First Responders
The Providence Fire Department in Rhode Island recently received a nearly $1 million federal grant award earmarked for the department’s safety and training, according to an announcement made by state and federal lawmakers last week.
Sens. Jack Reed (D-RI) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) joined... Read More »
AT&T has been actively deploying Band 14 spectrum as part of the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) build, bringing a much-needed technology upgrade to the public safety network.
Band 14 is nationwide, high-quality spectrum set aside by the federal government for FirstNet that will... Read More »
Funding from the Department of Homeland Security’s Assistance in Firefighters Grant (AFG) program is bringing more than $100,000 to fire departments in two New York counties.
The Richville Volunteer Fire Department in St. Lawrence County and the Whitesboro Fire Department in Oneida County... Read More »
The First Responder Network Authority’s board of directors, an independent authority within the U.S. Department of Commerce, recently approved an $81 million budget for operations in fiscal year 2019.
The budget will be used for the focus on the deployment of the nationwide public safety... Read More »
The Gary/Chicago International Airport recently held a ribbon cutting ceremony for its $1.5 million state-of-the-art U.S. Customs and Border Protection general aviation facility.
The facility will allow general aviation aircraft to arrive directly at the Gary airport without having to clear U.S.... Read More »
Warning of the potential danger presented by attackers targeting hazardous chemical facilities, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) is urging the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to share more information with first responders who may need to respond to security incidents.... Read More »
The Air Force has crafted a Light Attack Aircraft plan, which they said is the first step toward working with industry to generate the final RFP expected at the end of the year.
A draft request for proposal was shared with Sierra Nevada /Embraer and Textron Aviation following the conclusion of... Read More »
Marine Corps units from Air Station Beaufort joined members of the U.S. Navy, Naval Hospital Beaufort, Savannah Coast Guard and local responders on a first-ever search and rescue exercise with F-35 fighters July 27.
The exercise, which took place on the Beaufort River, paired pilots and first... Read More »
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) recently provided counterterrorism training at the International Law Enforcement Academy (ILEA) in Roswell, N.M. to law enforcement delegations from six African nations.
The participants were judges, prosecutors, and police officers from Angola,... Read More »
The Reliance Fire Company No. 1 in Berwick, Pa., recently received a $119,610 federal grant from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Assistance to Firefighters Grants (AFG) program.
Established in 2001, the AFG program provides firefighters and... Read More »
The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) is hosting a summit in Washington, D.C. this week to gather together technology innovators for the first responder industry.
The summit will take place on Thursday, Aug. 9, and represents the second... Read More »
The Rhode Island fire departments recently received $106,668 through the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) Program for the purchase of needed equipment and gear.
The Central Falls Fire Department was awarded $59,048. It will use the funds to... Read More »
The U.S. Air Force recently released its Next Generation Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) Dominance Flight Plan, which is a strategy for maintaining and enhancing competitive advantage in the rapidly changing digital era through 2028.
“We need to balance our ISR portfolio... Read More »
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials announced this week that Operation Guardian Support is expanding at Arizona’s ports of entry as the National Guard continues to improve border security.
The operation began in April. It has 491 volunteer National Guard members at the... Read More »
Global security and aerospace company Lockheed Martin will helm a U.S. Army project to develop an unmanned convoy system in combat environments over the next three years.
"We are leveraging 15 years of experience in developing autonomous capabilities for our customers," said Gaylia Campbell,... Read More »
Marines and Illinois response units recently joined forces to share training techniques designed to enhance chemical and biological emergency preparedness.
Marines and sailors with the Chemical Biological Incident Response Force (CBRIF) participated in Exercise Chicago Response in Chicago,... Read More »
Eighteen Massachusetts fire departments are slated to receive $4.8 million in Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grants.
Officials said 17 of the departments received funding through FEMA's Assistance to Firefighter Grants (AFG) program, which provides resources for firefighters and... Read More »
The U.S. Immigration and Customs Services (ICE) has been utilizing a data analytics platform called Igloo to quickly sift through large volumes of data to track the movements of human traffickers and transnational criminal organizations, the agency announced on Monday.
