DERT INFORMER

In This Issue

‘Tis the Season for Events

Dallas Fire Rescue’s Pre-

Incident Planning Initiative

Open Carry

Winter Weather Tips

First Watch Article

Upcoming Events, Training/

Weather-Helpful links

Dallas Wanderland

‘Tis the Season for Events Downtown Dallas hosted several events throughout the Holiday season this year.

In the final quarter of 2015, Downtown has hosted two parades and two major

runs—as well as welcoming Downtown Wanderland.

The events through Downtown began with the Dallas Veteran’s Day Parade on

November 11, 2015 which brought thousands into the city center to honor those

who served in the military in one of the largest Veteran’s Day Parades in the coun-

try. This was followed by the annual Thanksgiving Day Turkey Trot 8 mile and 5k

run.

December kicked off with the Dallas Children’s Health Holiday Parade on Decem-

ber 5th. This was the 28th year for the parade and is always a crowd-pleaser. The

streets of Downtown were full again only eight days later with the Dallas Marathon

on December 13th. These annual events have only been canceled once in their

long runs, and that was during the winter storms of 2013

The Holiday Season ramped up festivities with a season long “Dallas Wanderland”

with events, music, and decorations to encourage Dallas residents to experience

downtown in new and exciting ways. Dallas Wanderland ran from November 19-

December 31, 2015 .

Downtown Dallas, Inc. WELCOME TO DOWNTOWN DALLAS! January 2016

Dallas Fire Rescue’s Pre-Incident

Planning Initiative

On April 17, 2013, the West Fire Department responded to a fire at the West Fertilizer Company. It exploded re-sulting in the deaths of 15 people, mostly firefighters and other first responders. On December 14, 2015, Chicago firefighter Daniel Capuano entered a burning building full of smoke with an open elevator shaft. The reduced visi-bility resulted in his death in a fall.

What do these two very different incidents have in com-mon? Good pre-incident planning could potentially have prevented tragedy. When firefighters know their build-ings, what hazards they contain, and have a plan for handling emergencies in those buildings, routine inci-dents are less likely to become tragedies.

Pre-planning helps firefighters do their job more effec-tively and efficiently. Each building often poses special challenges for firefighters in regard to building access, exposures and other complications. Pre-planning for these obstacles in a non-emergency environment im-proves our ability to quickly and effectively mitigate an emergency when it occurs.

Law Enforcement needs to know their buildings in order to respond to police emergencies.. SWAT teams need floor plans of the building and to know which stairwells penetrate the roof, as well as location and function of the building controls. When an emergency occurs, fire and police can benefit from data collected by both agencies, provided they have a good software system to promote interoperability.

Nationally, very few police and fire departments have an interoperable software system. This is where Rocky Vaz and the Dallas Office of Emergency Management (OEM) have stepped in to help Dallas Fire Rescue and the Dal-las Police Department capitalize on pre-planning efforts.

Dallas OEM originally funded Digital Sandbox in 2011 and has recently dedicated funds to purchase a pre-incident planning module to extend Digital Sandbox’s functionality. Digital Sandbox is a cloud based analytic

tool that provides real-time actionable intelligence for decision makers supporting a wide range of missions.

Digital Sandbox allows first responders to collect infor-mation about a building that can be retrieved from the cloud when needed. The data can be gathered by either police or fire and be leveraged by whatever agency needs it.

From one centralized location, like the Emergency Operations Center (EOC), Digital Sandbox facilitates effort among agency leaders involved in mitigating the incident can coordinate with each other and communi-cate with units in the field. The process begins with firefighters making contact with business owners ask-ing for:

Emergency Contact Information: Firefighters may need to contact a building representative at off hours for a fire, a broken sprinkler head, or any number of other situations. Having up-to-date emergency contact information on file is essential to business owners.

Knox Box Location (also known as Lock Boxes or Key Boxes): Knowing if there is a Knox Box on site and its location prevents unnecessary proper-ty damage.

Alarm Panel Location Utility Shut Off Locations Floor Plans Stairwell and Elevator Information Fire Protection Systems Information, including the

location of the fire alarm panel, fire pump and sprinkler system control valves

Dallas Fire Rescue began setup and implementation of the new pre-incident planning module this past summer and have trained over 250 officers in soft-ware use. The firefighters are now going into the community and conducting site surveys to add to the Digital Sandbox system. It will take a while to get to everyone however. If you’d like your business to be fast-tracked contact Chief Hampton at charles.hampton@dallascityhall.com

Photo Caption

Open Carry—What It Means January 1st, 2016 begins Texas Open Carry. This new law raises many questions and concerns among citizens, business, and employees. Knowing more about the law and its restrictions can help calm fears and answer lingering questions.

Open Carry doesn’t equal Constitutional Carry. Handgun owners are required to

have a valid Concealed Handgun License (CHL) or a License to Carry (LTC) along with a valid photo ID—driver’s license or State issued ID.

