The Fire and Emergency Services (FES) communications over a site's telephone system must be configured to support the Department of Defense Instruction (DODI) 6055.06 telecommunication capabilities.

Description

<VulnDiscussion>Emergency communications must include requests for fire, police, and medical assistance. In DOD, these communications can also include requests for Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting (ARFF), explosive ordnance disposal, and similar emergency situations specific to the military. The inability of first responders to automatically locate the caller threatens life safety and facility protection or security. Contacting emergency services via the public telephone system has been mandated for many years in the United States and other countries around the world. In the United States, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has mandated various aspects of providing enhanced FES communications and also relies on state legislation to extend these rules. The FCC rules primarily address public communications service providers, including traditional LEC and CLECs, mobile communications providers, and VoIP communications providers. DOD Instruction 6055.06, DOD Fire and Emergency Services (F&ES) Program, provides DOD policy regarding emergency services and emergency services communications. The document primarily discusses fire protection, with specific provisions for telecommunications support for fire, medical, and security emergencies. Private telephone systems, in general, provide a large portion of the required telecommunication capability. All DOD private telephone systems, VoIP or traditional, must support enhanced emergency services communications for the completion of emergency calls. Per DOD Instruction 6055.06, all sites must support, provide for, and implement F&ES telecommunications services. When implementing basic F&ES telecommunications services, each country or region designates a specific standard telephone number or prefix code to be dialed that can be easily remembered by the public. In some instances, while not best practice, organizations might designate an internal emergency number for use within their telephone system. Examples of such numbers are as follows: - 911 in North America. - 112 in the EU and UK. - 000 in Australia. Issues may arise when an emergency call is originated through a private telephone system, such as a traditional PBX or a VVoIP system. While the LEC or CLEC may properly route the call in a priority manner, the same may not be true for the private system unless specifically addressed in the systems call routing tables and potentially other system features. Therefore, the private system must be configured to properly handle emergency communications. Enhanced F&ES communications permits the answering station to automatically locate the caller. This is particularly helpful when the caller cannot provide their location. Enhanced F&ES communications are mandated by the FCC and state legislation. Current implementation is a best practice. The enhanced F&ES communications capability is enabled using Automatic Number Identification (ANI) and Phone Switch Automatic Location Identification (PS-ALI) information. ANI provides the telephone number of the calling party and is generated by the telephone system. PS-ALI associates the calling party's number (ANI information) with their location or registered address of the phone being used. PS-ALI is provided by a database maintained within the telephone system or externally. In many cases, the F&ES answering service system will use the PS-ALI information to map the location of the calling phone. VoIP phones, on the other hand, can be connected anywhere in the world and function. This is an issue for commercial VoIP services that is being addressed by the FCC. ALI information in the private sector must be handled by the owners/operators of private telephone system. When a private telephone system supports enhanced F&ES telecommunications, a PS-ALI database must be instituted, maintained, and kept current as endpoints and numbers move at a site. NOTE: For fire and emergency services, the requirements are for the site. The requirement must be met through the unclassified system. Classified systems at the site, because they only operate in secure areas without connection to public services, do not need to implement this requirement. References: DOD Instruction No. 6055.06, DOD Fire and Emergency Services (F&ES) Program, dated 21 Dec 2006</VulnDiscussion><FalsePositives></FalsePositives><FalseNegatives></FalseNegatives><Documentable>false</Documentable><Mitigations></Mitigations><SeverityOverrideGuidance></SeverityOverrideGuidance><PotentialImpacts></PotentialImpacts><ThirdPartyTools></ThirdPartyTools><MitigationControl></MitigationControl><Responsibility></Responsibility><IAControls></IAControls>