First Responders
The Accident Response Group (ARG), a group of technical experts within the Department of Energy (DOE) meant to respond to nuclear weapons accidents, has been regrouped into the Military Liaison Department, more closely aligning it with military interests.
Department officials hope that this will... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Science and Technology Directorate S&T will host an event for first responders in the Houston area on new technologies available to them.
The event -- called the Next Generation First Responder (NGFR) Harris County Operational Experimentation (OpEx)... Read More »
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) researchers have developed a device that enhances the efforts of first responders while treating patients in trauma-induced environments.
The patent-pending VitalTag is a stick-on sensor designed to measure and track a patient's vital signs to help... Read More »
Though a crucial and effective means of keeping Hazardous Materials (HazMat) first responders safe, training programs are often not fully implemented due to time constraints and budget cuts.
According to a paper written by independent CRBN consultant Debra Robinson, many personnel do not... Read More »
Reps. Will Hurd (R-TX) and Henry Cuellar (D-TX) and Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) recently secured a $1.6 million federal grant to increase the La Salle County Fire Rescue Department's staffing level.
The lawmakers said funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Staffing for... Read More »
The First Responder Network (FirstNet) Authority’s Public Safety Advisory Committee (PSAC) recently appointed Todd Early as its new chairman.
Early has more than 25 years of leadership experience in public safety. He is Texas’ contact person for public safety communications and is assistant... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate is working with public safety officials in the Houston-area to evaluate first responder technologies.
DHS, along with industry partners and 13 local Houston-area public safety agencies on a HAZMAT-related scenario... Read More »
Massachusetts State Police, the US Coast Guard, Massachusetts National Guard, local police and fire departments, and federal public safety officials all participated in the largest homeland security training exercise ever conducted in the state last week.
The training exercise is designed to... Read More »
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) has introduced a new training platform to help teachers, staff, first responders, and local law enforcement prepare for response plans to critical incidents at schools.
The virtual training platform is called the... Read More »
The Board of the First Responder Network Authority gained six new members this week, appointed by U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross.
Its newest members include Richard Carrizzo, chief of the Southern Platte Fire Protection District in Kansas City, Missouri; Welton Chase, former General... Read More »
The Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) recently hosted the first North American International Forum to Advance First Responder Innovation (IFAFRI) Industry Stakeholder Summit.
IFAFRI’s goal is to advance the development of innovative yet... Read More »
In response to a series of violent hate crimes throughout the United States this year, the U.S. Department of Justice has updated its prosecution efforts and launched a new website to serve as a centralized port of resources for handling them.
These resources include training materials,... Read More »
Public-private partnership project FirstNet has officially crossed the 3,600 subscriber mark for United States public safety agencies at the federal, state, local and tribal levels.
“FirstNet is being purpose-built to favor the important work first responders do. This is challenging and... Read More »
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) recently awarded Pennsylvania more than $60 million in grant funding for firefighters.
“Every day, our first responders put themselves in harm’s way to help individuals and families, whether it’s responding to a medical emergency, fire, or... Read More »
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recently announced the launch of a new voice-activated system to help first responders gather critical data while at the scene of an emergency.
The system, called AUDREY (Assistant for Understanding Data through Reasoning, Extraction, and Synthesis), is... Read More »
Experts in the areas of nuclear and radiological emergencies convened at an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) symposium this week to discuss ways to communicate during such emergencies effectively.
"Communication is a challenge that we all face together," Juan Carlos Lentijo, deputy... Read More »
In a report to Congress, the 911 Implementation Coordination Office addressed the $9.5 billion to $12.7 billion cost necessary to transition the United States into a next generation 911 system (NG911) that increasingly incorporates not just calls, but data as well.
The National Emergency Number... Read More »
The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet Authority) recently named Edward Parkinson acting CEO of FirstNet Authority.
Parkinson was a staff member on the House Homeland Security Committee... Read More »
U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) Nogales Port Director Michael Humphries was recently sworn into office during a formal ceremony held at the Mariposa crossing in Arizona.
Humphries will ensure customs and agriculture inspections are in-line with U.S. laws and regulations and will... Read More »
A bill that promotes the use of dogs to detect explosives was included in the Federal Aviation Administration’s Reauthorization that passed in the U.S. House of Representatives last week.
The legislation, called the Domestic Explosive Detection Canine Capacity Building Act (H.R. 4577), ensures... Read More »
The Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) introduced new technology designed to protect first responders at incident scenes by alerting them to potentially hazardous motorists.
The Automated Driver and Responder Alert System (ADRAS) has two main components... Read More »
A senior leader panel discussed Tuesday the Air Force integration of Guard and Reserve personnel into missions during the Air Force Association Air, Space, and Cyber Conference in National Harbor.
Since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, part-time forces heavily have been relied upon to meet manpower... Read More »
The nation-spanning public safety communications platform known as FirstNet is now used by more than 2,500 public safety agencies in the United States.
This system was built to upgrade public safety information technology, and was developed through the joint efforts of AT&T and the First... Read More »
A team of U.S. Border Patrol Grand Forks (North Dakota) Sector agents recently were deployed along the East Coast in the areas impacted by Hurricane Florence to assist with support, response, and recovery.
The Border Patrol Search Trauma and Rescue team (BORSTAR) is part of the team. BORSTAR is... Read More »
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Office of Field Operations and the New Orleans Air and Marine Branch recently announced they would be participating in Hurricane Florence relief efforts in the Carolinas.
They will be joined by the Jacksonville office and will support the Atlanta... Read More »
Twenty-seven Massachusetts fire departments recently were awarded nearly $4.5 million in grants from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
Twenty-four fire departments received funding through the Assistance to Firefighters Grants (AFG) program and two received funding through the... Read More »
U.S. Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Kamala Harris (D-CA) are asking the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) along with leading mobile providers to guarantee service to first responders during emergencies.
The California senators also asked the mobile service providers – specifically... Read More »
The Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) recently participated in a demonstration of the New York Police Department’s FIDO X-3 Explosive Trace Detection (ETD) system.
The demonstration was part of an event, funded by the National Institute of... Read More »
A ceremony at mission headquarters in Kabul, Afghanistan, recently commemorated the change in command from General John ''Mick'' Nicholson to General Austin Scott Miller.
Miller will oversee NATO’s and its operational partners’ efforts to develop effective and sustainable Afghan security... Read More »
The U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) showed off a host of new technologies deployed to the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) this week, from computed tomographic (CT) scanners to photo ID scan verifications.
The technologies are being tested at the airport’s Terminal 1... Read More »
The Office of Justice Programs’ Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) produced a new video for first responders to help them protect themselves from the presence of fentanyl on the job.
The video, called “Fentanyl: The Real Deal” is a companion training video to its Fentanyl Safety... Read More »
Protect the Force, Inc. was awarded $199,260 this week by the Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), for their efforts to create energy harvesting fabrics.
The photovoltaic (PV) materials generate electricity through exposure to light, taking it... Read More »
An Emergency Nurses Association (ENA) survey has determined active shooter training and simulations are essential to ensuring staff is equipped to respond effectively during an act of violence.
Findings published online in the Journal of Emergency Nursing showed out of 202 emergency nurses and... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recently announced it has allocated $345 million for six fiscal year 2018 competitive preparedness grant programs. In June, more than $1.3 billion in noncompetitive grant funding was announced.
Preparedness grants are used to support the National... Read More »
As San Antonio, Texas law enforcement returned or sought new homes for dogs from a shuttered dog training operation, one found a place with the Transportation Security Administration (TSA).
“It was a most unusual circumstance, and we were notified that there might be some dogs that met the... Read More »
