The multi-service aviation company deploys LiveU for greater visibility, increasing the resources of its lifesaving flight operations

Hackensack, NJ, 15 February, 2022 – Pegasus Aviación, based in Spain and operating across the country, Portugal, Italy, Chile and Uruguay, has turned to LiveU to help its firefighting services, using the company’s mission-critical IP bonding solutions to provide live streamed images and internet coverage from difficult environments where connectivity is scarce.

Pegasus Aviación is the parent company of Pegasus Aero Group, a 100% Spanish-owned aeronautical group with over 50 years of experience in the aeronautical field, providing a wide range of services to public and private clients. Currently, a key objective within the company’s strategic plan is the technological modernisation of the fleet, as José Antonio Rodríguez – Head of Projects, Planning and Support at Pegasus states, “Our expertise is founded on the provision of training, maintenance and operation of aircraft in emergency environments – mainly forest fires – and the rescue of people on land and at sea. Today, we face the challenge of optimising these operations through the use of on-board technology, for which we were looking for options that could provide us with greater connectivity in environments with poor coverage. That’s where our journey with LiveU began.”

LiveU’s technology, widely used in the broadcast and video streaming sector for all types of live image capture and transmission, is based on IP bonding, a technology that LiveU pioneered and is a market leader in the industry. This underlying technology facilitates the bonding of bandwidth from multiple cellular networks, the main examples being mobile and WiFi, to create real-time broadband connectivity. This means that connectivity can be achieved in remote locations, and on the move, where other technologies would normally fail, enabling not only high-quality live video streaming but also internet connectivity for other data services. Individual field units, containing the multiple modems required, can be carried in a backpack or installed in an aircraft, subject to the approved specifications of the relevant aeronautical authorities.

Pegasus Aviation is currently using a large number of LiveU’s LU300 compact field units in its helicopters to enhance its imaging services in Chile and Spain. These can be controlled by Pegasus Aviación through LiveU’s cloud-based management system, LiveU Central. It also uses LiveU’s DataBridge technology to access high-speed internet while the aircraft are in flight.

José Antonio Rodríguez added, “This technology greatly enhances the information we can obtain from our operations, allowing us to capture live video images from places where it was previously unfeasible. These real-time images play an important role for our customers, allowing emergency managers to make decisions with fresh information from the field. LiveU is an important technological step forward for us and we are looking to expand its use in the other countries we serve through our fleet of over 130 aircraft.”

Jean-Christophe Albou, Sales Director, France and Southern Europe, LiveU, said: “We have always known that our technology has great potential beyond its use in broadcast and streaming verticals and we’re now seeing its use grow in emergency services and first responder sectors. This is a prime example and we’re very proud to see it helping in such a vital industry.”

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A state grant program is again helping many of Somerset County’s (PA) volunteer fire departments and EMS providers do their job.

Twenty-two companies are set to receive nearly $300,000 from the Fire Company and Emergency Medical Services grant program this year, reports dailyamerican.com.

Officials say some departments plan to use the funds to pay down debt on emergency equipment and apparatus. The departments set to receive funds, according to the report, are:

• Acosta Volunteer Fire Co., $15,000
• Bakersville Volunteer Fire Co., $13,000
• Berlin Area Ambulance Association, $8,325.05
• Berlin Fire Department Inc., $15,000
• Boswell Volunteer Fire Department EMS, $5,826.05
• Boswell Volunteer Fire Department, $11,500
• Conemaugh Township EMS, $8,325.05
• Garrett Volunteer Fire Co., $15,000
• Hooversville Volunteer Fire Department, $15,000
• Jerome Volunteer Fire Co., $15,000
• Listie Volunteer Fire Co., $15,000
• Meyersdale Area Ambulance Association, $8,325.05
• New Baltimore & Area Volunteer Fire Co., $15,000
• Rockwood Volunteer Fire Co., $15,000
• Salisbury Volunteer Fire Department, $15,000
• Scalp Level-Paint Borough Volunteer Fire Department, $30,000
• Shanksville Volunteer Fire Co., $15,000
• Sipesville Volunteer Fire Co., $15,000
• Somerset Area Ambulance Association, $8,325.05
• Somerset Volunteer Fire Department, $14,300
• Stoystown Volunteer Fire Co., $15,000
• Windber Fire Co. No. 1 EMS, $8,325.05.

HERMITAGE, Feb. 11 – State Rep. Mark Longietti, D-Mercer, announced that 15 fire and EMS companies in the 7th Legislative District have been awarded $217,235 in state grants.

“First responders in our community step up and answer the call tirelessly, carrying out critical public safety duties despite constant funding challenges that strain resources and complicate their work,” Longietti said. “It’s my hope that by helping companies with the cost of equipment, training, building repairs and other immediate needs, this funding will keep these frontline heroes safe and make their jobs just a bit easier.”

Longietti said the following fire and EMS companies will receive grants in these amounts:

• Clark Volunteer Fire Department – $15,000.
• Farrell Volunteer Fire Department Inc. – $14,651.
• Greenville Fire Department – $15,000.
• Greenville Fire Department (EMS) – $8,325.
• Greenville Volunteer Fire Company – $15,000.
• Hermitage Volunteer Fire Dept. Inc. – $15,000.
• Patagonia Volunteer Fire Dept. – $15,000.
• Sharon Fire Department – $15,000.
• Sharpsville Volunteer Fire Department – $15,000.
• Shenango Township Volunteer Fire Department – $15,000.
• South Pymatuning Township Volunteer Fire Association – $15,000.
• Transfer Volunteer Fire Department – $15,000.
• West Middlesex Volunteer Fire Department – $15,000.
• West Salem Fire Department – $14,259.
• Wheatland Volunteer Fire Department – $15,000.

The grants are made possible by the Fire Company and Emergency Medical Service Grant Program, which is administered by the Office of the State Fire Commissioner.

The grants can be used for facility construction and renovation, purchase or repair of equipment, fuel purchases, member training and certification, public education, recruitment and retention, debt reduction, overtime costs associated with backfilling positions while firefighters are training, and supplementing pandemic-related expenses.

Additional information, including a link to the full list of awardees, is available here.

The Fremont (NE) Fire Department is just about ready to put in service its new $571,000 Rosenbauer Engine 132, reports fremonttribune.com.

The purchase of the apparatus—which is larger and has more modern features than its predecessor, a 1995 E-ONE—was approved by city council in September 2020.

During its building process last June, department officials traveled to inspect the chassis before the truck’s body was built, the report says. They traveled back in January to conduct a final inspection a month after its completion.

The apparatus was delivered to the station on January 26, before equipment was installed. Officials hope it will be ready in the next couple of days. Crews are already training on it.