Local

In March 2020, several tornadoes tore across middle Tennessee. In Putnam County, 80 miles outside of Nashville, an EF-4 tornado caused major damage to structures and a public safety radio tower. With communications severely limited, state and local first responders turned to FirstNet for coverage from deployables and push-to-talk on smartphones.

When a violent tornado hit northeast Arkansas in March 2020, it caused major destruction to homes, businesses, and a shopping mall, mangling vehicles, damaging an airport, and derailing a train. Despite the wreckage, FirstNet kept first responders connected and communicating throughout the storm and its aftermath.

Gainesville’s public works use FirstNet on their cell phones and tablets to deploy resources and people, track work orders, and communicate with staff in the field. With these tools in place, they can get their work done more efficiently, and work in partnership with other responders.

As EMS providers expand their use of technology, FirstNet gives them a wireless broadband platform to connect in the field. FirstNet Authority Senior EMS Advisor Brent Williams highlights three EMS agencies using FirstNet to communicate in rural areas, send vital patient information to hospitals, and access the resources to enhance patient care.

The Putnam County Emergency Operations Center used FirstNet to bolster communications after tornadoes tore a 60-mile path through western and middle Tennessee. 

The Emergency Communications Center in Alexandria, Virginia, used FirstNet to seamlessly continue operations during the COVID-19 pandemic. With FirstNet, telecommunicators were able to work remotely and stay safe.

University of Florida Health uses FirstNet across their facilities to connect personnel to the resources and information they need. Ambulances, helicopters, the emergency department, and the facilities department rely on FirstNet to connect with one another seamlessly and instantly while caring for patients and keeping them secure.

More than half of U.S. firefighters are volunteers—individuals who share a common objective of helping those in need. In this blog, a FirstNet Authority staff member and volunteer firefighter/EMT explains what it means to serve his community.

Emergency communications professionals across the country utilize FirstNet to support innovative approaches to 9-1-1 and dispatch. FirstNet’s secure, reliable broadband connection helps telecommunicators deliver accurate, robust information to on the scene responders. FirstNet, and the technology ecosystem that has built up around it, is especially helpful for dispatchers placed in uncommon situations. 

The Washington County Sheriff’s Office in Oregon uses FirstNet on cell phones and mobile data computers to better protect a community of 600,000 people spread out in mostly rural areas.

Emergency Management professionals across the country are using FirstNet for many aspects of emergency planning and response, including in emergency operation centers, for incident management teams, in exercises and drills, and with deployables.

At the 2020 Winter Institute Workshop and Exercise, hosted by the Texas A&M University’s Internet2 Technology Evaluation Center, public safety officials practiced integrating new technologies, including a FirstNet deployable, into disaster operations during a simulated cyberattack. Participants included unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) teams from Florida State University, which integrated their UAS with the deployable to share information with command posts.

The Canton Fire Department transitioned to FirstNet to augment radio communications, enhance planning and response with new data capabilities, and address coverage gaps in their small town, 15 miles south of Boston.

First responders in the East Carroll Parish area got a major boost in their wireless communications with the addition of a new, purpose-built cell site. The site – located in Lake Providence – is part of the FirstNet network expansion taking place in Louisiana, which is bringing increased coverage, capacity, and capabilities to first responders across the state.

Knoxville Fire and Rescue in Iowa subscribed to the network in order to address existing communications gaps. 

The Hamilton County Communications Center in Ohio is responsible for dispatch services for public safety agencies across the county. Access to FirstNet’s robust and reliable platform is helping tactical dispatchers at the center.

The Muleshoe Police Department in Texas uses FirstNet to run duty phones and tablets, enhancing communications and improving interoperability.

FirstNet Authority National Tribal Government Liaison Adam Geisler sits down with Crystal Hottowe of the Makah Tribe in northwest Washington to talk about what it means to respond to emergencies in a marine environment, the looming threat of tsunamis, and broadband on tribal lands.

Located in rural Kansas, the Junction City Fire Department’s EMS division is using FirstNet to address communication challenges when transporting patients long distances, coordinating regional recovery efforts after tornados, and deploying to national disaster sites.

FirstNet Authority Senior Public Safety Advisor Gary McCarraher sits down with Chief Charles Doody to discuss the Canton (MA) Fire Department’s migration to FirstNet and how the network provides a pipeline for data and helps fill communications gaps that traditional portable radios cannot.