Hotter, dryer summers have led to increased megafires and Paul Hessburg, a research landscape ecologist with the U.S. Forest Service, said he fears our wildfire seasons will get much worse. A megafire is a fire that grows larger than 100,000 acres, and Washington and the western United States in general have seen a lot of them.
- PUB DATE: 10/18/2018 6:27:57 AM - SOURCE: Spokane Spokesman-Review

WILSONVILLE, OR—FLIR Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: FLIR) announced the DroneSense–FLIR Edition, a drone flight management software platform designed for public safety applications. FLIR announced a strategic investment in DroneSense, an Austin, Texas-based unmanned aircraft system (UAS) software platform maker, in April 2018, and this is the first product under that collaboration. DroneSense-FLIR Edition is the only software platform to combine thermal and visual imaging processing with flight data planning and management capabilities across public safety organizations to help improve incident response. 

DroneSense-FLIR Edition streams FLIR thermal sensor data directly into the software, making it a single-source, fully integrated software platform for drones used in incident response applications such as fires, floods, missing person search and rescue, disaster damage assessment, and more. It includes features such as autonomous flight control, live video streaming, both on-scene and off-site, and drone asset and compliance management capabilities. The platform is hosted on a secure government cloud server and enables real-time data interpretation for a variety of drones and use cases.

The DroneSense-FLIR Edition supports the DJI Zenmuse XT2 and any DJI drone-based thermal payloads offering Thermal by FLIR^® with feature functionality including visual, thermal, picture-in-picture, side-by-side imagery, and robust telemetry feature set. It may be connected via Wi-Fi or cellular networks with multiple feed streaming capabilities or used as a stand-alone, independent communications remote ad-hoc network with automatic logging and syncing of all flight data. 

“Drones are a vital tool in various incident response scenarios, and the addition of FLIR thermal sensor data provides a powerful asset to first responders,” said Frank Pennisi, President of the Industrial Business Unit at FLIR. “The use of FLIR thermal technology on drones has earned tremendous interest by public safety organizations both due to their relatively low cost for an airborne surveillance system and rapid deployment capabilities. Now through our partnership with DroneSense, first responders can stream thermal data into DroneSense’s flight control software to transform incident response management.” 

The software will be available for purchase through U.S. authorized distributors beginning October 18.

For more information, please visit www.flir.com/dronesense.

New Initiative Will Offer Education and Advocacy on Nation’s First Public Safety Network

Washington, D.C.—The Communications Workers of America (CWA) announced today the launch of FirstResponderVoice.org, a new advocacy initiative and Web site devoted to increasing the availability of information about FirstNet for first responders and public safety agencies across the country.

In March 2017, the First Responder Network Authority, an independent agency within the U.S. Department of Commerce, selected AT&T to construct, maintain, and operate FirstNet, America’s first nationwide public safety broadband network dedicated to first responders. The creation of FirstNet has placed a well-deserved spotlight on emergency communications; generating renewed interest and competition throughout the entire public-safety communications ecosystem. As the first nationwide interoperable broadband network dedicated to public safety, FirstNet will act as an engine for future development and implementation of reliable, secure and state-of-the-art communications technologies for first responders.

“FirstResponderVoice.org will help me educate and advocate for my volunteer fire department’s communications needs,” said Vinny Galvin, a 25-year volunteer firefighter in Dutchess County, New York and member of CWA Local 1101. “It’s a fantastic resource that’s going to have a huge impact on making sure that firefighters like me across the country have access to this life-saving system.”

FirstResponderVoice.org is poised to be a leading resource for first responders—professional and volunteer, urban, and rural—and other public-safety stakeholders, including IT directors, emergency communications coordinators, private citizens, and elected officials, to learn how communities can take full advantage of FirstNet and stay abreast of developments related to emergency communications and public safety.

The site offers the following features:

• Industry news, monthly newsletter and events alerts.
• A directory of selected FirstNet subscribers nationwide.
• Downloadable Toolkit, including step-by-step FirstNet subscription instructions.
• Webinars and online trainings related to FirstNet.

“Our members who are professional and volunteer first responders are enthusiastic about FirstNet. They know better than anyone how absolutely vital it is to have a clearinghouse for stakeholders so that they can be informed, empowered, and agile advocates for their communities,” said Bianca Garcia, CWA’s FirstNet Program Coordinator.

FirstNet is being built, operated and maintained by AT&T, the union wireless carrier. CWA represents tens of thousands of AT&T workers, public-safety professionals, and first responders across the United States and was an active member of the Public Safety Alliance, a coalition of first responder groups that was instrumental in supporting the creation of FirstNet. CWA also represents the growing workforce of customer care agents in Cerritos, California and Greensboro, North Carolina who are trained to handle FirstNet customer service calls from first responders.

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The Communications Workers of America represents 700,000 workers in the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico, working in telecommunications and IT, the airline industry, news media, broadcast and cable television, education, health care and public service, law enforcement, manufacturing and other fields.

BROWNSVILLE, Brooklyn (WABC) - A firefighter is expected to survive after an FDNY fire truck jumped a curb and slammed into parked vehicles in Brooklyn.

The accident happened just after 6 p.m. Wednesday at East New York Avenue and St. Marks Avenue in Brownsville.

Sources say the truck had been stopped at a traffic light on East New York Avenue when the driver suffered some sort of seizure.

William Pernett, fire chief of North Whatcom Fire and Rescue (NWFR), announced his resignation to fire commissioners at a special meeting on October 10. “I just want to pursue other opportunities,” he said to The Northern Light in a phone interview, emphasizing there were no other reasons behind the decision.
- PUB DATE: 10/18/2018 2:07:32 AM - SOURCE: Northern Light