First Responders

Following issues when 911 dispatch was disrupted by telecom outages, the state has signed a five-year deal for RapidSOS's public safety tech platform to streamline services and ensure critical communication.

A proposed Emergency Response Standard would increase training requirements for firefighters, which could prove too costly for volunteer brigades or mean some volunteers have to drop out of the programs.

Thanks to Apple, rich communication services are in the news, and now a new partnership could help spread those tools deeper into the public safety space. RapidSOS is coming off a major funding round.

If approved by the full county board in June, the project will bring together dozens of local law enforcement and fire agencies at a new $53.8 million Regional Operations and Communications Facility.

Police departments and emergency dispatch centers need more workers. Gov tech suppliers are rushing to the rescue, promising new software, data integration and other tools to make up for vacant positions.

Two new tools from the public safety tech provider, fresh off an Innovation Day, offer AI assistance during emergencies and wider, unified views of data vital to first responders. The move reflects wider gov tech trends.

The move comes amid wider debate about the role of green energy in law enforcement. Flock Safety says the flexibility of its new camera can also help ease police staffing shortages, a longstanding issue.

Lawmakers are considering spending $6 million to test the program, which allows paramedics to drive in standard vehicles directly to patients in need of care rather than waiting for ambulances, saving precious time.

Dedrone, the company Axon acquired, makes software, sensors and AI that help Ukraine defend against enemy drones — and protect utilities, prisons and public spaces in the U.S. Dedrone had raised $127 million from Axon and other investors.

The company, which sells data integration software for state and local agencies, plans a hiring spree. The company is eyeing steady growth as more governments demand better ways to assemble and use data.

After the success of an AI-powered wildfire threat detection pilot, the Washington State Department of Natural Resources envisions how a real-time camera response center could safeguard millions of acres of forestlands.

Fire Chief, Atlantic City, N.J.

A new tool from public safety tech supplier Axon can automatically transcribe audio from the company’s body cameras. Arriving as law enforcement nationwide confronts a hiring crisis, it could free up officers for other duties.

The Next-Gen Emergency Vehicle Preemption technology provides first responders the ability to alter traffic lights on a complete route to an event, not just one light at a time.

The Canada-based gov tech supplier has acquired a company that sells CAD, RMS and other tools for first responders and public safety agencies. Versaterm’s CEO explains the thinking behind his company’s latest deal.

First responders, law enforcement officers, tow truck drivers and construction workers are all vulnerable on the roadways for a variety of reasons and subject to being hit and killed by distracted drivers.

The Allen County, Ohio, Sheriff's Office and Allen County Emergency Management Agency set up an Emergency Operations Center. Weather conditions appear to be nearly perfect for today's eclipse.

The United States Geological Survey has a burgeoning camera system that monitors mostly river systems that emergency managers can use to visualize and gather data on flooding threats.