Developed by the U.S.... Read More »
In response to growing calls to abolish U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), a group of 15 Republican senators introduced a resolution on Wednesday voicing support for the agency.
U.S. Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and Joe Kennedy (R-LA) noted that ICE agents rescued 1,422 victims of... Read More »
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted military emergency use authorization of freeze-dried plasma as a means of aiding injury treatment in a potential battlefield setting.
Officials said the action clears the way for Pathogen-Reduced Leukocyte-Depleted Freeze-Dried Plasma to be used... Read More »
State Minority Leader, and former law enforcement officer, Sen. Jay Costa (D-43rd District) recently announced that he would introduce measures designed to bolster police training initiatives in the wake of officer-involved shootings across the commonwealth and nation.
“I believe it is... Read More »
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will establish a Firefighter Cancer Registry to evaluate whether firefighters’ exposure to toxins and dangerous fumes is linked to cancer under a bill that was signed into law on Monday.
Under the Firefighter Cancer Registry Act, the CDC... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) is partnering with public safety agencies from Harris County, Texas, to conduct operational tests for first responders.
The Next Generation First Responder (NGFR) – Harris County Operational... Read More »
The United States and Canada launched last week an initiative designed to explore the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and situational awareness technologies during critical incidents.
Officials representing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T)... Read More »
Bell Boeing recently approved the conversion of the previously awarded V-22 tiltrotor aircraft contract to a fixed-price-incentive-fee multiyear contract, providing for the manufacture and delivery to armed forces divisions.
Officials said the $4,191,533,822 revision clears the way for 39... Read More »
A federal grand jury in Baltimore indicted 24 alleged MS-13 gang members on violent racketeering, money laundering conspiracy and murder from 2015 to 2017, according to a June 26 indictment that was unsealed on Monday.
The defendants are accused of murdering five people, conspiring to murder... Read More »
The fiscal year 2019 Defense Appropriations Act, which the House advanced last week, includes increased funding for several Arizona military programs and installations.
The package includes $144 million for new A-10 wings which will re-wing between 14-20 planes, Rep. Martha McSally (R-AZ) said.... Read More »
Four New York lawmakers led an effort to defeat a proposal to separate the World Trade Center Health Program, which provides treatment services for first responders and survivors with 9/11-related health conditions, from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, according to a June... Read More »
Organizers of FirstNet, the nationwide public safety communications platform dedicated to America's first responders, said the endeavor has been fervently embraced.
More than 1,000 public safety agencies across 52 states and territories have joined FirstNet, officials noted, nearly doubling the... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has tasked AktiVax, Inc. with developing an auto-injector that allows drugs designed to counter chemical nerve agents to be administered without specialized training.
The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA)... Read More »
Global security and aerospace company Lockheed Martin has been awarded a 364 million contract to produce Army missiles, the company announced Monday.
The production agreement for Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) missiles also applies to a Foreign Military Sales customer.
The service... Read More »
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office will use Rockwell Collins’ UrgentLink disaster communications network as a backup if primary communication infrastructure fails during natural or man-made disasters.
As a beyond-line-of-sight communications system that operates on the high-frequency... Read More »
A national registry would be created to collect data on the prevalence of cancer in firefighters to better understand how smoke inhalation and other occupational hazards contribute under a bill that cleared Congress on Friday.
The Firefighter Cancer Registry Act of 2017, H.R. 931 would require... Read More »
The U.S. Air Force and Boeing have announced plans for the first Boeing-built KC-46 Tanker, a military version of the 767 commercial aircraft, to be delivered to bases in Oklahoma and Kansas in October.
The announcement drew praise from U.S. Reps. Tom Cole (R-OK) and Frank Lucas (R-OK), whose... Read More »
University of Kansas students recently created a tool designed to enhance emergency preparedness efforts.
Officials said military, veteran, and civilian students in the university’s new homeland security master's program developed and implemented an emergency plan for a long-term blackout... Read More »
