2009 Boston Marathon
On April 20th, the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) Headquarters in Framingham was the site of the Unified Command Center (UCC) for the 113th running of the Boston Marathon. This is the eighth straight year that these extensive steps have been taken to ensure the safety of the 26,000 participants and over 500,000 spectators along the 26.2-mile course. The UCC, located at the State Emergency Operations Center (SEOC), was fully operational from 7:00AM to 7:00PM. Over 80 individuals from the local communities involved with the Boston Marathon, as well as local, state and federal Public Safety, medical and volunteer agencies, organizations and departments were represented at the SEOC on Patriots’ Day. The UCC, through MEMA’s WebEOC technology had the capability of displaying real time messages, weather data, maps, and logs, exchanging information to users both inside and outside the UCC. The UCC has dedicated hard-line telephones and access to 800 MHz, Public Safety radios, backup amateur radios (RACES) and numerous types of wireless communication to support the event and ensure immediate two-way communication. Scores of MA Highway traffic cameras monitored potential trouble spots along the route. Google Earth was utilized to visually display the location of medical tents, mile markers, potential ‘alternate routes’ and ‘sites of refuge’ along the route. The Incident Command System (ICS) was again be utilized to organize and coordinate activities in the UCC and the field.
The MA Department of Public Health, in collaboration with the Boston Athletic Association (BAA) and MEMA again utilized a real time Internet based runner/patient locator and tracking system using bar code scanning technology for this year’s Marathon. The runners’ bibs were pre-printed with unique bar codes, which, when scanned, identified the location of runners seeking care at data entry points along the route using hand held wireless scanning devices. This information was transmitted to information gathering points, including the UCC, to assist the BAA Medical Team and DPH in locating injured runners. The system was able to track 1,200 individuals who received medical treatment. Twenty-eight were severe enough to be transported. This project provides valuable information for the development of a statewide patient tracking system for medical emergencies and catastrophic mass casualty events.
Key liaisons in the UCC represented Police, Fire, Emergency Medical Service and Emergency Management departments from the eight municipalities which host the event - Hopkinton, Ashland, Framingham, Natick, Wellesley, Newton, Brookline, and Boston. The various other agencies and organizations in the UCC, under the leadership of MEMA Director Don Boyce, include the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security, Boston Athletic Association, MA Department of Public Health, MA State Police, MA National Guard, MA Department of Fire Services, MBTA, MA Turnpike Authority, MA Highway Department, Federal Aviation Administration, Civil Air Patrol, Federal Bureau of Investigation, American Red Cross, RACES/ARES (amateur radio volunteers), as well as local hospitals and private ambulance services.
The cool weather helped make this year’s event much less eventful than some of the previous years with the challenges of 80-degree temperatures in 2004 and the cold wet weather, which accompanied the 2007 Patriot’s Day Nor’easter. Preparedness steps, including the recent Tabletop Exercise and Medical Forum, helped race officials run such a smooth world-class event.