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Arizona Forestry Rolling Out Innovative Firefighter Locating and Accountability System
This fire season, the Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management deploys a modern wildland firefighter accountability and response system to better equip the agency’s firefighters while out in the field, with the goal of keeping them safe. … With DropBlocks, and through real time data, it is possible for DFFM to more precisely track crew movement and crew locations on wildland fire incidents. … “We know this will be the most important tool we have in our toolbox and we [...]
Arizona city holds 10-year remembrance for 19 firefighters who died in the Yarnell Hill Fire
John Truett, an Arizona state fire management officer, said advances in technology have helped firefighters since then. “We have GPS and satellites and more robust communications,” Truett said. “We didn’t know where the firefighters were. Everybody was scrambling at that time.” Arizona city holds 10-year remembrance for 19 firefighters who died in the Yarnell Hill Fire
Here’s how fighting fires in Arizona has changed since Yarnell Hill tragedy 10 years ago
State wildland firefighters added a big tech advancement to their toolbox this year, a GPS tracking system called DropBlocks. Tiffany Davila with the Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management says these state-of-the-art satellite-based devices allow supervisors to locate crews more precisely while they’re on an incident. That was a challenge 10 years ago after the Granite Mountain crew was initially trapped in the canyon. “Often times our crews are deployed to fight fire in very remote locations, sometimes with [...]
RoGO has been awarded and Advanced Industries grant from the State of Colorado to enhance our life-saving technologies
The Early-Stage Capital and Retention grant supports businesses commercializing innovative and disruptive technologies … RoGO Communications has developed a lightweight device that connects firefighters over cellular-denied and radio-denied areas. Advanced Industries Grants Accelerate 43 Colorado Startups and Researchers Across the State
Advanced Industries Grants Accelerate 43 Colorado Startups and Researchers Across the State
“This is a really big step in the right direction,” Juliann Ashcraft said. It’s been almost ten years since Juliann lost her husband, Andrew, in the Yarnell Hill Fire … Ashcraft believes the new DropBlocks communication system will finally provide much-needed answers regarding safely fighting wildfires in Arizona. “If the people will incorporate this technology, this type of tragedy will not have to happen again in the future,” Ashcraft said. PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5), “Arizona fire crews testing new ‘DropBlocks’ fire [...]
Arizona Dept of Forestry and Fire to test DropBlocks
The Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management will test a new satellite-based crew locating and communication device this fire season. … The department has been exploring for years ways to increase crew safety and enhance communication between firefighters and overhead. … DropBlocks will coordinate up-to-the-minute GPS location data and provide real-time data transmissions to agency or incident overhead. According to the agency, the system will be able to more precisely track crew movement and locations in wildland fire incidents. [...]