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Alabama guardsman makes good with homeland security masters degree
Lt. Col. Butters takes advantage of distance learning, DHS funding, to add value to the Guard’s emergency recovery efforts; Naval Postgraduate School provides great education at a good value in a stunning locale
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RAE Systems strikes a deal with the National Guard
Company will supply portable gas and radiation detectors to fifty-five Guard Civil Support Teams; agile Rapid Deployment Kits consist of four specialized monitors and sensors
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OASIS and ITU to demonstrate CAP communications system in Geneva
Common Alerting Protocol is gaining ground as international interoperability standard; National Weather Service and U.S. Geological Survey have already adopted the text-based system for daily use; conference in Geneva will include demonstrations and discussion with national and international communications authorities
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Emergency communication choices: Part two
We review the utility of text messaaging, pagers, and fax machines; next week we consider Internet-based services, satellite communications, and conference services
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DHS withdraws $5 million from Disaster Management office
Division, intended to set standards for interoperability software, is seen as duplicative of other agencies’ efforts; contract-holder Battelle loses out as DHS plans to redistribute funds around the agency
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Virginia asks emergency responders to use common language
Approach takes HSPD-5 and NIMS requirements seriously by asking agencies to abandon 10-codes; confusion often resulted during inter-agency responses due to different associated meanings
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Emergency communication choices: Part one
We review the utility of landlines, mobile phones, and IT telephony in an emergency; next week we consider conference calling, faxing, paging, and text
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Illinois announces new firefighting grants
Local firehouses may apply for up to $26,000 in funding for equipment; those looking for new trucks, however, should look elsewhere, perhaps to the state’s no-interest revolving loan program
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On business continuity software...
Systems can be effective, but experts warn they require a lot of upfront work; organizing data across divisions takes time and executives must be aware of ongoing upkeep responsibilities
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NIST finds firefighter radios vulnerable to fire
Institute tested three radios under varied temperature conditions; not one survived Thermal Class 2 heat, and all suffered when exposed to Class 1; hope lies in protecting radios inside firefighter gear and reengineering senstive components such as antennas and speakers
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GAO report finds terrorism insurance market deteriorating
Property and casualty insurers find the risks unmangeable; health and workers compensation coverage remains steady; lobbyists on the Hill seek government solution to a market problem; Treasury report expected tomorrow
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TELEHOUSE and Xceedium announce strategic partnership
Deal marries TELEHOUSE’s dedicated data centers and collocation facilities to Xceedium’s remote IT operations management systems
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SustainLane lists safest (and riskiest) cities
When judged according to natural disaster risks, Miami and New Orleans come off the worst; Mesa and Milwaukee are best bet for the anxiety-prone
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SunGard offers Pandemic Response Planning system
Three-part program includes assessment and a simulated pandemic exercise; threat of disease outbreak often mistakenly overlooked by business continuity planners
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PortAuthority Technologies raises $18 million
Protecting sensitive corporate information is essential to business success — just see the length to which the chemical industry has gone to make sure that complying with new chemical plant safety mandates would not make companies’ internal information subject to FOIA; HP’s Patricia Dunn was also worried about leaks of sensitive information when she authorized wiretapping of HP board members; a California company specializing in leak prevention has just raised $18 million
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The long view
Strengthening School Violence Prevention
Violence by K-12 students is disturbingly common. Ensuring that schools have effective ways to identify and prevent such incidents is becoming increasingly important. Expanding intervention options and supporting K-12 school efforts in Behavioral Threat Assessment and Management (BTAM) would help.
Huge Areas May Face Possibly Fatal Heat Waves if Warming Continues
A new assessment warns that if Earth’s average temperature reaches 2 degrees C over the preindustrial average, widespread areas may become too hot during extreme heat events for many people to survive without artificial cooling.
Trump’s Cuts to Federal Wildfire Crews Could Have “Scary” Consequences
President Donald Trump’s moves to slash the federal workforce have gutted the ranks of wildland firefighters and support personnel, fire professionals warn, leaving communities to face deadly consequences when big blazes arrive this summer. States, tribes and fire chiefs are preparing for a fire season with minimal federal support.