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First Responders

Last Updated: | Publication

Energy Innovation and Public Safety Program

As energy innovation expands, the widespread adoption of high energy density batteries continues apace in both residential and commercial spaces. This trend amplifies the challenges faced by responders in saving lives and protecting property as they respond to battery fire incidents.

Last Updated: | Press Releases

Feature Article: First Responders Need to Know They’ll Be Heard

S&T is teaming with small business to ensure responders can communicate with each other inside large structures.

Last Updated: | Press Releases

DHS Marks Fifth Anniversary of the Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office

Washington - On Dec. 21, 2023, Assistant Secretary for the Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office (CWMD) Mary Ellen Callahan celebrated the fifth anniversary of the establishment of the Office and renewed the call for its reauthorization.

Last Updated: | Press Releases

Feature Article: Wearable Tech Mitigates First Responder Exposure to Chemical Threats

New cutting-edge sensors will help responders better protect themselves from dangerous chemicals in the field.

Last Updated: | Press Releases

DHS S&T Awards to University of Illinois for Next Generation 9-1-1 Interoperability Testing

DHS S&T awarded $3.15 million to CIRI, a DHS COE, to create the test methods, procedures, software, tools, and systems necessary for Next Generation 911 (NG911) interoperability testing.

Last Updated: | Press Releases

Feature Article: What if Law Enforcement Could ‘See’ Through Walls?

S&T is developing a tool that will enhance situational awareness when direct line-of-sight is not an option.

Last Updated: | Press Releases

Feature Article: Picturing the Future of Firefighting

S&T is guiding responders through darkness with real-time indoor visualization technology.

Last Updated: | Blog

75 Years of Advancing the Technology Emergency Responders Need

Congratulations to S&T’s National Urban Security Technology Laboratory—America’s principal federal laboratory for first responder technology testing and evaluation—on reaching this major milestone of service to our nation.

Last Updated: | Publication

P25 ISSI/CSSI Conformance Test Tool Validation CAB

The purpose of this document is to clearly convey the procedures, requirements, and guidance used by the Department of Homeland Security Science & Technology (DHS S&T) P25 Compliance Assessment Program (P25 CAP) for approving and recognizing an Inter-subsystem interface/Console sub-system interface (ISSI/CSSI) Conformance Test Tool (ICCTT) for the conduct of the P25 Compliance assessment.

Last Updated: | Press Releases

Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin M. Crowley to Advise Department of Homeland Security

In light of the increased focus on the increasing proliferation of fire as a threat to community safety and security, U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro N. Mayorkas today announced the appointment of Los Angeles Fire Department Chief Kristin M. Crowley to the Homeland Security Advisory Council (HSAC). A 22-year veteran of the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD), Crowley is the first woman and the first LGBTQ Fire Chief to lead the LAFD.  She will be sworn in at the HSAC’s next meeting on September 14, 2023.