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The Fire Services Take: Spring 2020
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 The Fire Services Take by Mike Worrell
Recognizing volunteer firefighters
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Of the more than 1.1 million firefighters in this country, 67% are volunteers. We recently celebrated National Volunteer Week, when we honor those who donate their time to public service. I’d like to recognize the hundreds of thousands of volunteer firefighters who put their lives on the line to protect their communities, especially during this national crisis.
Volunteers are a vital part of our nation’s fire service. With the number of volunteer firefighters at a low, call volume is at an all-time high, tripling in the last 30 years and spiking nationwide in the last 90 days. Communication solutions are more critical to fire services than ever. That’s why FirstNet— America’s nationwide public safety broadband network—is an important resource for volunteer departments.
Volunteer department switches to FirstNet
Bedrock Road Volunteer Fire Department (BRVFD) serves rural, mountainous Allegany County in Maryland where the terrain causes significant communication challenges. Chief Eddie Collins wanted a solution, so he subscribed to FirstNet as an individual user. He immediately saw increased coverage and capacity on public safety’s network and began researching how to bring FirstNet to all of BRVFD.
Using a state grant, the department bought three FirstNet Ready™ iPads and equipped them with command software and personnel-tracking apps. BRVFD soon had the chance to test the new technology when a mutual aid call took them to a house fire located on a mountain with unreliable commercial service. With FirstNet connectivity, the BRVFD engine served as the command engine. The incident commander connected to countywide software to track response staffing, loaded mapping software to find the water supply, and coordinated command and control effectively.
“We wanted to bring our department into the 21st century and FirstNet has certainly done that,” Chief Collins said. “The system hasn’t failed us yet, and we know it’s making our firegrounds safer.”
First responders can self-subscribe to FirstNet
Within months of getting the FirstNet Ready™ iPads, most members of BRVFD had also switched their personal phones to FirstNet. Individual public safety professionals can sign up for FirstNet on their personal accounts. Mobile plans for subscriber-paid users are available for verified first responders to get FirstNet service– giving you network priority when you need it most. Career and volunteer first responders both qualify for this opportunity.
Bowley’s Quarters Volunteer Fire Department is located near the Chesapeake Bay and needs reliable coverage on land and on the water. Captain Matt Fairley is a 4th-generation firefighter and 20-year veteran, so he understands that FirstNet brings a new level to fire suppression and marine emergencies. He said, “As a 100% volunteer organization, knowing our members can easily subscribe to public safety’s network – it’s changing the game for us.”
We support you
At the FirstNet Authority, we are here to help you, now more than ever. If you have questions about FirstNet or I can connect you with any resources, information, or tools, you can reach me at Mike.Worrell@FirstNet.gov.
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 Patient safety has never been more important, and FirstNet is helping first responders and medical providers stay connected and focused on improving patient care.
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 FirstNet Authority in the news: we just marked three years of groundbreaking public-private partnership with AT&T, Ed Parkinson was named the new CEO, and FirstNet Push-to-Talk was released as the nation’s first mission-critical push-to-talk solution.
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 Public safety agencies are using FirstNet to conduct exercises such as counteracting a cyberattack with a deployable or simulating an aircraft accident with mass casualties, and to respond to local, regional, and national emergencies as a rural EMS provider.
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 The FirstNet Authority continues to drive innovation, with support for NIST PSCR’s CHARIoT challenge, which calls on innovators to design augmented reality or develop smart city data streams, and the Tech-to-Protect Challenge, which is announcing up to $2.2 million in prizes to winners on May 1.
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Tech, Innovations, and Hot Topics in Fire Services
Read what we’ve been hearing from public safety in the field about trends and drivers for fire services and emergency communications.*
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued a landmark ruling about location services that will help save lives. The ruling requires that vertical location (Z-axis) be included for 9-1-1 calls made from wireless devices. The vertical location must be accurate within 3 meters for 80% of wireless calls. This level of accuracy will help firefighters arriving on scene at high-rise buildings and large apartment complexes to more quickly locate callers and reduce the time from dispatch to contact. The FCC has indicated that, in the future, wireless carriers will be required to report the specific floor level.
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When a tornado struck 14.5 square miles and 12,000 properties of Beavercreek, Ohio, public safety utilized FirstNet to do damage assessments during recovery efforts. Beavercreek Township Fire Department Battalion Chief, Nathan Hiester shares why having a dedicated public safety network is important, when ‘those seconds actually count.’
Watch the video on YouTube |
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Mike Worrell is an Area Director and the First Responder Network Authority Fire Services Subject Matter Expert. Learn more about Mike or email him with your questions. |
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Top photo: The 2020 Internet 2 Technology Evaluation Center (ITEC) Winter Institute addressed the cybersecurity challenges public safety agencies face today, simulating a cyberattack during response to a reported explosion. Participants leveraged a FirstNet deployable — a Satellite Cell on Light Truck (SatCOLT) — to establish interoperable communications among participating agencies.
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*FirstNet Authority may provide hyperlinks for third-party, non-governmental websites in order to offer additional context and added value for our users. FirstNet Authority does not endorse any product or service and is not responsible, nor can it guarantee the validity or timeliness of the content on hyperlinks outside of the federal government. In addition, users may wish to review privacy notices on non-government sites since their information collection practices may differ from ours.
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