Incident Notification Guidelines

Purpose: This procedure outlines incident notification requirements for Operations Command Center (OCC) personnel. Controllers and Dispatchers must notify emergency responders, designated TriMet personnel, and outside partner agencies as required by the type of incident. Procedures: Controller/Dispatcher: 1. Immediately notify the Public Safety Answering Point (“9-1-1”) serving the area of the incident to request aid/assistance for any incident requiring emergency response. SEE: Appendix A - Public Safety Answering Points in the TriMet District 2. Notify TriMet personnel via text message by paging the appropriate group in TriMet’s paging system. The specific paging group(s) contacted depends on the nature of the incident. If you have any doubt regarding which group to notify, page the “Major Incident” group. SEE: Appendix B - Paging Criteria 3. Initial text message notifications must include the following information: Block number (line/train) if applicable. Incidents that do not involve a revenue vehicle do not require this information Vehicle ID number of vehicle involved. Employee ID number of employee(s) involved Incident time Incident location (and direction of travel if applicable) Brief description of incident Incident Number from ACID or other Incident Reporting software Sender’s initials NOTE: Text messages must not include any personal identifiers (race, age, gender, etc.) unless the message is in reference to a search for a person of interest at the request of 9-1-1. 4. Notify appropriate outside oversight agency(s) when required by the incident. Notification of outside oversight agency(s) must occur by sending an email from the TriMet’s incident reporting software within the first two hours of the start of the incident. SEE: Appendix C - Incident Notification to Outside Oversight Agencies For incidents on WES Commuter Rail, required notification to the Federal Railroad Administration, ODOT, and the National Transportation Safety Board will be facilitated by WES Management. 5. For any event that occurs on the Airport MAX Red Line, or affects service to the Portland International Airport, contact the Port of Portland Communication Center and inform them of the situation. 6. For any event that occurs on the WES Commuter Rail Line or affects service on WES: Immediately contact WES Management via phone and inform them of the situation. Be prepared to provide WES with service restoration, security, and/or incident response support as requested. If 9-1-1 or emergency responders contact you to request immediate access to the WES right of way or to notify you of emergency activity in the WES right-of-way, instruct the caller to immediately contact P&W’s Dispatch. Provide the caller with the appropriate contact number. (See Appendix A) 7. If contacted by any media or member of the public about an incident, make no comment on the incident itself. Obtain contact information and forward to the Public Information Officer (PIO). 8. If no response is received from an OCC manager following a major event notification (see Appendix B), resend the message. If a response is still not received, the Dispatcher or Controller must make every possible attempt to contact the duty manager, Operations Command Center directly via telephone and/or radio. 9. If there is any indication that the paging or e-mail systems failed during an incident, notification must be immediately initiated via telephone and/or radio to the following personnel: Duty manager, Operations Command Center in all cases. Duty supervisor, Rail Equipment Maintenance for affected rail storage facility when incident involves a rail vehicle. Duty supervisor(s), Maintenance of Way, for the discipline(s) affected when the incident involves an incident on the rail alignment. 10. Update TriMet personnel periodically (no more than one update every fifteen minutes unless there is a major change to the situation) for the duration of the incident. Text message updates must include the block number – unless no revenue vehicle is involved, vehicle ID, employee ID, ACID number, and the situation status. Update messages must include the sender’s initials at the end. 11. Update outside oversight agencies with the details of the incident if necessary. 12. Notify TriMet personnel when the incident has been declared concluded by the incident commander. Duty Manager, Operations Command Center: 1. Initiate incident notification by telephone and/or radio of all appropriate TriMet personnel as well as outside agencies if the paging system and/or e-mail system is inoperable. 