DomesticPreparedness met Richard Mirgon, Second Vice President, Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO). He focuses primarily on how the National Joint TERT (Telecommunicator Emergency Response Task Force) Initiative has helped his state but includes a wealth of other helpful information including, but not limited to, the qualifications for telecommuter credentialing, the requirements set by the Federal Emergency Management Agency for the preparation of after-action reports, and several financial issues involved in the creation of mutual-aid agreements between states.
Download the full audio interview.
Segment One: Overview of the National Joint TERT Initiative
How the National Joint Telecommunicator Emergency Response Task Force (TERT) Initiative helps state and local communications centers by providing certified deployable teams. Establishment of national protocols and their relationship to the National Incident Management System (NIMS).
Duration: 5 Minutes 52 Seconds
Segment Two: State-Level Training Efforts
Assistance with command post communications. Incident dispatch products. The need to focus on system restoration in training and exercises.
Duration: 3 Minutes 53 Seconds
Segment Three: TERT Partnerships with Agencies and Associations
National certification requirements under NIMS and the minimum qualifications for telecommunicator credentialing. Resource typing and definitions. The importance of FEMA standardization for making requests and preparing after-action reports. Training tools for state coordinators.
Duration: 8 Minutes 24 Seconds
Segment Four: Mutual Aid Agreements for Public Safety Telecommunicators
Templates to help define the mutual-aid process. Establishing predictability for reimbursement, liability, and other financial issues involved in mutual-aid agreements.
Duration: 3 Minutes 38 Seconds
Segment Five: The National Capital Region’s (NCR’s) 700 Mhz Wireless Network
The nation’s first public-safety regional interoperable wireless broadband network. The potential for solving problems in communications interoperability. Cyren Call, Frontline, and others for a national public safety communications system.
Duration: 8 Minutes 42 Seconds
Richard Mirgon, director of communications, emergency management, and animal control for Douglas County, Nevada, has held that position since 1991. Prior to assuming his current post, he served for 13 years as a deputy sheriff and special projects manager for the Board of County Commissioners in Jefferson County, Colorado. He previously served in the U.S. Air Force as an intelligence analyst assigned to the National Security Agency. A former co-chair, for four years, of the Nevada WMD/Homeland Security Steering Committee, he is now co-chair of Nevada’s State Emergency Response Commission.