Desktop Alert, Warning Systems Inc (WSI), U.S. FEMA, NOAA, and Others Demonstrate Interoperability of EDXL Standards at US Department of Homeland Security Event

Philadelphia, PA, USA; 1 February 2010 –  The public and private sectors will join to conduct an interoperability standards demonstration at the Technologies for Critical Incident Preparedness (TCIP) conference, 2-4 February in Philadelphia. The event will showcase the OASIS Emergency Data Exchange Language (EDXL) suite of standards including the Common Alerting Protocol (CAP), Distribution Element (DE), and Hospital Availability Exchange (HAVE) standards. Simulating an incident defined by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the demo will show how authorities, responders, broadcasters, and other services providers can use EDXL to enact a concerted, coordinated emergency response.

The emergency simulation will involve an ammonia leak in the Philadelphia Wachovia Spectrum refrigeration system. OASIS standards will be used to inform and coordinate response involving a Hazmat team, police, public works officials, firefighters, paramedics, and the Red Cross. A tornado weather alert will compound the severity of the situation, resulting in a complex residential evacuation. Participants in the demo include Desktop Alert and Warning Systems, Inc. (WSI), as well as the DHS,  NOAA,  U.S. Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA), CellCast Technologies, MyStateUSA, Safe Environment Engineering, Solace Systems, TeleCommunication Systems, and others.

The demonstration will feature the DHS Disaster Management Open Platform for Emergency Networks (DM-OPEN), an operational interoperability backbone that allows disparate third-party applications, systems, networks and devices to share information in a non-proprietary, open format. DM-OPEN was designed to support the delivery of real-time data and situational awareness to public emergency responders in the field, at operation centers and across all levels of response management.

The Geo-Targeted Altering System (GTAS) will also play a key role in the interop. GTAS is a joint development effort between NOAA and FEMA's Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS). GTAS allows alerts and warnings to be targeted to geographic areas. The CAP IPAWS Profile message format will be used to demonstrate notification to the Emergency Alert System (EAS).

Support for OASIS Interop

"The OASIS Interop at TCIP is an excellent opportunity for emergency management practitioners to see first-hand how WSI's warning and notification products perform in a real-world emergency situation. Our AdaptAlert™ and OnAlert® systems will interface with products from other companies in the Interop's chemical leak-tornado scenario to receive CAP 1.2 IPAWS Profile messages to activate broadcaster EAS equipment and CAP 1.1 messages to activate sirens and tone alert receivers," said Patrick J. Gannon, President and COO, WSI.