Homeland SECURITY
STRONG RELATIONSHIPS WITH FIRST RESPONDERS ARE AN INVESTMENT IN R&D
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n recent years, our nation has witnessed several of the worst wildfire seasons in history, public health crises like the COVID-19 pandemic, mass casualty events, and more. First responders are on the front lines leading the battle against each of these challenges— and this is in addition to all the other ‘everyday’ community emergencies. It is an awesome responsibility, to be sure, and it takes a toll. That’s why the Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) continues to fulfill its mission to arm responders with cutting-edge technologies, tools, and information to allow them do their jobs safely and effectively. S&T doesn’t do this in a vacuum; rather, we bring together first responders from across disciplines and across the nation to find out what they need and why, then we focus the R&D community on affordable solutions and leverage responder feedback to develop and commercialize them. S&T’s First Responder Resource Group (FRRG), representing a diversity of responder disciplines, roles, locations, and agency size, is particularly essential – coming together to share knowledge and experience to highlight shared capability needs and the development of solutions. The recently-released Project Responder 6 (PR6) is the latest iteration of this effort: a comprehensive study of emergency response
EMS
capability needs across changes in the operational environment. The outcomes of this report will guide S&T R&D and acquisition decisions for the responder community for years to come. “The FRRG is unique in that we ask first responders to share their individual experiences, challenges, and knowledge with us, so we at S&T can determine how to provide a solution,” said Paul McDonagh, who leads the FRRG and S&T’s First Responder Disaster Resilience portfolio. “We are working to make the responders better connected, protected, and fully aware, and that is making our communities safer and more resilient.” What S&T learned from FRRG members in gathering feedback for PR6 is that the lines between responder disciplines are blurring, and the final report reflects this reality. “The traditional model of fire engine and squad car to the front yard, ambulance to the ER, is less and less applicable, more and more of the time, as we encounter mental illness, homelessness, and other social problems,” said Jay Hagen, chief of the Bellevue (Washington) Fire Department. “We need to morph our capabilities to address these issues. Our communities are going to demand we adapt, and to stay flexible, we will need technologies, tools, and guidance that will help us on the greatest number of missions possible. S&T’s FRRG has brought us into the discussion of what’s
Responders indicated a need for new wildland fire respirator; here, S&T tests a prototype with firefighters at a May 2022 operational field assessment. (Photo: S&T)
possible.” Dr. Carol Cunningham, State Medical Director, Ohio Department of Public Safety, Division of EMS, agreed: “What is unique about the Project Responder effort is information sharing across disciplines, nationwide. Some technologies and tools associated with firefighting, such as gloves and other PPE, are also applicable to the EMS operational environment.” And while it is critical for S&T to hear directly from these responders, forums like these are also important to the responders themselves, who get to hear from their peers about successes and challenges in states
and communities across the U.S. “The networking we get from being connected within FRRG gives me a broader group of colleagues to reach out to whenever I’m researching different technologies or have questions about their experiences,” said Red Grasso, Director or the First Responder Emerging Technologies Program, North Carolina Department of Information Technology. “PR6 has helped us find out the needs of responders without having to duplicate at the state level what’s being done at the national level.” Direct engagement with S&T’s
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