The GEOS International Emergency Response Coordination Center

 

 


 

 

 

 

GEOS provides the "Power Behind The Button" for a range of GPS-enabled communications devices such as the SPOT Satellite Messenger, a GPS-equipped Satellite Emergency Notification Device (S.E.N.D.) and an entire range of GPS-equipped cellular telephones.  GEOS provides emergency rescue coordination through our dedicated International Emergency Response Coordination Center (IERCC).

SPOT EMERGENCIES IN 51 COUNTRIES
Mark Garver is the CEO of the GEOS International Emergency
Response Coordination Center (IERCC) which is the center
that handles all Search and Rescue coordination for SPOT as
well as other devices. The IERCC are not affiliated in any way
with SPOT other than the fact that we provide SOS Emergency
Response for SPOT devices worldwide.

Every member of the GEOS SAR team and the GEOS disaster response team (field responders) carries a SPOT device. SPOT has an integrated GPS allowing the IERCC to resolve a position instantly to within 20 feet a high percentage of the time. This means that we have responders enroute to your location faster and with a far greater accuracy and sense of the terrain you are in. The IERCC have handled SPOT emergencies in 51 Countries and have saved around 342 lives (as at July 31 2009) with an average time to dispatch an emergency responder internationally of under 10 minutes . No other devices and services can make this claim! ACR or PLB devices send an alert via the COSPAS-SARSAT constellation and these are received by Rescue Coordination Centers worldwide. This first communication narrows the search radius to 1 -3 nautical miles for EPIRB and 67 Yards for a PLB and can have up to a two (2) hour delay in alerting. If the device is using the GOES network the alert can be instant but no location is given. Then, a homing signal is required by the search and rescue community operating at 121.5 MHz to zero in on the location once personnel are on the scene. Again, with the satellite-based SPOT, the alert is instantaneous and the IERCC has access to all the Members' previous button depressions (OK and/or HELP) for the past 24 hours to help us determine what previous actions have been taken and all locations recorded over the past 24-hour period.

PROFESSIONAL RESPONSE 24/7 THROUGHOUT THE YEAR
At the IERCC, the entire staff
are SAR professionals and
certified as International
Aviation and Maritime Search
And Rescue (IAMSAR) SAR
Mission Coordinators. Both
Mark Garver and the IERCC
Director were search and rescue
professionals with the US Coast
Guard and our SMCs are all
first responders and understand what is occurring as we prosecute a SAR mission. Most of us have had experience with EPIRBs and PLBs and know the differences. Mark, personally, is a blue water sailor and has an EPIRB on his boat, but he carries his SPOT with him everywhere he goes. The highly trained IERCC responders have instant access to
national emergency response units
worldwide to ensure that in the
event of an emergency, your
situation will be dealt with
efficiently and quickly to provide
the resources that you need. During
last season’s hurricane IKE in the
Gulf of Mexico, the GEOS IERCC received a 911 from a SPOT unit. When the first responder arrived, it was a house on fire and they were able to save it because the IERCC could react so fast to get first responders to the scene in time. This was critical as all cell phone and non-emergency phone calls were down.

IERCC - ALWAYS GOING THE EXTRA MILE
Once a 911/SOS message has been received via the GEOS Global Emergency Monitoring system or GEM and an emergency declared, the IERCC maintains a continuous location track of your GPS position and continuously updates and coordinates emergency SAR personnel on the ground until the successful completion of the mission. The dedicated IERCC staff will always go the extra mile. Only once you are safely out of harm's way and being treated in a hospital (if necessary) with your family notified, does the IERCC stand down and declare the incident closed.

RECOGNITION BY SAR AGENCIES WORLDWIDE
The IERCC has Memoranda of Understanding in place with various countries' Rescue Coordination Centers (RCC’s) directly and the IERCC has many letters and emails from the search and rescue community commending its actions. Many of the SAR agencies the IERCC works with in the US, have also given SPOT units to all of their employees.

The GEOS IERCC has responded to SPOT distress signals as far north as the Arctic Circle and Northern Siberia and as far south as the Tasmanian Sea, so we can confirm that SPOT and the GEOS 911 service works and lives are saved that would otherwise be lost.

THE IERCC - GUARANTEED ABILITY TO PERFORM
The ability to efficiently process emergency (911/SOS) notifications on a global basis forms the core of the capabilities of the IERCC. The IERCC is located just north of Houston, Texas and is supported by secure infrastructure housed in a nuclear-proof bunker 50 feet underground.


 

The IERCC also maintains redundant operations centers throughout the World. IERCC service continuity is guaranteed by:

  • Diesel generator backup power (complete independence for over 30 days)
  • Two underground wells for water supply
  • Air filtration system for chemical, biological and radiological agents
  • Hardened/secure facility and bunker

The IERCC:

  • Receives 911/SOS Emergency Notifications
  • Notifies Search and Rescue (SAR) agency including USCG or private rescue contractors
  • Maintains an open line of communications with SAR agency throughout the event
  • Establishes and holds an open line of communications with your family or your other nominated emergency contacts 
  • Monitors worlwide weather and worldwide events
  • Provides Safe Traveler programs and monitoring
  • Supports corporate security monitoring and coordination programs

 

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