The Story
The U.S. Army Umatilla Chemical Depot in eastern Oregon has been a depository of chemical weapons since 1962, housing nearly a quarter of the United States’ chemical nerve agents and mustard gasses. Today, the ammunition is being incinerated at the recently built Umatilla Chemical Agent Disposal Facility.

The Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program (CSEPP) works closely with local communities, FEMA and the Army to protect the citizens of the area. CSEPP upgraded Emergency Operations Centers in Umatilla, Morrow and Benton counties to act as nerve centers in response to any emergency. They are equipped with state-of-the-art technologies to detect, predict and track potential toxic plumes if such an incident should occur.

The Challenge
CSEPP and the Morrow County Emergency Management, faced with enormous geography, sought a way to forecast and communicate potential deadly plume movement to emergency service personnel. Working with ezWireless, a leader in secure, broadband wireless systems for emergency management and homeland security, CSEPP developed cutting edge technology and WiFi capabilities to create a nearly 700 square mile WiFi “cloud”. The ezWireless designed and built mobile, secure, broadband and web-based network enabled local fire & police departments in seven cities, parts of three counties and two states, to communicate with each other and the EOC on a common, interoperable platform.

The Solution
ezWireless created a new sophisticated system called, Incident Response Information System (IRIS) to allow first responders and emergency management personnel to have accurate, mobile information in real-time as they respond to any emergency. Ensuring the safety of field personnel, the two-way capability of IRIS also provided another set of eyes from the field to the command center.

Using a handheld WiFi device called a “recon”, first responders are able to view the plume’s “risk envelope” in relation to their location, via global positioning systems (GPS) and to retrieve, collect and send data from the field. This WiFi system has allowed the IRIS to work in the field building confidence and ensuring the safety of the first responders.

The ezWireless/CSEPP network has received numerous awards, critical acclaim from around the globe and is listed as “best practices” by agencies and associations ranging from the Transportation Security Administration to the International Association of Chiefs of Police.