FIREHOUSE: D.C. Officials Reflect on Record-Setting Inauguration Response

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- A record 2,100 calls for assistance were received by D.C. Fire and EMS on Tuesday as 1.8 million people descended on the city to witness the inauguration of Barack Obama..

The majority of calls handled by local personnel and crews from surrounding jurisdictions including Maryland and Virginia as well as some recruited by FEMA involved exposure issues as the temperatures never budged out of the 20s.

Several people were treated in a Metro station after they complained of chest pains and shortness of breath after being forced to walk up escalators that failed.

There were no major incidents on Inauguration Day. Sen. Ted Kennedy, who suffered a seizure during the Presidential luncheon, was transported to Washington Hospital Center.

A woman suffered a shoulder injury after falling onto a Metro rail track. A Houston Transit officer is credited with saving her.

Having the right equipment and crews at the ready paid off Saturday for a person attending the concert on the Mall, said Dr. James Augustine, the fire department medical director.

NY TIMES: Washington Cleans Up After Big Party

WASHINGTON — As Tuesday’s historic inauguration drew to a close and crowds cleared the Mall, an army of city and federal sanitation workers began putting downtown back together.

USA TODAY: Inaugural group apologizes to those turned away

WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress' inaugural committee is apologizing to several thousand ticket holders to President Barack Obama's swearing-in who were kept out due to unanticipated crowd control problems.

The Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies said in a statement Wednesday that it "deeply regrets" that some ticket holders weren't able to get to their seats. The panel promised that various agencies involved — the committee, U.S. Capitol Police and federal and local officials — will examine all procedures to avoid future problems.

Several thousand ticket holders for the purple and blue zones couldn't get to their seats Tuesday because of the large crowds.

The committee said the inauguration was "extraordinarily successful and peaceful" and was enjoyed by more than a million people.

EMERGENCY REPORTING: Presidential Inaguration Challenges D.C. Fire and EMS Agencies

When I thought of the public servants supporting something as big and grandiose as a presidential inauguration, I previously only thought of the police and secret service, because the news tends to focus on the security aspects of such an event. However, since coming to work at Emergency Reporting, I've also wondered about the role that fire and EMS agencies play in such things.

Sure enough, there's a story in this morning's news about how the festivities affected the fire and EMS folks. I don't think there's any sort of incident reporting software that could help with these particular problems, but agencies using our software would certainly have an easier time filing their reports afterwards.

CNN: Security tight, movement slow on Inauguration Day

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Hundreds of thousands of visitors to the National Mall crowded Metro stations around Washington on Tuesday, slowing movement to a crawl after the inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th president of the United States.

WASHINGTON POST: No Arrests, No Violations of Airspace Reported

Military authorities reported no violations of airspace restrictions over Washington. (The restrictions ended at 6 p.m.) A spokesman for the Secret Service's joint information center also reported no arrests as of that hour.

"We are certainly pleased with the successful implementation of the security plan designed by 58 military, law enforcement and public safety agencies and carried out by thousands of officers on the street," U.S. Secret Service Director Mark Sullivan said in a statement, praising the region's two governors, mayor and outgoing Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff.

"All of us in law enforcement want to thank most the cooperative, patient and orderly citizens who attended," added Sullivan, whose agency led the security effort.

Federal medical workers treated 957 patients at first-aid tents on the Mall, 70 of whom were transported to area hospitals. Injuries related to falls, chest pain, dehydration and hypothermia were the most typical complaints.

No further health updates were expected.

ACCU WEATHER: A Cold Inaugural Day and Maybe a Snow Storm early Next Week

ORIGINAL MORNING POST:
A weak low pressure area from western Virginia will move to the New England coast by late tonight. As of 10:30 this morning, radar showed patches of snow from northern Virginia to southeastern Pennsylvania and southern New Jersey, much of it not reaching the ground. This morning's NMM-WRF model showed an upward motion max over Washington DC at 1 PM and over Philadelphia at 4 PM. On the accompanying video, I show you what this looks like. So what? The airmass in place from Virginia to Southern New England is fairly moist. If this air is forced to rise, it cools to the saturation point and soon some precipitation breaks out. We're not talking about a long period here, or any excessive amounts, but I wouldn't be surprised if we see a few bands of snow that can deliver an inch or 2 in a couple of hours. Of course, the banded structure means places between the bands will get little or nothing.

UPDATE: the bands of snow dropped 1-2 inches on some of Philadelphia's northern and western suburbs in the middle of the afternoon, but that snow retreating to the northeast (actually, the snow is not retreating, but is rather sitting on the ground where it fell. The area where snow is coming out of the clouds is moving northeast). Between 4 and 6 PM the heavier snow moved through sections of northern New Jersey and through New York City.

INSIDE NOVA: Transportation officials prepare for inauguration crush

The break lounge at the OmniRide transit center in Woodbridge was full of bus drivers Monday afternoon.

Officials with the commuter bus service said it won’t look like that today. More than 75 drivers will be on the roads taking thousands of riders to Metro stations.

OmniRide will operate 11 hours of rush-hour service for today’s inauguration of Barack Obama.

Buses will begin moving riders from local commuter parking lots and community college campuses in Manassas and Woodbridge at 4 a.m.

There, riders bound for Washington can board a free bus and take it to either the Springfield or West Falls Church Metro station.

But from there, riders will pay full price for Metro farecards.

“Our goal is to move as many people as possible as often as we can,” said Christine Rodrigo, OmniRide spokeswoman.

And it is a massive number of people the service is planning to move.

