First responder preparedness

News and Updates

New Timeline of Deadliest California Wildfire Could Guide Lifesaving Research and Action

February 8, 2021

On a brisk November morning in 2018, a fire sparked in a remote stretch of canyon in Butte County, California, a region nestled against the western slopes of

K9 Chemistry: A Safer Way to Train Detection Dogs

December 2, 2020

Trained dogs are incredible chemical sensors, far better at detecting explosives, narcotics and other substances than even the most advanced technological

Two men in high-visibility vests (Nguyen and Hamel) stand outside preparing electronic devices for taking measurements.

Can Mobile Networks Connect First Responders in Remote Areas?

February 26, 2020

The high plateaus of Colorado’s Rocky Mountains, known for panoramic vistas, wildlife, old gold mines and sports of all kinds, are attracting new pioneers

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

Calibration of Beta-Particle Sources and Instruments for Radiation Protection

A calibration service for protection-level beta-particle sources and instrumentation has been in place at NIST for several years.

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

Standards to Support Biothreat Detection

First responders continually receive calls of suspicious materials that are potentially biothreat agents. Obtaining high confidence data from biological

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

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

Publications

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

Voices of First Responders – Examining Public Safety Communication from the Perspective of 9-1-1 Call Takers and Dispatchers: Findings from User-Centered Interviews, Phase 1, Volume 4

March 24, 2020

Author(s)

Michelle P. Steves, Mary F. Theofanos, Yee-Yin Choong, Shanee T. Dawkins, Susanne M. Furman, Kristen Greene, Sandra S. Prettyman

With the newly created Nationwide Public Safety Broadband Network (NPSBN), the public safety community has a unique opportunity to review and improve

Indoor Localization Accuracy of Major Smartphone Location Apps

April 15, 2019

Author(s)

Nader Moayeri, Chang Li, Lu Shi

NIST carried out comprehensive testing in five large buildings to evaluate the accuracy of Fused Location Provider (FLP) Application Programming Interface (API)

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