Communication failures and technological challenges during the September 11th attacks

¶ … 911 Attack

Communication is among the highest critical success factors in the event of an emergency. Some forms of communication are more effective than others in certain scenarios. Furthermore, technology plays a vital role in the ability to communicate with stakeholders. Some technologies are adequate to serve as the framework for communication between individuals, agencies, and the public while others are not as functional. After the events of September 11th, 2001, there were significant communication challenges that hindered the effectiveness of the first responders.

As volume of different communications increased drastically with people trying to reach out to loved ones and acquire relevant news of the events. However, this acted to overwhelm the system and max out its capacity. There were even come response teams that had to send messengers to other in order to communicate between various groups. This paper will analyze some of the communication failures that were present that day as well as make suggestions in which technology can overcome the challenges that present themselves in the wake of a terrorist incident.

Communication Issues

The worst terrorist attack on American soil was also the nation's worst communications failure. The lack of interoperability in communications came to the public's attention during 9/11 and also during Katrina; it cost lives, not only the lives of citizens but the lives of a number of first responders, as well (Seybold, 2011). Not only do members of each individual agency depend on communication technology as the backbone of cooperation among their unit, but the different agencies must also communicate in order to coordinate their efforts to ensure an effective response. The lack of communication and coordination can not only lead to friction among responders, but it can also render their efforts ineffective.

After the event, an independent commission was established to better understand the challenges that were present. Fresh from a hard-eyed look at federal policy-makers' failures prior to Sept. 11, the independent commission trained its criticism on local fire and police officials as well as the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operated the World Trade Center (Mittelsadt, 2004). "Each was accustomed to responding independently to emergencies," the staff report said. In the confusion, the crush of radio traffic and the inability to communicate across departments, crucial information didn't make its way effectively to on-scene officials, the panel found.

Throughout the doomed towers that day, incompatible radios and overcrowded frequencies plagued New York's rescue crews (Seigenthaler, 2004). Firefighters, police, and emergency workers could not talk to each other. Some survivors say radio problems increased the death toll that day. The crews could not communicate within their ranks nor could they communicate with the victims.

Committee member Sam Casperson, in a minute-by-minute recounting of the second plane's crash into the World Trade Center, detailed how Port Authority workers were advised to wait for assistance on the 64th floor -- and many of them died when the tower collapsed (AP, 2007). Communications breakdowns also prevented announcements to evacuate from reaching civilians in the building, Casperson said. One survivor of the attacks recounted calling 911 from the 44th floor of the south tower, only to be placed on hold twice. Emergency 911 operators had a "lack of awareness" about what was happening at the twin towers, and were overwhelmed by the sheer volume of calls, Casperson said (AP, 2007).

Conclusion

The environment at the scene of an incident is generally chaotic and in a general state of disarray. It is the duty of the first responders to attempt to make sense out their surroundings so that they can offer the most effective response possible. Yet, when communication is limited this can be challenging. Furthermore, various agencies arrive in waves and have different responsibilities. These responsibilities can be dynamic and various agencies are expected to give up command or shift their roles if or when another agency comes in and assumes the command post. However, with limited communication at their disposal, this can be an almost impossible transition to orchestrate.

The events of 9/11 illustrated many of the weaknesses that New York City and the country in general have in regards to mounting an effective response to a terrorist attack. There have also been other unrelated incidents such as Katrina that have illustrated similar issues. Communication technology is the backbone of an effective team effort. This technology has evolved rapidly over the last few years and the current technology is light-years beyond what could be found in previous generations of communication devices.

Despite the technology reaching such heights, many agencies have failed to adopt these advances. Furthermore, even if the technology within departments is improved upon, there must also be efforts taken to allow for communication between responders and other agencies. This requires that all agencies coordinate their technologies so that communication across the entire response can be coordinated. Although there have been improvements in the adoption of more effective communication platforms, another challenge is that these technologies must be integrated and their use practiced to ensure that all agencies can communicate and coordinate their efforts in the event of a disaster. To achieve this it will take both leadership as well as the funding to invest in the areas that need improvement.