DRAFT

McKinsey&Company

NYPD call-routing and message

dispatch

Draft summary report

July 23, 2002
>106TH FLOOR IS COLLAPSING" MESSAGE GENERATION AND
-MO 1 wr\ IWIN v^nr\wiNwi-wo i \j\\ \ Message content

<- Caller Caller Collapsed

Time Key actions gender location floors

0937 • 91 1 call-taker receives call from man on 105th floor of WTC2 reporting floor has collapsed Male 105th 90-something
beneath him on, "90-something floor" floor
• Call-taker verifies location of caller, advises him FDNY MOS are already in building, and
states she will forward message to FDNY
0938 • Call ends; 91 1 call-taker begins recording call details by typing summary into Sprint log Female 105th underneath
• Call-taker makes two mistakes in recording call by (i) confusing gender of caller and (ii) not 105th
being specific about location of collapsed floors
• Call-taker finishes entering log at approximately 0940 and sends it to NYPD Zone 1
dispatcher. Sprint log entry recorded as, "— sts 2 world trade center—fir 105— sts underneath
her—collapse"
• Call-taker does not send message to FDNY or EMS but Sprint log entry forwarded
automatically to EMS at 0941 as supplemental message
0942 • Zone 1 dispatcher receives call Sprint entry and broadcasts message over Zone 1 radio Female 4 106lh Floor caller
frequency is on
• Dispatcher makes two mistakes in broadcasting message stating call was received from
caller on 106th floor and interpreting 'sts underneath' as meaning floor caller is currently on ,
• Message is broadcast over Zone 1 as, "106th floor of WTC2 has collapsed or is collapsing on
authority of female on 106th floor"
0943 • Zone 1 dispatch supervisor hears message announced over Zone 1 frequency and decides Not Not 106th
information is important enough to be forwarded to citywide dispatcher reported reported
• Zone 1 supervisor records new Sprint log as, "floor of 106 world trade center is collapsing"
and sends to traffic, SOD, and EMS dispatchers

0947 • FDNY EMS dispatcher receives PD Sprint entry sent by 91 1 call-taker at 0941 . Entry is listed Female 105th underneath
as, "—sts 2 world trade center— fir 105— sts underneath her— collapse" 105th

0952 • FDNY EMS dispatcher receives PD Sprint entry sent by Zone 1 dispatch supervisor at 0943. Not 106th
Not
Entry is listed as, "floor of 106 world trade center is collapsing" reported reported
0952 • SOD dispatcher receives PD Sprint entry sent by Zone 1 dispatch supervisor at 0943. Not Not 106th
Dispatcher broadcasts message over SOD frequency as, "106th floor of WTC2 is crumbling" reported reported crumbling

Source; NYPD recordings of radio transmissions and 911 calls; Sprint logs
BROADCAST OF SPECIFIC WARNINGS ON KEY NYPD RADIO
x Not broadcast
FREQUENCIES ON 9/11 •/ Broadcast

Frequency
Message Time Citywide 1 SOD Zone 1

"106th floor of WTC2 has collapsed or is collapsing 09:42 x X

911 calls* on authority of female on 106th floor"

"106th floor of WTC2 is crumbling" 09:52

• "About 15 floors from the top, WTC1 is totally 10:07

Aviation glowing red - it's inevitable. Everybody evacuate
the area of battery park city."

• "I don't think this has too much longer to go - 1 10:15 X

would evacuate all people within area of 2nd
building"
• "Advise all emergency personnel: the fire in WTC1 10:17
is spreading downwards"

• "WTC1 is continuing to burn but only from the top 10:21 X

20 floors. If WTC1 does collapse, it won't be of the

magnitude of WTC2"

• "WTC1 is buckling and leaning to the south west. 10:22

Relayed at
Everyone should remove 3 blocks from the area"
10:24

• "If WTC1 collapses to the west it will fall on top of 10:27 X

Stuyvesant High School"

* Note: both messages generated from same 911 call

Source: NYPD recordings of radio transmissions and 911 calls; Sprint logs
NYPD 911 CALL-ROUTING AND MESSAGE DISPATCH PROCESS

Generation Routing Dispatch Response Reporting

Caller dials 911 to 911-call taker at Call information Call information is On completion of job,
Description
report incident Metrotek receives call relayed by agency received by field units responding field units
Call routed to NYPD Call information routed dispatcher via radio to Units respond to report back to
911 call center to appropriate agency field units incident accordingly dispatcher
(Metrotek) dispatcher
911 caller 911 call-taker Agency dispatcher; Responding field Responding field
Personnel
dispatch supervisor units units

911 call made via Call routed to Metrotek > Agency dispatcher Field units receive When job is
Key activities landline, cell phone, complete, field units
via two telephony receives details of 911 call message from
cellular callbox, or switches in Manhattan via Sprint log and/or voice dispatcher over radio report disposition to
ERS box and Brooklyn call from 911 call-taker Units respond to dispatcher via radio
If landline used, Call allocated to first Dispatcher assigns incident as required Dispatcher updates
location of caller's available call-taker responsibility for incident Units report additional Sprint log and closes
phone displayed Call-taker verifies caller response to field units information from entry
with call. Cell location and incident based on proximity and incident scene or
phone call displays details availability. In case of request support via
carrier information Call-taker records call in NYPD, computer radio
only. Boxes display form of text-entry Sprint nominates closest Dispatcher makes
box numbers log and assigns 10-letter available unit in precinct additions to Sprint log
identification (ID) code Dispatcher contacts and rebroadcasts
Sprint log routed responding units via radio information as
automatically to and relays call information necessary
appropriate agency In some instances,
dispatcher based on ID dispatch supervisor
code forwards Sprint log to
In some instances, 911 other zone dispatchers
caller connected directly Very occasionally,
with agency dispatcher dispatchers from one
agency will pass call
information on to
dispatchers from another
agency via telephone

Source: NYPD interviews