NPSTC congratulates Chief Charles Werner, Charlottesville, VA, Fire Department, and International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) alternate to the Governing Board, on his recent 2009 Fire News Outstanding Leadership Award from Firehouse Expo, in partnership with Fire News, and ...

NPSTC congratulates former Captain Eddie Reyes, Alexandria, VA, Police Department, and International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) alternate to the Governing Board, on his recent promotion to Deputy Chief.  David Baker, Chief of Police, said, "During a rigorous promotional process, Captain Reyes established himself as a standout candidate among the other outstanding commanders who competed.  I have every confidence that he possesses the qualities that will be necessary to help us address the many challenges that lie ahead."

We are very lucky to have leaders like Chief Werner and Deputy Chief Reyes in our community!  Congratulations and thank you for being a part of the public safety community and NPSTC!

A task force to develop requirements for a nationwide public safety 700 MHz broadband network has been created, and seeking volunteers to make recommendations on the minimum elements required for a National Interoperability Framework to help ensure interoperability across all systems deployed.  Please register here if you would like to Join the Task Force.

NPSTC's organizations celebrated today, as the 13-year quest for more spectrum for public safety successfully concluded.  On June 12, 2009, all full-service television stations shut off all analog transmissions, vacating that 700 MHz spectrum for public safety.

On June 10, 2009, NPSTC's 15 public safety organizations unanimously voted to endorse LTE (Long Term Evolution) as the favored technology standard most suited to the development of a nationwide interoperable broadband network in the 700 MHz public safety band.

H.R. 1819 has been introduced in the House of Representatives by Congressman Joseph Cao (R-La) to amend the Digital Television Transition and Public Safety Act of 2005 to extend the interoperable emergency communications grant program through fiscal year 2012.  See http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c111:H.R.1819.IH: for all details.  The bill was introduced on Mar 31, 2009 and has been referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.  So far, it appears the bill has only ONE sponsor.  Letters from interested parties to their respective members will improve the likelihood of rapid passage.
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The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Office for Interoperability and Compatibility (OIC) announced that eight laboratories have been approved to test equipment as part of the Project 25 Compliance Assessment Program (P25 CAP).  Attached is the release.

The Plain Language Working Group was formally launched on Wednesday, April 29th, with a conference call from 2:00 - 3:30 pm EST.  In addition, the group has provided a guide that outlines an approach for emergency response agencies, localities, and states to replace coded language radio transmissions with plain language.  This guide includes reasons to adopt plain language, processes to make plain language a reality, and resources for transitioning to plain language.

The most common incident faced by first responders is traffic related.  The U.S. Department of Transportation has just released a draft report on some of the best or most effective practices in handling these common occurrences.