WASHINGTON POST: Bush Homeland Security Officials to Stay on Till Weds.

At the request of Obama aides, Bush homeland security officials will stay on the job Tuesday night to allow their successors to enjoy the festivities around the inauguration of the 44th president.

Departing Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff agreed to stay at the helm until 9 a.m. Wednesday "to ensure a smooth transition," said Sean Smith, spokesman for Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano, Obama's secretary-designate.

Chertoff and Federal Emergency Management Agency chief R. David Paulison, among others, will be at separate posts overseeing operations on Inauguration Day. The U.S. Secret Service is the lead agency for security operations, and will oversee the day from its Multi-Agency Coordination Center.

About 300 FEMA employees will also be on duty around the city and at FEMA's National Response Coordination Center just south of the Mall, where Paulison and his deputy, retired coast guard vice admiral Harvey E. Johnson Jr., will be overnighting in their offices before leaving them behind for good on Wednesday.

"I just don't want to walk out the door and say, 'You got it now.' We're going to make sure you've got it as smoothly as possible, keeping a handful of people here to hand it off, and then we'll go home," said Paulison.

NY TIMES: Obama Invites Flight 1549 Pilot and Crew to Inauguration

Make room for a few more folks at the Inauguration.

Barack Obama has invited Captain Chesley B. “Sully” Sullenberger, the hero pilot who landed the US Airways Airbus in the Hudson River last week. All 155 passengers and crew were safe.

Mr. Obama has also invited all five members of the crew of Flight 1549, which had taken off from LaGuardia and moments later made a controlled landing in the Hudson, to join the inaugural ceremonies.

As an added treat, the soon-to-be president has sent the pilot and crew an even more exclusive invitation — to come on board Air Force One whenever they have the chance.

MSNBC: 25,000 deploy for security at inaugural

WASHINGTON - Security in downtown D.C. was high Monday after officials promised the largest inaugural security operation in history, with 58 federal, state and local agencies working together.

Some 25,000 police, military troops and law enforcement agents — including plainclothes officers roaming the crowds — will be on hand to handle the potentially 2 million people who could descend on the nation's capital Tuesday.

[ScannerbuffsofAmerica] DC Inauguration feed up and running on IBN

The Incident Broadcast now has the DC feed up and running for the Presidential Inauguration. The Feed is hosted on our Team Speak server as well as Icecast. Scan America will also most likely be doing a relay off of the feed.

Feed covers:
DC Police Citywide and Special Ops
Federal Law Enforcement (Park Police FBI Interop Channels)
Potentially DC Fire Special Events Comms

Incident Broadcast Network Team Speak Server Address:
www.incidentbroadcast.com:8768 or 207.150.179.84:8768

http://incidentbroadcast.com

IBN Icecast server. http://incidentbroadcast.com:8000/

FEMA Transition Binder 2009

Eric Holdeman had this info on his blog today with a link to the Homeland Security Watch blog with an article about obtaining the document.

I found this URL directly to the document on the fas.org website.

CAUTION: It is a 6.2 MB file.

WASHINGTON POST: Before the Handover Comes the Sleepover

As night falls on inauguration eve, a government slumber party of historic dimensions will begin. Nearly 6,000 soldiers will unroll their sleeping bags in D.C. schools. Homeland Security employees will climb onto bunk beds in trailers. FBI agents will stretch out on cots in a District church hall.

And at the National Museum of American History, a few employees will live the ultimate childhood fantasy: a sleepover in a building with 5,000 musical instruments and a 1,354-piece doll's house.

With hotel rates sky-high and major bridges and streets closed, many government employees have concluded there is only one sure way to get to their workplaces Tuesday: sleep there. Even officials with decades of experience in Washington said they can't recall anything similar.

SALON: Inauguration security center to go live Saturday

Jan 16th, 2009 | WASHINGTON -- Five 8-foot-square monitors and four flat-panel televisions hang on beige walls in the windowless room. A few flicker with images from news programs and street maps of downtown Washington.

All will light up on Saturday when the central hub for inauguration security goes live.

REUTERS: FACTBOX: Security for Obama's inauguration

(Reuters) - An unprecedented security operation is being launched for Barack Obama's inauguration as the United States' first black president on Tuesday.

GOV TECH: Transportation Alerts to Help Inauguration Goers Navigate Washington, D.C.

The Washington Post today announced it will provide transportation alerts to people using mobile devices in the D.C.-area on Inauguration Day. The tools will report traffic delays and tips to help people avoid congestion and navigate crowds. Users can sign up for text and e-mail alerts, follow a special Twitter or RSS feeds or visit Inauguration Central on washingtonpost.com.

NY TIMES: Bush Declares State of Emergency for Inauguration

It’s true, President Bush sounded alarms about Barack Obama during the campaign season. On Tuesday, Mr. Bush went one step further: He declared Mr. Obama’s inauguration an actual emergency.

FREEP: All routes to D.C. guarded for Obama inauguration

WASHINGTON -- As the U.S. Secret Service, Washington Metropolitan Police, U.S. Coast Guard and other agencies prepare for an unprecedented level of security around Barack Obama's Jan. 20 inauguration, they may be leaving out one piece of advice for the public:

Get used to it.

WSJ: Chertoff Sees No Credible Threat on Historic Day

WASHINGTON -- U.S. intelligence analysts reviewing secret data and electronic intercepts have found no credible evidence of plans to disrupt the inauguration of President-elect Barack Obama, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said.

"Everybody has been very focused on this for months," he said in an interview Thursday.