We blogged last night about an odd City of Portland no-bid announcement regarding some sort of "bio-surveillance" computer system being used up in the 'Couv. A reader who knows about such things responds:

Here is the deal on the FirstWatch business. CRESA is the 911 agency for Clark County. The idea is to have a computer program keep track of things like 911 medical call complaints to spot a trend that may indicate something bigger happening. For example, a number of calls from the public complaining of breathing problems in a small geographic area may mean a chemical spill or accident nearby. That discovery supposedly lets the emergency crews and hospitals gear up for something bigger than usual. Or so they say. The FirstWatch folks really want you to think of a "dirty bomb" or bio-hazard attack to sell the product.

I think it's a bunch of bunk. It was first mentioned as part of the ambulance franchise RFP about 6 years ago. And American Medical Response may have had a hand in bringing the idea forward in their bid. There are some places that were talking about this idea after the 9/11 anthrax scares. Not much has happened after that. Then came the H1N1 "deadly pandemic" flu and away we go again. See here.

The buzzy word is "situational awareness." But the problem is that in a place like Vancouver, or even Portland, the resources (i.e., number of available ambulances, fire rigs, etc.) at any given time are so small that most get committed to a major event right after the first couple of calls, so the "awareness" comes after the units have arrived and departed with patients. It may be a possible help for someone like Los Angeles, but Vancouver? Bahahhahahahahaha.

This is actually a program update. As I recall this was first being installed about five years ago in the 'Couv. And if you really want to see how far this jive goes, drive by the fire station on 39th Chuck E. Cheese Ave just past Hawthorne (Engine 9's house). One rig inside is a fire pumper, the other is a million-dollar-plus rolling command center. It's so big that it can't fit into most PFB stations, and E-9's house is one of the only ones with big enough doors.... It's got all the bells and whistles, TV cameras, weather station, electric toilet, radios that connect to everything, sat TV stuff. And it never goes anywhere. It's perfect light duty for the driver. It's nuts. Actually, the whole thing is nuts!