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Marine Corps bases worldwide are gaining increased emergency
response capabilities with the implementation of the Consolidated
Emergency Response System, or CERS. CERS standardizes emergency
dispatching capabilities and provides emergency first responders
with enhanced command and coordination to support all hazardous
response missions aboard Marine Corps installations.
CERS was
conceived following the 2009 Fort Hood shooting in which 13 people
were killed and 43 wounded or injured. A Department of Defense
review of the tragedy highlighted opportunities for improved
emergency response procedures and capabilities throughout the DoD.
In response, the Marine Corps created the CERS program of record, a
multifaceted system that integrates modernized equipment and
software to expedite and streamline emergency response activities.
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May 2, 2017 - U.S. Marine Corps Maj. Mark Simmons, systems engineer
for Consolidated Emergency Response System, stands in front of a
newly-installed CERS emergency dispatcher workstation aboard Marine
Corps Base Quantico, VA. CERS aggregates multiple capabilities ...
Enhanced 911, Computer-Aided Dispatch, and fire station alerting ...
into a single workstation, giving emergency dispatchers the ability
to quickly dispatch the appropriate assets where necessary. CERS
increases the effectiveness of emergency response operations aboard
Marine Corps installations worldwide. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Ashley Calingo,
MCSC)
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“The Consolidated Emergency Response System standardizes
and modernizes emergency dispatching capabilities across the
Marine Corps,” said Maj. Mark Simmons, systems engineer for
CERS and Enhanced 911 at Marine Corps Systems Command. “CERS
aggregates multiple capabilities—E911, Computer-Aided
Dispatch, incident records management and fire station
alerting—into a single workstation, giving emergency
dispatchers the ability to quickly, and more accurately,
dispatch the appropriate assets where necessary in the
shortest time possible.”
Modernized Capabilities
CERS was implemented
in two phases. The first implementation phase involved the
installation of the E911 system on Marine Corps bases
worldwide beginning in 2014. E911 provides enhanced, GPS
coordinate-driven caller location information to emergency
dispatchers, enabling them to provide more precise location
information to emergency responders. E911 also establishes
911 as the only number to call for emergencies aboard Marine
Corps bases.
“Previously, a lot of bases had a standard base telephone
number that they’d call for emergency, fire, law enforcement
or emergency medical services, instead of simply dialing
911,” said Simmons. “Now, emergency calls are routed to a
single place. Anytime there’s an emergency on base, dial
911.”
The second phase of CERS involved the
installation of Computer-Aided Dispatch, incident records
management and fire station alerting capabilities.
Computer-Aided Dispatch, or CAD, is the second major
component of CERS. CAD is a computer application that allows
dispatchers to accurately track and task available emergency
responders to expedite response times.
“Essentially,
CAD is going to help emergency dispatchers get the first
responders to the incident in the quickest, most efficient
manner,” said George Berger, Emergency Dispatch Services
program manager at Marine Corps Installation Command. “CAD
provides an incident records management system and will help
emergency dispatchers provide resource management
situational awareness.”
The incident records
management systems enables dispatch center supervisors to
easily retrieve data from past emergency events. Before the
incident records management system, supervisors had to
review logbooks and databases from different emergency
response groups—such as law enforcement and fire—in order to
collect all the details that occurred during an incident.
Now, the supervisor may accomplish the research from their
workstation, using a dedicated organized process not
previously available, said Berger.
Enhanced fire
station alerts streamline dispatchers’ ability to send
emergency responders to the scene of an incident. Base fire
stations are also outfitted with upgraded audio and visual
cues that are deployable at the push of a dispatcher’s
button, decreasing the time it takes for dispatchers to
alert emergency responders.
Together, the systems in
CERS match the capabilities found in civilian emergency
dispatch centers, increasing the effectiveness of operations
and lowering response time to incidents aboard Marine Corps
installations.
Impacting
Marine Installations Worldwide
The Marine
Requirements Oversight Council selected 13 of the 24 Marine
Corps bases worldwide to receive CERS. Currently, phase two
of CERS is being implemented in emergency dispatch centers
at the 13 selected installations. Before CERS, each base had
its own method of emergency dispatching, said Berger.
“In many cases,
the older emergency dispatch system may have consisted of a
pen and paper,” said Berger. “CERS is a standardized
solution, which will help coordinate all calls for service
and support the moving parts of law enforcement, fire and
emergency medical service activities.”
CERS is part
of the Supporting Establishment Systems portfolio at Marine
Corps Systems Command. The CERS team provides critical
information technology solutions to emergency first
responders at Marine Corps installations worldwide,
heightening the safety and security of Marines, sailors,
civilians and families who live and work on base.
“I
want to say thank you to the Marine Corps Systems Command
folks for going through this effort and fielding this
solution,” said Berger. “It’s been a long time coming and
the team has been working hard. As the headquarters
advocate, I truly appreciate their efforts, as do each of
the 13 Installations.”
By U.S. Marine Corps Ashley Calingo, MCSC
Provided
through DVIDS
Copyright 2017
The U.S. Marines
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