Get Involved


We're all in this together and the SIEC encourages participation.

The SIEC believes interoperability must be defined at the regional level. Here's how you can help:

  • Policymakers – you can help save lives by supporting interoperability efforts, learning more about what is needed, and helping to establish agreements, protocols and training efforts.
  • Emergency responders – you can help by sharing your experience and communication needs with policymakers and technical experts so you have the tools you need when crisis strikes.
  • Technical experts – your help is needed to determine what is needed for systems to interoperate, system development and maintenance.

Quick Links:

Perform Local Planning

You may wish to review the Planning information on this site for helpful steps to follow to establish interoperability regionally.

Attend SIEC Meetings

Meeting information is posted prior to each SIEC meeting.

Attend Local Meetings

If you are in King, Pierce and Snohomish Counties, you may wish to attend Metro Steering Committee Meetings

To add notices of other interoperability meetings in Washington, please send a request to laura.kingman@wsp.wa.gov.

Training

Free DHS Type III All-Hazards COML Course in Seattle on May 27th, 28th, and 29th from 0800-1700 hours. Additional classes in eastern and western Washington will be added later this year.

2009 Outreach

In addition to being available for phone conversations and meetings any time and participating in existing forums, there area also a number of more formal outreach efforts underway.

SCIP Implementation Workshop - February 12, 2009
This Workshop included participants from across the state representing all levels of government and a myriad of emergency response agencies. Several interactive sessions characterized the day. The information gathered and developed at the Workshop will be used to write the update of the SCIP – the Statewide Communication Interoperability Plan.

Grant Secured: 2008 Interoperability Emergency Communications Grant Program (IECGP)
This federal grant will fund significant outreach efforts for 2009 to help promote leadership and governance, and training statewide. SIEC staff will be conducting workshops in each Homeland Security Region to help further interoperability leadership and governance – helping more agencies and jurisdictions join together and sign cooperative agreements. We will also provide a Train the Trainer session at each workshop to strengthen the longevity of these interoperability efforts.

We will also be hosting two more statewide summits in 2010 as part of the 2008 IEC Grant Program.

2008 Outreach

In October and November of 2008, SIEC staff joined the Military Department on a statewide tour to gather baseline interoperability scorecard information and information to determine how to plan our subsequent efforts in ways that will help you most effectively. By joining the Military Department’s statewide tour we minimized travel for you. By attending one meeting rather than two separate meetings we were able to save you time and money. We thank the Military Department for the opportunity.

Meeting Schedule:
Region 1 - November 5, 2008
Region 2 - November 6, 2008
Region 3 - October 27, 2008
Region 4 - October 28, 2008
Region 5 - October 29, 2008
Region 6 - November 7, 2008
Region 7 - October 15, 2008
Region 8 - October 16, 2008
Region 9 - October 17, 2008

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Prior Outreach – Public Safety Communication Summits

In November and December of 2007, two Public Safety Communication Summits were held at Spokane and SeaTac sponsored by the Governor’s Office, the SIEC and the National Governor's Association.

November 30, 2007 - Spokane

December 5, 2007 - Seattle

2007 Summit Presentations

  • Pipeline Explosion in Bellingham (PowerPoint 6.9mb)
    Bellingham Police Chief Randall Carroll reviews the tragic event and discusses best practices.
  • Spokane School Shooting (PowerPoint 7.1mb)
    Assistant Police Chief Jim Nicks of the Spokane Police Department discusses how they managed a school shooting at a local high school with over 2000 students.
  • Next Generation Investments in the Puget Sound Region (PowerPoint 708kb)
    Bill Schrier, chief Technology Officer, City of Seattle, discusses the progress and plans of the Puget Sound Regional Interoperability Executive Committee.
  • HazMat Incident in Yakima County (PowerPoint 5.2mb)
    Lieutenant Jim Keightley of the Washington State Patrol leads us through the steps that occurred during the three days of a chemical in Grandview, Washington that involved 30 agencies
  • Standardizing Incident Management Processes (pdf 291kb)
    Spokane Fire’s Assistant Fire Chief Brian Schaeffer presents how we can access and use several helpful national standards to increase effectiveness of a coordinated response including the National Incident Management System (NIMS) and the Incident Command System.
  • NIMS/ICS Video (wmv 8.6mb)
    Watch the National Incident Management System / Incident Command System Video
  • Olympic Public Safety Communications Alliance Network (OPSCAN) (PowerPoint 2.4mb)
    SIEC Member representing Washington Counties, Clallam County Commissioner Mike Doherty, and Patti Morris, grant administrator, discuss the challenges and successes associated with the unique solution known as OPSCAN, one of the largest RoIP networks in the world.
  • Grant County Wildfire Sweeps 5000 Acres in Four-Mile Swath (PowerPoint 4.6mb)
    Volunteer Fire chief Shane Heston of Black Rock Fire in Grant County recounts the details
  • Pierce County presents the National Incident Management System (PowerPoint 47.8mb)
    Steve Bailey, Pierce County’s Director of Emergency Management, describes Pierce County’s success with the NIMS
  • Volcano: Mount Saint Helens Erupts 18 May 1980 (PowerPoint 70kb)
    SIEC Member Cowlitz County Sherriff Bill Mahoney, representing the Washington Association of Sheriff’s and Police Chiefs, recounts the events of that day and the value of Building a Plan, Training on the Plan, and Working the Plan.
  • Fatal Train Collision - Kelso, Washington (PowerPoint 33kb)
    Sherriff Bill Mahoney also shares what happens when a train ends up laying on it’s side on Interstate 5. Twenty-six agencies quickly became involved.
  • Washington State Performs an Annual Bioterrorism Exercise (PowerPoint 15kb)
    David Byrnes, Region 9 Homeland Security Coordinator, describes the steps involved in operating a full-scale bio-terrorism exercise with over 3000 participants.

SIEC List Serv

The SIEC General List Serv is used for announcing meetings, grant opportunities, regional activities, tips on how you can support interoperability, news and updates related to furthering interoperability in Washington State.

To sign up for the ListServ please visit: http://listserv.wa.gov/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=SIEC-GENERAL&A=1

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