News and Updates

Displaying 1 - 25 of 50

A two-lane highway lined with the burnt remains of vehicles that were destroyed by fire while in traffic.

NIST Updates Critical Wildfire Evacuation and Sheltering Guidance

April 24, 2025

The ESCAPE report redefines how to save lives in the face of fast-moving wildfires.

Technology Demonstrations at 5x5

January 16, 2025

Do you have an innovative, cutting-edge, or emerging technology that has the potential to advance public safety communications? NIST Public Safety...

NIST Hosts Workshop on “Whole Community Preparedness for Smart Cities and Communities”

October 1, 2024

On 27-28 August 2024, NIST’s Smart Connected Systems Division hosted a workshop at the George H. W. Bush School of Government and Public Service in Washington D...

The graphic depicts a firefighter wearing protective turnout gear with a diagram of the three layers of the gear, which are the outer shell, the moisture barrier and thermal barrier.

Wear and Tear May Cause Firefighter Gear to Release More ‘Forever Chemicals’

January 16, 2024

Are firefighters at risk of increased exposure to cancer-causing chemicals in their protective clothing?

A firefighter climbs a ladder into a shipping container, while a person to their left tracks their location.

Saving Seconds, Saving Lives: NIST-Funded Challenge Crowns Winners in 3D Tracking Technology

January 9, 2024

The ability to pinpoint a first responder’s precise location inside a building can be a matter of life and death.

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...

Illustration shows two houses from above with distances marked between house, woodpile and shed for fire safety.

NIST Offers First-of-a-Kind Guidance for Holistic Home and Community Wildfire Protection

March 1, 2022

Once they have a foothold, severe wildfires can quickly overwhelm a community, particularly one that is densely packed. To shield houses against such a fierce...

PSCR Announces $7M Award Program

November 22, 2021

NIST’s Public Safety Communications Research (PSCR) Division recently released the Public Safety Innovation Accelerator Program - 2022 (PSIAP-2022) funding...

Draft California Fire Code Includes NIST Tool to Evaluate Wildfire Hazard

September 13, 2021

Severe wildfire disasters are often the product of numerous factors — vegetation, drought, a lack of firefighting resources, and many others — coalescing...

NIST Prize Challenge Launches Research for Unmanned Aircraft in Search and Rescue

July 7, 2021

BOULDER, Colo. — The U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has launched a new prize competition to advance the use...

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...

ghostly black and white map of a building

Spotlight: Navigating First Responders Through Unfamiliar Spaces With Laser Light

March 30, 2020

If first responders knew what the inside of a building looked like before arriving at an emergency, they could save time, property and lives. Here at NIST...

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...

Calling all first responders: NIST needs your feedback!

December 7, 2018

NIST recently launched a nationwide survey on public safety communication technology and needs input from first responders. If you’re a first...

An aerial drone sits on a launch pad before lifting off to start the NIST performance test course. Three sections of the course, poles with white bucket-shaped targets attached, are seen in the background.

NIST Performance Tests for Aerial Response Robots Become National Standard

December 4, 2018

Tracking the spread of a wildfire. Searching for a missing person. Detecting toxic fumes after an explosion before sending in rescue workers. These are just...

This is Not a Game: NIST Virtual Reality Aims to Win for Public Safety

May 4, 2018

Virtual reality produces entertaining video games. But it’s also a serious training and testing tool. Pilots test their skill with flight simulators, and the...

Clear Talk for First Responders

October 25, 2017

For first responders, such as firefighters, police officers and emergency medical technicians, a successful outcome to a mission—and perhaps the difference...

Three people looking at drawing of Fire Escape Plan

NIST Study Suggests Frailty Makes Elderly More Likely to Die in Home Fires

August 22, 2017

A new study by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) shows scientifically for the first time that an individual’s ability to respond quickly...

NIST Awards $38.5 Million to Accelerate Public Safety Communications Technologies

June 13, 2017

BOULDER, Colo. – The U.S. Commerce Department’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has awarded $38.5 million to 33 research and development...

Two vials, one with heroin and one with an equivalent dose of fentanyl, which is a much smaller amount.

Fentanyl Can Sicken First Responders. Here’s a Possible Solution.

May 9, 2017

Dan Kallen, a detective in southern New Jersey, was searching a home with fellow officers in August 2015, when they found a bag of white powder. Kallen removed...

NIST engineer Ben Posthuma demonstrates the use of NIST's Rapidly Deployable Public Safety Research Platform

NIST’s Rolling Wireless Net Helps Improve First-Responder Communications

August 10, 2016

First responders often have trouble communicating with each other in emergencies. They may use different types of radios, or they may be working in rural areas...

R&D by NIST and Partners Yields New Standard for Safer Ambulances

September 22, 2015

Thanks to a newly updated standard for ambulance design based on research and development by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and two...

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