First Response Coalition - Media Information

Pennsylvania Moves to Give First Responders a Day of Appreciation
PoconoNews.net - (September 19, 2007)
"Senator Lisa Baker announced that she will introduce a resolution to honor the commitment and sacrifice of Pennsylvania’s first responders by establishing September 25, 2007 as Pennsylvania’s First Responder Recognition Day."

First responders honored with a day of their own
Weatherford Democrat - (September 11, 2007)
"All full-time, part-time, reserve and volunteer firefighters and police officers who attend the meeting in uniform will receive certificates of appreciation for their service."

Terrorism preparedness must be taken more seriously
Asheville Citizen-Times - (May 13, 2007)
"The Washington-based First Response Coalition issued a study in 2005 estimating first responders would be underfunded by $100 billion by 2008."

Study: WNC frontline needs more training, funds
Asheville Citizen-Times - (May 12, 2007)
"In far too many towns and cities and communities throughout the country, many jurisdictions don’t have the funds to be able to purchase or update their communications equipment."

Satellites Contribute to Improved Readiness Overall (PDF)
Via Satellite - (April 2007)
"Any plan that does not take into account the critical backup role of satellite communications during a disaster is a plan that puts the lives of first responders at risk."

D.C., Virginia Lead in Improved Public Safety Communications
Telematics Journal - (March 9, 2007)
"We need a national strategy with a target date for achieving nationwide interoperability to support these states in their commendable efforts."

