Public safety should retain control of its 50 MHz of 4.9 GHz spectrum—airwaves that the FCC is considering for at least some commercial use—through an allocation to the FirstNet Authority, according to the newly formed Public Safety Spectrum Alliance (PSSA). “We’re concerned that public safety is going to lose spectrum that we might need,” Jeff Johnson, CEO of the Western Fire Chiefs Association and former vice chairman of the FirstNet Authority, said during an interview with IWCE’s Urgent Communications.
- PUB DATE: 8/6/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: IWCE's Urgent Communications

Using anonymous cell phone data, University of South Florida researchers are pinpointing how and where people in the Bay area move to try to predict how the coronavirus will spread and impact our hospitals. The data is collected by a third-party vendor from devices on which users have enabled location services.
- PUB DATE: 8/6/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WTSP-TV CBS 10 Tampa

VIDEO: Firefighters contained a large two-alarm brush fire Wednesday evening that spread to an abandoned home and trailer in Maple Valley. A spokesperson for the Puget Sound Fire Department said firefighters were called to 24100 SE 2412st Street in Maple Valley for a residential fire. Multiple people called 911 after seeing a large thermal column emanating from the fire.
- PUB DATE: 8/6/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KOMO-TV ABC 4 and Radio 1000

Forecasters with the National Interagency Fire Center are predicting above-average risk of large wildfires through August and likely into September. While temperatures were cooler than normal in early July, recent temperatures into the triple-digits several times combined with little precipitation caused fuels to continue to dry.
- PUB DATE: 8/5/2020 3:43:33 PM - SOURCE: iFiberOne

The South County Fire Board of Commissioners has selected Thad Hovis to serve as Fire Chief of the regional fire authority. Hovis was sworn-in during the board’s Aug. 5 virtual meeting via teleconference. A 25-year fire service veteran, Hovis has been serving as interim fire chief since the retirement of Fire Chief Doug Dahl at the end of March.
- PUB DATE: 8/5/2020 2:54:43 PM - SOURCE: Lynnwood Today