2. Act as liaison between the Public Information Officer, other departments, and the Operations Command Center for information regarding an event. Appendix A - Public Safety Answering Points in the TriMet District City of Portland Bureau of Emergency Communications (BOEC): Dispatches police, fire, and medical resources for the entire Multnomah County area, including the cities of Portland, Gresham, Maywood Park, and Eastern Washington County. (503) 823-1908 Washington County Consolidated Communications Agency (WCCCA): Dispatches police, fire, and medical resources for the entire Washington County area, including the cities of Beaverton, Hillsboro, Tigard, King City, Tualatin, Forest Grove, and Cornelius and fire and medical resources only for the City of Wilsonville. (503) 520-0958 NOTE: In the event of a Confirmed Tunnel Incident, notification to BOEC and WCCCA is accomplished through a single call to the BOEC Fire Pod. (503) 823-1913 Clackamas County Communications (C-Com): Dispatches police, fire, and medical resources for most of the Clackamas County area, including the cities of Estacada, Gladstone, Oregon City, and Sandy, fire and medical resources only for the City of Milwaukie, and police resources only for the City of Wilsonville. (503) 655-8911 Lake Oswego Central Communications (LO-Com): Dispatches police for West Linn, Milwaukie and Lake Oswego, as well as fire and medical for the cities of Lake Oswego and West Linn. (503) 635-0238 Port of Portland Communications Center: Dispatches police, fire and medical resources for any incident on the Portland International Airport property. (503) 460-4000 Clark Regional Emergency Services Agency (CRESA): Dispatches police, fire, and medical resources for the entire Clark County Washington area, including the City of Vancouver. (360) 696-4461 Westside Express Service Management Team: Director of Commuter Rail, (503) 962-8691, Cell: 503-504-9952 and Manager Operations Commuter Rail, Desk: (503) 962-8686, Shop: 503-962-8682, Cell: 503-519-5861 P&W Dispatch Office: P& W Dispatch Emergency Line: 541-704-1014. Used for situations where there is an immediate threat to health or life on the WES ROW. P& W Dispatch Priority Line: 971-322-5767. Used for other priority situations requiring immediate access to the WES ROW. IMPORTANT NOTE: These phone numbers are not for use by the general public and may only be provided to 9-1-1 or emergency responders when emergency access to or activity in the WES ROW is required. ODOT Traffic Management Operations Center: Dispatches appropriate ODOT personnel/maintenance crew during a common corridor event or emergency 503-731-4652. Appendix B - Paging Criteria Major Events - Major events include any of the following: Collision involving TriMet vehicle(s) and/or property involving injuries, tows, or more than minor damage (paint transfer/scratches/mirror strikes) Collision involving a Light Rail or Commuter Rail vehicle that occurs at a gated grade crossing (including sidewalk areas), regardless of injuries, damage, or tows Derailment of a Light Rail or Commuter Rail vehicle Evacuation of a Light Rail or Commuter Rail vehicle away from a station platform Fire involving TriMet vehicles and/or property Incident resulting in more than one injured party Incident where at least one party is transported from the scene due to immediate medical need Incident resulting in a fatality Unconfirmed threat (regardless of presence of actual device) Hijacking Assault involving a TriMet employee Event involving a police response. Routine calls for service including, but not limited to, intoxicated individuals or requests for identification - do not fit this criteria without imminent threat to TriMet personnel, property and/or vehicles Discovery of HOT item(s) Event attracting media attention Evasive action to avoid collision with an emergency vehicle Event that requires modification of service (i.e. bus bridge, unplanned weather event, Light Rail traction power failure, etc.) Elevator entrapment that requires the Fire Department and/or elevator contractor to respond to free trapped people TVM break-in Incident involving a weapon; when weapon is a principle part of the event (e.g. armed robbery, fight where gun is drawn, aggravated assault) Homicide on TriMet vehicle or property Automobile intrusion into Light Rail or Commuter Rail right-of-way when all tracks at incident location are blocked and/or more than three trains are affected Rape Threat of physical harm to a TriMet employee, property