The ComCare Alliance, http://www.comcare.org/, is hosting the launch of the National Emergency Alerting and Response Systems initiative and you can be part of it. The launch is scheduled for Wednesday March 30, from 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. at the Hall of the States, 444 North Capitol Street, Washington, D.C. You can rsvp Melonie Wilson at mwilson@comcare.org

Their release says it all: "There are more than 100,000 independent US emergency agencies. Today, the vast majority cannot share emergency data messages, much less other forms of data. The National Emergency Alerting and Response Systems (NEARS) initiative is an effort supported by a growing coalition of emergency response organizations. Together they plan to demonstrate and deploy interoperable emergency data messaging, using national emergency message and data standards, commercial information technologies, and a shared, electronic directory of agencies such as the Emergency Provider Access Directory (EPAD). This directory gives agencies the ability to distribute emergency messages based on geography, incident or agency type, for all types of emergency events.

NEARS is a three-track initiative that demonstrates this emergency messaging concept, develops a production version of the EPAD with its simple messaging component, gives partners the resources to populate the directory, and deploys this new enabling tool in several regions prior to national deployment. When complete, NEARS has the potential to cut costs for emergency response agencies, improve the efficiency of emergency operations and facilitate information sharing - allowing agencies to save time and lives within the communities they serve."

If you can't attend, email them and see how you can join.