Inglewood’s High-Tech Lifeline Lends a Hand to Police, Firefighters

When the dispatcher in the basement of the Inglewood police station answered the emergency call, she heard only breathing on the telephone line.

The dispatcher knew instantly, however, that this was no prankster, and she promptly sent police to the address from which the call originated. She knew where to send police because of a message that flashed on her computer screen, providing not only the address but the vital information that an elderly man who lived there had no larynx: the human voice box.

Inglewood officers were able to respond to the call because of a new wrinkle in the city’s emergency dispatch system that provides dispatchers with often important information on who lives in some residences and their special needs.

The idea, officials say, is to give police, paramedics and firefighters precise information on what they might find when they respond to emergencies at homes and businesses.

Called the premise history system, computer messages instantly tell dispatchers if there are toxic chemicals at a business that might be burning, or if people in need of medical help have any specific ailments that require special attention.

“The more information we get from folks, the better off we are, and the more people can tell us in advance, the better off they are,” said Inglewood Fire Capt. James Colvin, who oversees his department’s premise history computer files.

“It’s sure a lot easier for the officer or the firefighter answering the call,” dispatcher Andrea Mirani said.

Currently, messages are fed into dispatch computers in a variety of ways. One of the most common methods is for police, firefighters or paramedics to enter the information after answering an emergency call, noting details that will better prepare the next emergency worker called to the same scene.

In the case of the elderly man without a larynx, it was the police who entered the information into the dispatch system after answering a previous call for help at the location.

Paramedics do the same, making notes when they encounter a wheelchair-bound person who would need help in case of a fire, or someone on a respirator who might need help in case of a power outage.

The department also welcomes calls or letters from residents who want to relay specific information that might be useful during an emergency at their homes, Colvin said.

James Nyman, director of management information systems for the city, estimated that the computerized dispatch system is worth between $1 million and $2 million. Nyman and his staff developed the system in Inglewood, while other cities have purchased computer programs designed for the same purpose.

Premise history messages first appeared in Inglewood’s system in 1985, Nyman said, but on a limited basis. Seven months ago, the city upgraded the system to allow information from other city computer files to be transferred into the main system.

Nyman estimates that the system now contains data banks for about 20% of the addresses in Inglewood. Most of those, however, are businesses, not residences.

The upgraded dispatch system automatically transfers information about businesses from other city computer files into the system. For residential addresses, however, the city depends heavily on people to provide information that might be important in an emergency.

It is not unusual, Mirani said, to come across messages about premature babies on breathing monitors. Such babies, she explained, are at risk for sudden infant death syndrome.

A mother with a premature baby, for example, might notify paramedics in advance of an emergency about how to get into her house. If the infant stopped breathing, the parents might not be able to leave the baby to open the door after calling 911, Mirani said.

Inglewood police also placed notices of all temporary restraining orders into the dispatch system, Mirani said. These restraining orders are usually given to women who have been battered or harassed by husbands or boyfriends.

An Inglewood woman with a temporary restraining order against another person need only dial 911 in an emergency and both her address and the information flashes on the dispatcher’s computer screen, sending police to the address.

Other cities, also have the capacity to enter messages in their emergency dispatch systems, officials say.

Torrance police officers are encouraged to note anything that could be deemed a hazard to the next officer answering a call at the same location, said Sgt. Ronald Traber, the department’s public information officer. Previous domestic violence at an address is especially common in computer files, Traber said.

Likewise, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department encourages its deputies to feed information into its computers that might alert the next deputy called to the scene.

But officials say Inglewood’s system is unique because the dispatch computer system can automatically access other computer files stored by the city.

“It’s really been helpful with hazardous chemicals,” Fire Chief Julian Ysaissaid.

Under state law, all businesses must tell local fire departments what hazardous chemicals are on site. Because the Fire Department has computerized the list, it is automatically--and constantly--fed into the emergency dispatch system.

“The Fire Department doesn’t want to go out to a call,” said Nyman, “and be surprised that there’s 50 gallons of gasoline on the property.”

Nyman was responsible for designing a system that can access other pertinent computer files kept by the city, such as business license records. Now, for every licensed commercial address in the city, the dispatch system automatically comes up with the names of owners and a telephone number for police officers and firefighters to call during an emergency.

“That’s nice for the person who owns the business,” Nyman said. “They’re getting a higher level of service.”

Computer technology is becoming so sophisticated, the Fire Department’s Colvin said, that before long premise history will include floor plans of buildings.

Firefighters will be able to rip the floor plans of a blazing building off a computer printer in their station at the same time the dispatcher is relaying the address, Colvin said.

Already, Inglewood is equipping its fire and rescue vehicles with mobile computer terminals that will flash comprehensive data on the screen as firefighters rush to a blaze.

The data is being generated by a task the Fire Department calls “size-up.”

When firefighters conduct inspections of office buildings, factories or other kinds of commercial operations, they note such things as the closest fire hydrant, emergency gas and electrical shut-offs and whether a building has an elevator or an escalator.

All that information is being fed into the dispatch system so it can be flashed to terminals in the fire vehicles.

“It’s all aimed at a higher level of service and safety,” Colvin said.