or vehicle Aggravated assault (i.e. involving a weapon, or deadly intent) and/or battery Activation of Winter Operations plan Activation of Incident Command System (ICS) for any event. Request to supply or support evacuation vehicles for police, fire or city and/or state emergency personnel. Release of flammable, caustic, or toxic materials (HazMat) on TriMet property, vehicles, right-of-ways, or areas adjacent to right-of-ways Bomb or bomb threat Any terrorist threat or incident Minor Events - Minor events include any of the following: Collision resulting in no injuries, no tows and only minor damage (paint transfer/scratches/mirror strikes) to all vehicles Incident resulting in a single injured person, when no transport occurs due to immediate medical need Incident involving a passenger using a mobility device Illness Incident involving a weapon, if weapon is not used (e.g. report of person with gun on train or bus, but no information as to an actual incident occurring) Trespasser in grade separated right-of-way Evasive action incident not involving an emergency vehicle Assault not involving a TriMet employee Fight not involving weapons Slip/trip/fall, person involved claims no injury Automobile intrusion into Light Rail or Commuter Rail right-of-way (note: this is a major event when more than three trains are affected or when all mainline tracks at incident location are blocked) Vandalism of TriMet property and/or vehicles Robbery or attempted robbery Informational - On informational events include any of the following: Tow of a vehicle from a Park & Ride lot Mechanically induced hard stop (Light Rail only) TriMet paid Broadway Cab order Incident not involving TriMet witnessed by a TriMet employee Relevant service delays (i.e. any service delay that affects more than two vehicles on the same line) Request from outside agency to assist in search for a criminal suspect or vulnerable citizen Rule Violation – Rail Any Rule Violation committed by a Rail Transportation employee, OCC Rail Controller, or Field Operations Rail Supervisor will be paged to this group. If the violator is a Rail Transportation employee, this page will also be sent to the investigating supervisor. Rule Violation – Bus Any Rule Violation committed by a Bus Transportation employee, OCC Bus Dispatcher, or Field Operations Bus Supervisor will be paged to this group. If the violator is a Bus Transportation employee, this page will also be sent to the investigating supervisor. Drug Test On Call This group is to be used any time a TriMet employee is being subjected to a drug test for cause (post-accident or reasonable suspicion) during the hours that the primary drug testing facility is closed. Appendix C - Incident Notification to Outside Oversight Agencies Controller Required Incident Notifications: Notify DHS Notify ODOT Notify FTA Notify NTSB A fatality at the scene of an incident; or where a confirmed death occurs within thirty (30) days of such incident. No Yes Yes Yes Transport, due to injuries requiring immediate medical attention No Yes Yes Yes Property damage to rail transit vehicles, non-rail transit vehicles, other rail transit property or facilities and non-transit property that equals or exceeds $25,000 No Yes Yes Yes Evacuation of a train either (1) away from a station, or (2) due to life-safety considerations (i.e. smoke or unsafe environmental conditions on board vehicle) Yes Yes Yes Yes Collision at a protected grade crossing between a rail transit vehicle and any other vehicle No Yes Yes No Train derailment (mainline or yard) Yes Yes Yes No Collision with a person on the right-of-way No Yes Yes No Collision between a rail transit vehicle and a second rail transit vehicle or rail transit non-revenue vehicle No Yes Yes No Homicide No Yes Yes No Forcible Rape No Yes Yes No Robbery, Armed No Yes Yes No Aggravated assault, resulting in injury [whether victim is transported or not] No Yes Yes No Trespasser in grade-separated right-of-way (High Speed areas -- Banfield, Westside) Yes Yes No No Controller and Dispatcher Required Incident Notifications: Notify DHS Notify ODOT Notify FTA Notify NTSB Bomb, or bomb threat, with device Yes Yes Yes No Hijacking Yes Yes Yes No Suspicious Package (as defined by HOT principles and 911 was called) Yes Yes Yes No Hostage Situation Yes Yes Yes No Theft of a TriMet vehicle, uniforms, badges, keys, radios or any items that could be used to gain unauthorized access to security sensitive areas Yes Yes No No A collision involving a bus that results in a fatality No No Yes No