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Mustang Survival announces new rescue inflatable
Rescue Stick inflates upon contact with water; sleek design permits easy storage poolside or in a boat or vehicle; professional lifesavers find a clever friend in this unique device
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CDC awards $3.7 million in Biosense grants
Researchers at New York City’s Department of Health and Hygiene, the University of Utah, and Johns Hopkins University to investigate improved ways of sharing critical health surveillance data
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Buffalo researchers to examine emergency response under pressure
University scientists to see if firemen and EMTs perform better or worse when they know their families are in danger; discriminating 2006 snowstorm provides a useful control group
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Camero "through-wall vision" technology earns $14 million in funding
Israeli company sells $1 milliion in product in only four months of prototype sales; RF signals generate 3D images from behind concrete, wood, and cement; military forces snatch up available models, but company sees a large market among emergency responders; smaller model for search and rescue in development
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Texas school district takes the Rapid Responder plunge
Prepared Response’s flagship product continues to expand; Castleberry Independent School District puts a $100,000 DoE grant to work; system permits individual responders to instantly access predetermined safety plans, floor plans, utility shut-off locations, and more
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Analysts see coming boom in municipal interoperability gear
Coming on the heels of a DHS report showing two-thirds of states and municipalities are underprepared, Datamonitor survey finds an expected spending increase of 40 percent over five years
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DHS releases 2007 state and municipal grant funding levels
Urban Areas Security Initiative and Citizen Corps Program receive mild funding boosts; other programs see minor losses; DHS gives risk assessment the old college try
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Chinese snakes do double duty as seismographs
Recent quakes in Taiwan show need for improved early warning systems; snakes are said to be capable of detecting seismic shaking days in advance; local snake farmers permit scientists to install IP video system; in exchange, famers get up to the minute data on the snake market
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SAIC wins $53 million deal to move WMD models on-line
Integrated Weapons of Mass Destruction Toolset has been in development since 2004; moving on-line critical to dispersing data to first responders; physics-based models assess terrain, wind patterns, and other factors
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Merrick and Co. to map Wichita flood plains
Kansas city decides to invest $600,000 in geospatial mapping; uncertain flood boundaries harm development and frustrate insurance companies; Merrick, a specialist in LIDAR data, will assay 12.5 square miles of Sunflower State terrain
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MD and VA to roll out standardized IDs for first responders
$1.5 million in grants from the Urban Area Security Initiative lay the groundwork; first responder authentication credential will improve disaster area management; card incorporates fingerprint biometrics
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Realtors announce 18 September emergency preparedness conference
Group to discuss need for federal natural disaster insurance program, formation of national Realtor emergency task force
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Michigan professor offers polymerase assay for fifty pathogens
Portable, polymerase-based, hand-held device relies on a DNA biochip; flexibility a major selling point; field testing to be done by university spin-off AquaBioChip
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DC to include pets in disaster recovery planning
District among the first to respond to president’s post-Katrina order; experience shows pet-owners more likely to evacuate if assured of furry friend’s safety; Human Society lends a paw
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War technology lends a hand on Mt. Hood
When T-Mobile’s pinging proves inadequate in finding missing climbers, Iomax brings in precision phone locating kit originally designed to stop IEDs; Aracar supplies rescue UAVs with Afghanistan experience
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The long view
Postfire Debris Flows May Become Predictable, Thanks to a New Study
Scientists at Los Alamos have developed a model framework to better predict events such as landslides. The framework is making simulations faster and more accurate, which in turn will improve safety for communities that are at risk of their infrastructure being washed away.