A computer glitch that hampered Carroll County 911 dispatchers' ability to track ambulances and firetrucks during a four-alarm fire in Manchester last week may strengthen arguments for buying a new computer-assisted dispatch system.
Fire and rescue officials have said that the Dec. 5 blaze, which produced fumes that hospitalized 30 firefighters, also has prompted a review of emergency response procedures.
"We've been in the process of looking for a new CAD [computer-assisted dispatch] system, probably for several months now," said Howard S. "Buddy" Redman, chief of the Bureau of Emergency Services Operations.
Currently, the county uses a CAD system in which information is entered by dispatchers to track the location of each piece of equipment and help determine which county station can best handle an emergency or provide backup for other stations, Mr. Redman said.
Dispatchers discovered Dec. 5 that the amount of computer memory the current tracking program allots to each incident in progress resulted in a jammed computer when dozens of calls about stricken firefighters began coming in quickly, Mr. Redman said. When the computer problem was discovered, dispatchers began keeping track of the units manually, Mr. Redman said.
"All the dispatchers are well trained to manually keep track of the units during any incident, so nothing was delayed," he said. "We have three people working all the time to keep the information out to the units in service, as required."
Mr. Redman said dispatchers also have been unhappy with the current computer software -- leased to the county by Public Safety Systems Inc. of Lanham for about six years -- because it does not allow officials to compile statistics about each incident.
The statistics could be used to determine whether a station needs more equipment or similar information, he said.
"We've been looking for a program to not only do the dispatching, but to keep a statistical database so we can see how well it's working," Mr. Redman said.
Emergency services officials are looking for software that would be compatible with the bureau's Hewlett Packard computers, he said.
During the Dec. 5 fire, which destroyed an 1820s-era barn that had been converted into apartments, officials also discovered that the paging system used to contact a hazardous materials response team in Baltimore County did not work properly, Mr. Redman said. Some members of the hazardous materials team were never notified of the incident, although enough were contacted that the incident could be handled effectively, Mr. Redman said.
"My original understanding was that not every pager had to go off," he said. "The response we are looking for is some of the people, not all of the people."
Nevertheless, Mr. Redman said, he is concerned that some of the pagers did not go off. County officials have notified the paging company, which is looking into the problem, he said.
Fire investigators have not determined what caused 30 firefighters and two bystanders to experience difficulty breathing, dizziness and other symptoms during the Dec. 5 fire.
Officials at Sinai Hospital, where most of the injured firefighters were treated, are also examining the hospital's procedures in light of the Manchester incident, said Cathy Igo, the nurse in charge of the emergency department. Sinai is the approved hazardous materials center for a portion of the Baltimore metropolitan area, said Paul Umansky, spokesman for the hospital.
"One thing we've been thinking about is considering all fires Hazmat [hazardous materials] fires from the beginning," Ms. Igo said. "We received some of the more critical patients when it was not considered a hazardous materials incident."
Some patients had already been admitted to the critical care ward at the hospital when fire officials upgraded the incident to a hazardous materials fire, she said. Hospital workers then had to try to decontaminate the patients within the ward, Ms. Igo said. Usually, all patients who have been exposed to hazardous materials are showered and shampooed thoroughly to remove any dangerous chemicals before they are admitted, Ms. Igo said.
"To decontaminate patients after the fact is not the easiest thing to do," she said. "We don't want them to come into the hospital and expose other visitors, Ms. Igo said.