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Iridium offers emergency response service on satellite phone
Iridium offers free SOS service on its Iridium Extreme satellite phone; individuals who need emergency help can now maintain contact with an operator during the emergency rather than rely on one-way SOS alerting
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Yellow Dot gets medical info to first responders fast
Emergency officials in Alabama recently introduced a new program aimed at quickly providing first responders with critical information during accidents; in the event of a car accident, first responders will be able immediately to find vital medical information on victims by simply looking in their glove compartment
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Chicago emergency officials preparing for harsh winter
As Chicago braces for an especially brutal winter, the Cook County Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management is doing its best to prepare residents, emergency responders, and work crews for the worst weather in the nation
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New Jersey teams with Target for disaster response
During the next major disaster, New Jersey emergency responders will receive assistance from the big box retailer Target; last week the company announced that it had officially teamed up with New Jersey’s Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness to assist state and local officials in the event of a major disaster or terrorist attack
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Protecting first responders from a quiet killer
Emergency responders in Flagstaff, Gilbert, and Chandler, Arizona recently underwent a battery of medical tests to help minimize the risk of having a stroke or heart attack while in the line of duty; 44 percent of all firefighter deaths were the result of heart attacks, which is the leading killer of firefighters
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Texting 911 in emergencies
The Post Falls police department in Idaho is testing a new 911 system that would allow residents to report emergencies via text message or e-mail
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Georgia to build privately funded first responder training center
A local firm in Georgia is set to build a privately funded training facility for first responders that would bring more than 100 jobs to Perry; the sophisticated training center, built by Guardian Centers of Georgia, would help prepare first responders for natural disasters and terrorist attacks
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Insects to become first responders, aid in search and rescue
Researchers are finding ways to harvest energy from insects, holding the promise of using insects to aid in first response and search and rescue, and monitor hazardous situations before sending in humans
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Early 9/11 responders at greater risk of heart disease
A new study warns that 9/11 responders who arrived immediately after the attacks could be at greater risk of heart disease; researchers examined the blood vessel walls of thirty-one 9/11 responders and found that the nineteen men and women who went to work before 13 September had much greater damage to their blood vessel walls than those who arrived later
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Pennsylvania’s homeland security office to operate out of state police HQ
The Pennsylvania Governor’s Office of Homeland Security will move its operations to the Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) headquarters in Harrisburg; the office was merged into the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency (PEMA) during the previous administration, but the governor determined that relocating the office to the state police headquarters would result in an even greater combination of intelligence gathering and sharing
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Harvard-designed swarm robots licensed to Swiss company
Harvard researchers developed Kilobot — a low-cost, easy-to-use robotic system for advancing development of “swarms” of robots; robot swarms might one day tunnel through rubble to find survivors, monitor the environment and remove contaminants, and self-assemble to form support structures in collapsed buildings
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New Jersey first responders to get universal IDs
Starting next year, 12,000 first responders in New Jersey will receive special IDs to help enhance security and cut down on identity fraud during emergencies and natural disasters
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New Jersey first responders prohibited from taking crash scene photos
New Jersey lawmakers are currently considering a bill that would make it illegal for first responders to take pictures or videos of an accident and distribute them without the permission of the victim’s family; under the proposed law, any first responder who circulates an accident photo or video without permission could face as much as eighteen months in jail or a $10,000 fine
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Training mission showcases Israeli counterterrorism techniques
A group of U.S. law enforcement officials recently concluded a weeklong training seminar on the methods Israel uses to prevent and respond to terrorism
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Sandia's rescue robot wins technology prize
The remote-control robot contains color video cameras, a thermal imaging camera, microphones, and sensors that act as eyes and ears for rescue crews and provide air-quality information; two-way audio enables survivors to communicate with rescuers
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