by AllThingsECC.com | Dec 17, 2020 | Articles, Comm Center News
n the early morning hours of July 16, 2020, a fire broke out south of the town Glenwood in Washington state. Over the course of nine days, this fire – named the Bertschi Road Fire(link is external) – burned approximately 250 acres. Located in a rural area in the southern part of the state where cellular connectivity can be sparse and spotty, communications are often a challenge. Thanks to FirstNet, the only nationwide broadband network dedicated to first responders, this was not the case for the firefighters responding to Bertschi Road.
The post Connecting Wildland Firefighters with FirstNet first appeared on All Things FirstNet.
by AllThingsECC.com | Dec 17, 2020 | Articles, Comm Center News
There is no doubt 2020 will go down in history as one of the most difficult years the United States and the rest of the world has faced. However, we made it and the Covid-19 vaccine is on its way for our medical personnel, first responders, and other essential workers. We have been severely challenged on many fronts, and while we lost far too many people, most of us have made it through this tough year. Even so, it will be well into 2021 before we can breathe a sigh of relief…
by ECC Editor | Dec 15, 2020 | Articles
I received an unexpected thank you from a mentee a few weeks ago – a thoughtful gift and card thanking me for my efforts as her EMT preceptor. That same week and for several weeks prior, I had been feeling burnt out and exhausted from doing too much. I felt unmotivated, uninspired and spread far too thin. Little did she know that her simple gesture of thanks would be enough to reverse a temporary but trying downward spiral.
Several years earlier, a similar situation took place. While considering a resignation from the volunteer agency I’ve loved for most of my adult life, I received a lengthy, hand-written note and flowers from the mother of a young man who had recently taken his own life… READ MORE
by ECC Editor | Dec 14, 2020 | Articles, Comm Center News
The NG911 Institute hosts the Annual 911 Honor Awards Reception to honor the heroes and leaders of the 911 community. The Co-Chairs of the Congressional NextGen 911 Caucus and other Members of Congress and federal government leaders are invited to attend and to present the awards to 911 professionals and government leaders from across the United States… READ MORE
by AllThingsECC.com | Dec 14, 2020 | Articles, Comm Center News
Rapidly alerting the public to what is about to occur is a key mitigation and readiness strategy of FEMA. It is one of the methods the agency has used since its inception through various radio systems since the days the nation advanced its Civil Defense posture during the Cold War.
Most recently, the Emergency Alert System (1997), which replaced the Emergency Broadcast System (1963), has been replaced with FEMA’s Integrated Public Alert & Warning System (IPAWS)…
by AllThingsECC.com | Dec 10, 2020 | Articles, Comm Center News
WASHINGTON – The Federal Communications Commission today adopted rules to implement the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act of 2019, further protecting the security of the United States and the safety of U.S. communications networks.
Specifically, the Second Report and Order approved today requires the Commission to publish a list of communications equipment and services determined to be a risk to national security that has been identified either by (1) executive branch interagency bodies with appropriate national security experience; (2) the Department of Commerce pursuant to its authority under Executive Order 13873; (3) Congress in the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019, or (4) U.S. national security agencies. Once Congress appropriates funding, eligible telecommunications carriers that receive universal service funding to provide service in remote areas of the country must remove such equipment or services from their networks and properly dispose of it…
