RADIO COMMUNICATIONS
FIRE AND AVIATION SAFETY TEAM

Preliminary Report

Objective 1

Examine the rationale behind the recent increased of disproportionate pre-orders for communications equipment (repeaters and frequencies) by Incident Management Teams.


Findings

The perceived increase in the pre-ordering of communications is proportionate to the operational needs of today’s fire incidents. Information gathered regarding this issue suggests that a variety of factors combine to increase the need for larger communication systems. These factors include:

• increased fire size,
• spatial separation of the incident command post from the fire,
• complexity (e.g., geography, resource types, transportation corridors, power infrastructure, interfaces) (see complexity analysis in the Red Book)
• the need to provide radio coverage of travel routes,
• initial attack responsibilities beyond the fire perimeter but within the confines of the Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR); and
  increased requirement for reliable radio coverage.

The team could identify no systematic mechanism that allows the NIFC radio cache to identify the communications needs of the fire operations community. Additionally, there is no formal mechanism that allows the radio cache to receive feedback concerning the effectiveness of the radio communication systems the cache provides.


Recommendations

It is the team’s recommendation:

That the fire directors charter a multidisciplinary group of individuals with expertise in operations and communications to review the existing interagency wildfire communications system and develop a long-term strategic plan to manage and advance the system to fulfill operational communication requirements. This group must address the needs of all participants in the wildfire organization including but not limited to federal, state, county, and municipal fire agencies, contractors and other participants in the nation’s wildfire system. This group must also implement a user feedback system targeted at evaluating system user satisfaction, equipment performance, customer service quality, and unfulfilled needs or requirements. The feedback must be obtained from all participants in the nation’s wildfire system.

The NIFC radio cache should place the link kit NFES 4253 in the “Starter Kit” that allow the repeater to be linkable without additional installation at the fire.


Objective 2

Examine the use of command repeater and tactical frequencies to determine, in general, if the use in appropriate.


Findings

The team found:

No evidence that command repeater and tactical frequencies are being used inappropriately.

That there are too few command and tactical frequencies to fulfill the needs of a larger fire organization or smaller fire organizations located in close proximity to one another. Currently, there are only 7 command repeater pair frequencies, 7 tactical frequencies, and 7 air-to-ground frequencies.

That nationwide frequency conflicts effectively reduce the number of available frequencies resulting in increased communication traffic on fewer channels and increased conflict with other wildfire, district, and unit communication systems.

There is no multidisciplinary approach to the development, testing, and implementation of short or long-term solutions to the problems of congested radio traffic.

There is no mechanism, other than trial-and-error, to determine conflicts of tactical frequencies between adjacent incidents.

In the absence of clear and communicated communication standards, the wildfire organization is vulnerable to communications technologies common in other industries (e.g., 800 Mhz, 802.11b/g, Bluetooth, RoIP, Family Radio Service) that can complicate or jeopardize reliable communications within an incident.


Recommendations:

It is the team’s recommendation:

That the group charged by the fire directors work with the National Telecommunications Information Administration (NTIA) under the Department of Commerce to expand and deconflict the wildfire frequency resources.

That the group ensures the creation, testing, and implementation of a mechanism for coordinating federal, state and local groups with frequency management responsibilities to assign frequencies to incidents and resolve conflicts as they arise.

That the group ensures the creation, testing, and implementation of a systematic mechanism for implementing new technology to ensure safety, reliability, acceptability, and performance.


Objective 3

Given the various system requirements (narrowband, wideband, 800 Mhz, etc.), explicitly define the problems users in the field are encountering while attempting communications between responding agencies. Make suggestions for short term and long term solutions.


Findings

In the transition to narrowband, federal agencies have effectively isolated themselves from established cooperators and has provided employees a communication system that is either unreliable or requires work arounds to use.

Currently, there are radios being used by all wildfire agencies that are not narrowband capable or are narrowband capable but cannot reliably show narrowband status.

The narrowband communication system can be particularly vulnerable to the use of wideband radios. A wideband radio can produce poor or no communications or cause repeaters to not retransmit communications.

The conditions created by the interaction of narrow and wide-band are not well understood and have produced work arounds (e.g., speaking softly in a higher pitched voice) that do not guarantee functionality.

The introduction of narrowband frequencies have added a level of complexity to the communication system that cannot be overcome only by system users.

The introduction of multiple radio brands capable of a wide range of features (e.g., digital communications) has created confusion among users that is likely to reduce the effectiveness of the communication system. The complexities of the communication system are exacerbated by non-standardized radio programming and radio functionality.

