First Responders

The city police department will install the automatic readers starting this summer. They will be active when patrol vehicles are in use and plate numbers will be stored in a system that aggregates registered driver names.

Drone technology is rapidly transforming government operations, but agencies face a complex web of challenges from navigating new regulations and security threats to harnessing AI and counter-drone technology.

With the National Weather Service predicting two to four inches of snow or sleet for the Atlanta area Friday, state and local agencies are preparing, having been educated by the infamous January 2014 storm.

The state recently launched BEACON, driven by artificial intelligence and capable of transforming written emergency updates into real-time, multilingual audio message broadcasts on multiple platforms.

An update to the 30-year-old Northwest Forest Plan for management could allow more logging to fight extreme wildfires and climate change. A draft environmental impact statement identifies several strategies for the U.S. Forest Service.

The city has hired a well-known local architecture firm to oversee engineering and design on a new police headquarters that would enable all officers to work from one facility. The move comes as the Dec. 31 deadline for cities to allocate federal American Rescue Plan funds looms.

Purchased over the summer, the three devices arrived recently, and three department officials are training to fly them. The unmanned aerial vehicles will likely be used at fires, during floods and to inspect hazardous buildings. They could gather intelligence during large fires.

The state was approved for a Fire Management Assistance grant through FEMA, in which 75 percent of the cost will be picked up by federal dollars and the remaining quarter through state and local resources.

Assembled in Wyoming, Minn., the new rig is the city’s inaugural electric fire truck. It features an adjustable height, enabling it to maneuver rain and snowstorms that might sideline lower-riding trucks, and wheels capable of turning so as to round tight corners.

As real-time crime centers gain popularity, police are turning to the latest tools to catch criminal suspects more quickly than before. Glendale, Ariz., offers a glimpse of what’s to come for more departments.

The Drone as First Responder program, piloted earlier this year, is now operational in five command areas of the New York City Police Department. The devices are intended to assist police in responding to shots-fired calls, robberies and other crimes.

As part of its NG911 efforts, the state can now fix the location of mobile phone calls to within three feet. Emergency calls from landlines also are getting better in a project that could offer lessons for others.

ForceMetrics co-founder and CEO Andre McGregor addresses the need for real-time, actionable insights into critical risks for first responders to make them safer and more effective.

The wildfire broke out late Friday on Neversink Mountain near the outskirts of Reading, giving rise to a fast-spreading blaze driven by dry conditions and intensified by gusts of wind that peaked at 35 mph.

The DeKalb Fire Protection District was awarded the State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds Fire Protection Grant, which is funded by the American Rescue Plan Act and will help replace outdated equipment.

The county’s 911 system can now receive pictures, videos and livestreams from callers. Dispatchers will be able to send people a link to send their location, images or a video — or even a livestream.

Firefighters from across the country will join federal Homeland Security Department officials at the FDNY Fire Academy for a deep dive on how to tackle deadly lithium-ion battery fires.

A $2 million state appropriation will soon be used to expand training opportunities for future firefighters at a Macomb County training facility that will eventually resemble a real functional fire station.