the base station, a Windows PC was used. A Palm PC version was also developed. The present capabilities of the prototype system (Pocket PC and base station) are: Incorporation of a general checklist structure (to be shown below): We can readily develop and incorporate many different checklists within the system. It been instantiated with several proof of concept checklists: WMD checklist proposed by the National Fire Institute. Selections form the North American Emergency Response Guide to illustrate all the incorporation of all principal features of this guidebook. The On Scene Commander's Guide. Chemical and Biological training scenarios from the On Scene Commander's Guide. A WMD medical evaluation and treatment flowchart and checklist. A standard basic First Aid checklist. A simple rule-based system that can provide warnings, alerts and guidance to users based upon the information they have entered describing the scene. Both audio and visual indications can be given of alerts.

6 Easy navigation among different parts of a checklist, e.g., rapidly moving to a section to deal with specific injuries after diagnosis. Multi-media data entry: Types of critical data that have been included: Yes/no answers to questions or "checkoffs" of checkboxes to indicate that a condition holds or a task has been completed, Numeric information, Free text, and Voice recording of free speech. Multiple entries are allowed so that entries may be made at different times to show changing conditions. Experts say that the first impressions and information from the First Responders is critical to effective assessment of the situation and action selection. Automatic logging of activity time. Each data entry has the time of entry logged. The ability to synchronize with the base station at the beginning and end of an assignment to transfer new checklists to the hand held device or completed and documented checklists to the base station. A checklist database in the base station. This enables command center personnel to examine completed checklists after a team checks them in. A base station that provides the following support capabilities: A checklist entry and maintenance tool for creating and editing checklists A PPC checklist visualization tool for checking entries An expert system rule entry system A checklist download capability A checklist data set upload capability A report generation capability To illustrate these capabilities, a few screen shots of the data are shown. The first information that we provide to the First Responders is the contact number for several EOCs (as can be seen in Figure 2.a). Next in figure 2.b and 2.c, information through checklist is provided. The checklist is supported by a simple expert system. Using the expert system, the system will be able to warn the First Responders, based on the checkboxes entry, using warning indicators and messages. For example, if the First Responder is following a biological checklist, the expert system can determine the most probable cause of a biological incident based on the symptoms. (a) (b) (c) Figure 2. FRST system Pocket PC prototype.

7 The data that are recorded during a disaster incident can be used at the base station to generate a report. For the base station prototype (see figure 3), we have implemented a front-end where a user can maintain checklists, generate report, and download/upload information to the Pocket PC devices. Figure 4 shows the interface for the expert system maintenance at the base station. In order to reduce the difficulty in tracking each checklist number and entering a logic string, an automatic logic string translation is provided. Figure 3. FRST system base station prototype. 5 Summary and Future Directions The advance in computer and wireless communication has made possible the development of new tools that can be used in many aspects of human lives. Here, the FRST system is a valuable tool that can help First Responders in doing their jobs. Our prototype only shows a small portion of the capabilities that can be implemented. Current new technologies and technologies in the future will have the potential to improve the capabilities further. Also, the use of an expert system has provided FRST system with the ability to show warning messages or automatically determining a conclusion from a set of symptoms based on boolean data. The combination of advancement in computer and wireless communication and the use of artificial intelligence created a new interesting possibility of capability that can be used for the development of new tools. We are currently working on incorporating a CDPD wireless capability.

8 Figure 4. Expert system maintenance screen. 6 References [1] Transport Canada, The U.S. Department of Transportation, and the Secretariat of Communications and Transport of Mexico, 2000 Emergency Response Guidebook, 2000 [2] AristaTek, PEAC: Palmtop Emergency Action for Chemicals, March 2000 [3] Federal Emergency Management Agency, U. S. Fire Administration, Preliminary Emergencey Response to Terrorism Job Aid, Internal report, March, 1999 [4] U. S. Fire Administration, National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS), NFIRS-1 Revision May, 1997 [5] Rinard, John, Biological and Chemical Diagnosis Guidelines, Internal Document, July, 2000 [6] Compaq, ipaq internet devices, handheld.asp, April 2001