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In our latest episode of Public Safety First, host Dave Buchanan sits down with representatives of the FirstNet Authority Public Safety Advisory Committee (PSAC) Executive Committee (EC) to discuss how FirstNet is providing technological advancements, helping first responders look to improving the future of responding to incidents in Utah, Texas, Michigan, and Oregon.

Assistant Chief Rodney Reed of the Harris County Fire Marshal’s Office (TX) touches on the County’s experience as an Early Builder, and now as a FirstNet subscriber, as well as Hurricane Harvey response, apps, and Real-Time Data

Deputy Chief Travis Hollis of the Rogers Fire Department (AR) speaks with guest host Michael Varney about why a city in “Tornado Alley” decided to transition to FirstNet and what first responders have experienced since adopting FirstNet. He also shares thoughts on the future of public safety communications and advanced technologies like the Internet of Life-Saving Things (IoLST).

FirstNet is a new nationwide broadband network dedicated to first responders. Designed with the advice of public safety professionals, FirstNet aims to give first responders 21st-century communications tools to help save lives, solve crimes, and keep communities and emergency responders safe.

Every summer, thousands of people travel to western Indiana for the Terre Haute airshow—a two-day event that features the Navy’s famous Blue Angels and other aircraft.

Every summer, thousands of people travel to western Indiana for the Terre Haute airshow—a two-day event that features the Navy’s famous Blue Angels and other aircraft. At the 2018 event, planning officials decided to deploy FirstNet to provide a robust interoperable broadband connection for all involved.

The Noblesville Police Department in Indiana uses FirstNet to share data and seamlessly communicate with local, state, and federal agencies.

In 2018, the Life is Beautiful Music and Art Festival attracted 180,000 visitors from around the globe to an 18-block radius in Las Vegas, Nevada. To assist, 30 FirstNet Ready™ mobile devices were distributed to the Las Vegas Fire and Rescue team, including firefighters, EMS, and bomb squad personnel.

For Craig Cooper, Special Operations Chief for the City of Las Vegas Fire and Rescue, the chance to participate in a FirstNet demonstration to bolster emergency communication for area first responders was too good to pass up. When the Life is Beautiful Music and Art Festival debuted in 2013, the home grown music festival catered mostly to residents in local and surrounding areas. Since that inaugural event six years ago, the three-day festival in September 2018 attracted 180,000 visitors from all 50 states and 24 countries to the roughly 18-block radius.

At the 2018 Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta in New Mexico, public safety agencies employed a drone detection system to monitor restricted airspace above the event and surrounding areas. FirstNet provided the critical connection needed to support the system as well as on-the-ground operations.

Every year, hundreds of thousands of cheering spectators line the streets of Boston to witness the Boston Marathon. In 2018, 80 ruggedized FirstNet devices with push-to-talk and location-tracking applications helped Boston and Brookline police, fire, and incident response teams protect the community.

First responders in Harris County and the city of Houston are exploring different ways to use FirstNet and its app ecosystem to enhance operations and break down interoperability walls.

During the 2018 Volvo Ocean Race, the Rhode Island DMAT's Medical Reserve Corps (RI MRC) used FirstNet's secure connection for field hospital operations.

During this year’s annual Summerfest that attracted over 30,000 visitors, FirstNet was put to the test by the Orem Fire and Police Departments who patrolled the event’s parade and festivities on foot, bicycle and by car. 

As FirstNet subscribers, first responders in Orem, Utah experience interoperable communication with other agencies in the region and across state borders without experiencing congested networks during large-scale events like Summerfest.

Chief Erik Newman of the Stockton (CA) Fire Department shares how FirstNet played a critical role during the California wildfires in 2017.

The sharing of data via FirstNet is enabling first responders to have more information available at their fingertips to help with their lifesaving mission. Today, through over-the-top push-to-talk (PTT) apps, first responders can use FirstNet’s always-on, reliable connection to collaborate — including sharing pictures, videos, texts, and other data in real time. With enhanced communications, public safety can be better prepared to keep themselves and the communities they serve safe.

Jeff Buchanan, Deputy Fire Chief of the Clark County Fire Department (NV), speaks about the unique challenges Las Vegas first responders face and the critical need for priority and preemption during major incidents such as the Route 91 Harvest Festival shooting.

Priority and preemption are a few of the crucial features FirstNet provides to first responders, especially during large planned events with thousands of participants, such as the annual International Balloon Festival in Albuquerque. In years past, first responders at the festival reported poor connectivity on commercial networks due to attendees’ high volume of voice calls, texts, and social media posts. But using FirstNet, public safety’s dedicated network, for this year’s festival, they had a dramatically different—and better—experience.

Whether securing large events or responding to local emergencies, it can be a challenge for public safety to keep track of where first responders are positioned. Historically, tracking first responders in the field meant repeated radio roll-calls where units identify with their call sign and location and incident scribes map the scene on a white board – a labor-intensive process that didn’t provide the up-to-the-minute situational awareness incident commanders need for optimal decision-making.