Handguns MUST be secured in a belt or shoulder holster.

Businesses, places of worship, and other facilities may post notices restricting guns.

The language and design is precise and MUST be written in English and Spanish and reference Texas Penal Code §§30.06 and/or 30.07.

A gun holder must leave the premises if a business owner requests it. If they do not,

the holder can be charged with criminal trespass.

When should someone call 9-1-1 or 3-1-1 with concerns about someone carrying a gun?

If the gun holder does NOT have the handgun secured in a belt or shoulder holster.

If the gun holder seems intoxicated.

If the gun holder is OBVIOUSLY committing a crime or acting in a reckless or

dangerous manner.

For more detailed information on the Open Carry Law, the City of Dallas has a link: http:www.DallasCityNews.net/OpenCarry

Winter Weather Preparedness Winter weather is unpredictable and sometimes frightening, but it doesn’t have to be deadly. What can you do to be safe in your car during winter weather? Be prepared. Have plan. Build a kit. Be informed – the same for the home. Simple tips and sup-plies will help keep anyone safe on the road when winter weather strikes: Stay off the roads when possible. Follow travel advisories. Take it slow if you have to go. Slower speeds are and gives you more time to

respond to dangers. Dress in layers. This lets in air flow and helps with heat conservation. Remove

wet clothing as soon as possible. Use space heaters safely. Don’t leave them unattended, and use ventilation for

alternative fuels. Have an emergency kit in your car with a first aid kit, jumper cables, blankets,

flashlights (with batteries), tool kit, gloves, extra clothes, ice scraper, food and water, and sand or cat litter.

If you are stranded, stay in your car with the hazard lights flashing and wrap up in layers to stay warm. Call for assistance.

The Dallas Office of Emergency Management website – www. DallasEmergency-Management.com – has more information on local hazards and how to prepare the

DERT INFORMER

In December 2015, Dallas Police De-partment created an additional way to server the Central Business District in Downtown Dallas. For quite some time, Dallas PD staffed patrols during what was then deemed the critical times of day – business hours and evening entertainment hours. However, with a growing full-time residential population in the Downtown area, needs changed and First Watch was added.

Speaking with Major Lonzo Anderson about this new addi-tion, he explained that police schedules are divided into three “Watches”, and for years, Downtown had only Sec-ond and Third Watches staffed. Second Watch covers daytime business hours. Third Watch covers the evening hours. First Watch completes the cycle by covering over-night and early morning and is a crucial element to public safety and confidence in Downtown.

In addition to the 130,000 visitors to Downtown each day, the area now boasts 8,500 full-time residents, with that number expected to increase to 10,000 by the end of 2016 and 11,500 by 2017. This increasing population ce-mented the need for round the clock police patrols in con-junction with the other law enforcement entities in Down-town.

Dallas PD splits up their officers into vehicle, bicycle, and foot patrols. The foot patrols are designed to help build community engagement and visibility among the residents

www.dallasalert.com

Office of Emergency

Management

1500 Marilla, Room L2AN

Dallas, TX 75201

Tel: 214.670.4275

Fax: 214.670.4677

oem@DallasCityHall.com

First Watch

and business stakeholders. First Watch, headed up by Lt. Herbert Ashford a sea-soned DPD veteran, deals mainly with Quality of Life violations and creates dedicated law enforce-ment resources in the Central Business District that otherwise were diverted from other areas. First Watch has about 25 officers dedicated to the area.

Though First Watch is still new to Downtown, An-derson says they can already see results. He wants all stakeholders to know that Dallas Police is dedi-cated to the safety and engagement of businesses and residents alike and will work through all Watch-es to reach out, educate, and create relationships with all areas of Downtown to create safety and se-curity in a very densely populated area. Anderson encourages residents – and officers – to get to know one another on the patrols to build relation-ships that promote communication and community, no matter what time of the day or night.

Subscribe to Downtown

Dallas, Inc.’s newsletters

and e-blasts to stay up to

date on the latest Down-

town news, events, and

openings!

Training Links—Weather Links—Helpful Hints—Other Resources

—Training Links—

http://www.preparingtexas.org

http://www.fema.gov

http://www.nctog.org/ep/training

—Weather Links—

http://www.srh.noaa.gov/fwd

http://www.srh.noaa.gov/fwd/radio.html

http://www.srh.noaa.gov/fwd/skywarn.html

—Other Resources—

http://www.knowhat2do.com

http://www.ready.gov/america/getakit

http://www.dallasalert.org

http://www.dallascert.com

http://www.domesticpreparedness.com

—Helpful Hints—

Emergency supplies to keep handy

Flashlights with extra batteries

First Aid kit

Food/water for employees and customers to use during a period of unexpected con-finement at your business

Plastic to cover expensive equipment and furnishings

Hard hats, gloves and boots