First responder preparedness

News and Updates

NIST Develops Yeast Material for Training First Responders on Biothreats

January 4, 2023

Researchers based the material on baker’s yeast because it is harmless and a living biological material.

Two first responders stand at the open back of an emergency vehicle, looking at a computer screen, with firetrucks in the background.

Spotlight: Gathering Intel From Social Media for Emergency Response

June 30, 2022

When someone needs help, fire departments and ambulance crews need to know what the problem is and where to go ASAP. One answer is to use artificial

NIST Launches Prize Challenge to Improve Unmanned Aircraft in Indoor Search and Rescue Scenarios

April 27, 2022

The First Responder UAS Indoor Challenge is the agency’s sixth prize competition aimed at advancing the use of unmanned aircraft systems indoors for first

Industry Impacts

Photo of NIST scientists with the PSCR Deployable LTE Cell-on-Wheels

First Responder Communications

First responders must be able to communicate during an emergency. Too often in critical situations, communications among public safety agencies are hampered by

Projects and Programs

Indoor Localization and Tracking

Ongoing

This web page is simply a pointer to another page that covers the extensive research program in indoor localization and tracking at NIST.

Calibration Services: Beta-Particle Sources and Instruments for Radiation Protection

Ongoing

NIST calibrates certain user-owned encapsulated beta-particle sources and certain standards laboratory transfer instruments for applications in radiation

First responders collecting samples of the yeast surrogate material during a field exercise. (Credit: NIST)

Standards to Support Biothreat Detection

Ongoing

First responders continually receive calls regarding suspicious materials that are potentially biological threat materials. Obtaining high confidence data from

Metrology and Standards for Canine Olfactory Detection of Explosives

Ongoing

As part of a multi-year interagency agreement between the Office of Standards of the Department of Homeland Security and NIST, NIST is developing measurement

Publications

Field-Deployable Devices

January 1, 2023

Author(s)

Thomas P. Forbes, Raychelle Burks

Reductions in instrument size, weight, and power continue to facilitate the development and application of field-deployable devices for investigative purposes

Response to "Evaluation of Indoor Localisation Systems: Comments on the ISO/IEC 18305 Standard"

November 29, 2021

Author(s)

Nader Moayeri

Potorti et. al. wrote a paper [1] that was dubbed as the first critical reading of the international standard ISO/IEC 18305 [2], Test and evaluation of

Voices of First Responders – Applying Human Factors and Ergonomics Knowledge to Improve the Usability of Public Safety Communications Technology: Findings from User-Centered Interviews, Phase 1, Volume 5

February 11, 2021

Author(s)

Yee-Yin Choong, Gavriel Salvendy

With the newly created Nationwide Public Safety Broadband Network (NPSBN), the public safety community is in the process of supplementing the use of land mobile

Public Safety Communications Research Division Impact Report: Fiscal Years 2017 2019

March 31, 2020

Author(s)

Jeremy E. Glenn, Isabel Shaw, Marc Leh

The Public Safety Communications Research Division (PSCR) at NIST plays a primary role in research and development to impact public safety operational

Tools and Instruments

Large Aperture Scanner

The Large Aperture Scanner (LAS) scans a radar transceiver over a 5 meter by 20 meter aperture. Image reconstruction techniques enable a three-dimensional