The mobility of today’s firefighting resources and common frequency conflicts requires the ability to readily and effectively use the field programming features of existing radios. Radios cannot be pre-programmed to address all incidents. Users are not authorized to field program due to arbitrary policies made at a local level.

There is no evidence that federal agencies intentionally engaged cooperating agencies with the expressed goal of communicating narrow banding requirements, ensuring effective communications, and developing a communications plan. When communication problems were identified, the agencies did not pursue an identifiable course to rectify the problems.

There is no standard language within contracts for the procurement of firefighting resources that details radio requirements specific to narrow banding.

There was no identifiable training aimed at radio users concerning the transition to narrow banding.

Dispatchers were unaware of the issues of narrow – wide band and the impact a mismatch might have on communications.


Recommendations:

It is the team’s recommendation that designees:

Address the known problems of narrow – wide banding to ensure communication and prioritize this process based upon the level of fire activity and fire potential. Areas of higher fire activity and/or potential should be addressed first.

Develop a two-tiered training program that targets radio users and radio technicians. This training must convey the issues related to narrow banding and common symptoms of narrow – wide band mismatching. Supervisors must ensure that employees have completed the training.

Develop a comprehensive radio training program that focuses specifically on how a particular brand of radio should be operated within the federal and cooperator radio system.

Determine the status of radio used in dispatch to ensure correct narrow – wide banding configuration.

Develop and distribute dispatcher training that can aid in the detection of narrow – wide band mismatches.

Develop and distribute policy regarding the use of passwords and access to field programming capabilities.

Provide standard language for annual operating plans created with cooperators.

Direct local federal fire agencies to meet with all suppression cooperators and create communication plans that ensure reliable interagency communication practices.

Develop and distribute a convention for the creation of frequency plans, ICS-205s, ICS-220s, and aviation resource orders that designated the wide – narrow band status of a frequency.


Objective 4

Determine what, if any, problems the field is having with the federal migration to narrow banding. Establish whether reports received (SAFENET) are a function of the hardware or a problem with the user.


Findings

A consistent finding across all interviews is the lack of understanding among radio users. Virtually all interviewees were unaware of the problems created when narrow and wide band systems interacted on the narrow band system.

The variety of radio brands has significantly increased the accessories and the associated cost associated with programming radios in fire camp.

There is no training for communication unit leaders dealing with the programming of the variety of radios that might be used on an incident.

There is evidence that not all of the aircraft avionics have been appropriately reprogrammed and tested to ensure compliance with the narrow banding requirement.

Narrow band repeater coverage

Users of the communication technology are experiencing a variety of problems that they, as a group, are unable to adequately diagnose, troubleshoot, or correct without technical support. The availability of technical support does not meet the needs.

The narrow band radio system is not as robust as the early wide band system. Tolerance limits are smaller, requiring more concentrated maintenance.

There is an inherent mismatch in the transition between federal deadlines for the transition to narrow band the deadline for nonfederal agencies. The transition of federal agencies eight years before their cooperators has created a situation that produces a number of significant problems.

The team could not locate any evidence that the federal agencies critically evaluated and planned the transition from wide to narrow band with respect to the agencies’ interactions with cooperators.


Other Findings

ISO – There is extensive evidence from the user community that the Information Service Organization (IS0) has not met the needs of the Forest Service staff we interviewed. Although ISO is limited to the Forest Service, we noted that the actions and inactions of ISO staff impacted the interagency fire community. For example, a delay in the repair and configuration of a Forest Service dispatch console impacted all of the agencies using the interagency coordination center. The process that has resulted in the current support and maintenance system has exacerbated the problems found in the communications, dispatch, and coordination operations in the wildfire community.

ROSS -- As part of the comprehensive communication system, the Resource Ordering and Status System (ROSS) was frequently characterized as a weak link in the overall system. The most common comment was that the system is slow.


Other Observations

The centralization of support, procurement, and finance services has left forests without the ability to support a Type III incident. Because many forests are unable to support these incidents, they are more likely to order Type II teams that are capable of handling support process absent from the forest.

Concerning flight following, some local districts are using the national flight following system for local operations. Other districts do not monitor national flight following frequencies because of congested traffic.

During interviews with fire and aviation staff, there were reports of airspace management and communication conflicts along jurisdictional area boundaries.

There was a high incidence of dissatisfaction among the Department of Interior’s users of P25 compliant radios.


Other Recommendations

Make the annually updated version of the National Interagency Aviation Frequency Guide available via NFES (National Fire Equipment System).