First Responders

It’s unclear so far whether Positive Train Control, a technology that is deployed on railroad tracks to prevent such accidents, was in play during the March 2 incident and whether it would have stopped the derailment.

The closing of the Series C round, with $75 million from BlackRock, could drive further integration of AI into RapidSOS’ products. The company is now one of the “highest-funded businesses” in public safety, an industry observer said.

Officials at Eau Claire County, Wis., have debuted a new dashboard that displays “up to the minute information” on weather, fires and related events. Issues identified in an update of the county Hazard Mitigation Plan also will be incorporated.

Early CPR — an emergency lifesaving procedure performed when the heart stops beating — and rapid defibrillation from an AED are proven methods in improving a person's chance of surviving sudden cardiac arrest.

Violence on the Brockton, Mass., High School campus has gotten to the point where teachers are afraid, and four school committee members asked the governor to call in the National Guard to restore order.

Everyone should have a disaster recovery plan and should avoid signing any documents within the first 72 hours. Anyone whose property has been impacted by disaster should call their insurance company.

The county first responders took a tour of the Texas State Technical College’s Immersive Interactive lab and its ambulance simulator. The county recently purchased its own immersive interactive lab.

The new $74 million upgrade is scheduled to go live in October and will improve radio coverage by expanding capacity from 3,000 radios to 5,000 and moving the system into the 700- to 800-megahertz frequency range.

Processing times for DNA samples can take up to a year at a state lab, but a rapid DNA machine could have results in 90 minutes to two hours, the Bellingham police chief told city council members Monday.

Texans should use extreme caution as they celebrate Texas Independence Day March 2, as approximately 90 percent of wildfires are caused by humans and their activities, and holidays and celebrations pose an increased risk.

The partnership will integrate tools from both firms and aims to improve communications and response during school emergency situations amid growing concerns about school safety nationwide.

The storm will begin Thursday and could last through Sunday. Blizzard warnings are in effect in the Sierra Nevada and up to 12 feet of snow is possible.

Early detection is critical to successfully combatting wildfires, and autonomous helicopters fitted with AI technologies could respond quickly to and suppress a fire before it has time to burn out of control.

"Fire spread conditions, without getting technical, are such that if we have the winds and a fire gets going, it could move as fast as 160 to 220 feet per minute with flame heights as high as 10-15 feet."

The award from the U.S. Department of Agriculture will be used in some of the state’s highest risk areas for wildfire prevention, as well as improving forest health and building community resilience.

The city commissioned the study to evaluate how Missoula’s emergency medical system is operating. It laid out 15 recommendations for the city to consider on ramping up its medical response methods.

The two sellers of technology for emergency responders said that CentralSquare will become a verified reseller for RapidSOS. The deal is the latest to bring together gov tech vendors in that space.

The police and fire departments took the lessons they learned during a mass shooting incident in 2019 and have increased collaboration, plus implemented new training and equipment, to prepare for future emergencies.