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

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.

Metrology and Standards for Canine Olfactory Detection of Explosives

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

Surrogate Materials to Support Training in Biological Sampling and Detection in the Field

Ongoing

Developing and maintaining a nationwide capability in field biological assessment requires routine training with biological materials. Attenuated biothreat

Open Port Liquid Interface Mass Spectrometry

Ongoing

Developments in solid–liquid extraction approaches for direct liquid sampling of surfaces combined with mass spectrometry for explosives and narcotics detection

Publications

Towards Real-Time Heart Health Monitoring in Firefighting Using Convolutional Neural Networks

June 28, 2023

Author(s)

Jiajia Li, Christopher U. Brown, Dillon Dzikowicz, Mary Carey, Wai Cheong Tam, Michael Xuelin Huang

A machine learning-based heart health monitoring model, named H2M, was developed. 24-hour electrocardiogram (ECG) data from 112 professional firefighters was

Explainable Machine Learning Based Flashover Prediction Model Using Dimension-Wise Class Activation Map

June 26, 2023

Author(s)

Linhao Fan, Wai Cheong Tam, Qi Tong, Eugene Yujun Fu, Tianshui Liang

This paper presents the development of an explainable machine learning based flashover prediction model, named xFlashNet. Synthetic temperature data from more

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

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