National First Responder Appreciation Day radio interview
WPGC – (February 21, 2007)
Save the Date
Emergency Management – (February 2007)
The First Response Coalition is working to establish National First Responder Appreciation Day on Sept. 22.
Our first responders are worthy of holiday
The Columbus Dispatch – (Columbus, OH – February 7, 2007)
Congress has been asked to establish Sept. 22 as "National First Responders Appreciation Day."
Group Wants Day to Honor First Responders
EMSResponder.com News – (February 6, 2007)
"We all know the contributions and sacrifices that they make and continue to make," Jones said.
Group calls for national day of honor
Fort Worth Star Telegram – (Fort Worth, TX – February 5, 2007)
The First Response Coalition is gathering signatures on an online petition to submit to Congress asking that Sept. 22 be named "National First Responder Appreciation Day."
With deadline approaching NIMS compliancy on schedule
Public Safety IT Magazine – (January 2007)
Upgrade of HPD radios may wait 5 years
Houston Chronicle – (Houston, TX – January 21, 2007)
Steven Jones, executive director of the First Response Coalition, a nonprofit advocacy group that promotes for advanced communications systems for police, fire and other agencies called Houston's incompatibility with other local agencies "incredibly alarming."
Rescuers not on same frequency
Spartanburg Herald Journal – (Spartanburg, SC – January 5, 2007)
"If anything, the scorecard is an important first step, a stock take, really, of where we're at," said Steven Jones, executive director of the First Response Coalition based in Washington.
D-FW trails dozens of areas in preparedness
Star-Telegram - (Dallas/Ft. Worth, TX – January 4, 2007)
North Texas isn't the only region that still has work to do, said Steven Jones, executive director of the Washington, D.C.-based First Response Coalition, a nonprofit group that promotes the needs of first responders.
Emergency cross talk still a problem in U.S.
Ventura County Star - (Ventura County, CA – January 4, 2007)
It's difficult to shift gears quickly and succinctly in an emergency, according to Steven Jones, executive director of the Washington-based First Response Coalition, a nonprofit organization working to educate the public on the needs of first responders. "You need to not just train using clear text, but to use it on a daily basis to be effective."
Only Six of 75 Areas Get Top Marks in DHS Interoperability Scorecards
TR Daily - (January 3, 2007)
"The findings in this DHS study and the dire warnings in many other government reports on interoperability failures cannot continue to go unheeded. It is time to put words into action."
One-stop shopping for real-time public safety news
Federal Computer Weekly - (December 21, 2006)
The FRC recently added a nifty new feature to its Web site: an interactive map of the United States that allows you to click on a state to immediately link to public safety news and information about that state.
Nonprofit national Web site providing Utahns with public-safety data
Deseret Morning News - (Salt Lake City – December 18, 2006)
A national nonprofit organization has unveiled a Web site that allows residents access to up-to-date local public-safety news and information.
Counterterrorism rivals federal program
Myrtle Beach Online - (December 10, 2006)
After 120 firefighters died on Sept. 11 because they never heard a police order to evacuate the World Trade Center, New York's police and fire communications systems now are linked, said spokesman Steve Jones of the Washington-based First Response Coalition.
New York's extensive war on terrorism rivals national effort
Belleville News-Democrat - (December 6, 2006)
Public Safety Experts Call 2007 "Most Important Year"
NewsBlaze - (December 6, 2006)
Chances Good For Broad Interoperability Legislation in Next Congress, Aides Say
TR Daily - (December 5, 2006)
There's a good chance that lawmakers will consider comprehensive public safety interoperability legislation in the next Congress, two congressional aides said today.
Nationwide Web site boasts public safety news
Vallejo Times-Herald - (Vallejo,CA,USA – November 30, 2006)
The Vallejo entries on a newly launched first responder Web site may wind up being the nation's most comprehensive.
Chertoff Wants All States to be Interoperable by End of 2008
TR Daily - (November 28, 2006)
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said today his agency wants to ensure that public safety agencies in major cities are interoperable by the end of next year and all states have interoperability by the end of 2008.
Defining "Interoperable" Communications
Security Management Magazine - (Washington, DC – November 2006)
"You've got to have cooperation; you’ve got to have coordination, not just with the state governments, but between local governments."
Communication Breakdown
Homeland Security Asia - (November, 2006)
Five years after 9/11 and first responder wireless communication is still blighted by many of the same problems. Steven Jones, Executive Director of the First Response Coalition, discusses how America can help its emergency services to communicate.
Interoperability Progress, Five Years after 9/11 (PDF)
Law & Order Magazine - (October, 2006)
Just as President John F. Kennedy in 1961 challenged the nation to send a man to the moon, the FRC believes President Bush can and should make a similar national commitment and announce his support for full first responder interoperability and a national summit.
Dangerous failure to communicate still prevalent for first responders
Daily Herald (Greater Chicago area – September 10, 2006)
After hundreds of firefighters died on Sept. 11, 2001- 120 due to communication breakdowns- the message from emergency responders was loud and clear: fix our piecemeal, ineffective communication systems.
Op-Ed: Give First Responders the Tools They Need to Communicate
Philadelphia Inquirer (September 19, 2006)
The American public expects and needs its first responders to have all the necessary tools to keep our communities safe. But too many first responders are answering the call to duty with outdated and incompatible communications equipment.
Watch FRC's Steven Jones on CNN's Anderson Cooper 360
Security Projects Lag Five Years After September 11
PC World Magazine (September 11, 2006)
"There's no national strategy to coordinate all these efforts," said Steven Jones, Executive Director of the First Response Coalition. "Nationally speaking, I don't know that we're better off than we were five years ago."
A Call for Help
Chronicles of Philanthropy (August 31, 2006)
The First Response Coalition is pushing hard for improvements in the way emergency workers at the scene of a disaster communicate with one another.
Editorial: Emergency Response Equipment
Philadelphia Inquirer (August 28,2006)
Each time a disaster exposes gaps in the nation's patchwork of emergency communications, policy-makers vow to fix the problems. But in the five years since 9/11 and the one year since Hurricane Katrina, little progress has been made to ensure that rescue workers can talk to each other when calamity strikes.
Editorial: A Failure to Communicate
CentreDaily.com (August 28,2006)
Five years since 9/11 and the one year since Hurricane Katrina, little progress has been made to ensure that rescue workers can talk to each other when calamity strikes.
Hurricane-Prone States Face Big Communication Problems This Storm Season
InformationWeek (June 26, 2006)
The memory of Hurricane Katrina isn't even a year old, but Louisiana and other states still struggle with radio-controlled emergency communications systems that don't interoperate.
Watch FRC's Steven Jones on Comcast News 8
‘Dangerously Unprepared’: 2005 should have taught the United States many lessons about being unprepared for hurricanes. But a new report finds most coastal states still aren't ready.
Newsweek (May 23, 2006)
NEWSWEEK’s Jennifer Barrett spoke with the [FRC's] executive director, Steven Jones, about what needs to be done now to avert another disaster like the one that followed Katrina.
Hurricane season looms, residents unprepared -- again
Outer Banks Sentinel (May 8, 2006)
In addition to the lack of preparation by residents of hurricane prone regions the First Response Coalition reported eight hurricane prone states may not be able to communicate during a hurricane disaster this year.
Ready for hurricanes The Herald Online (May 1, 2006)
With a new hurricane season just around the corner, it is comforting to know that South Carolina gets high marks for preparedness and a reliable communication system. Nonetheless, some communities still may lack the funding to participate in that system.
Apply logic with security allocations The Stamford Advocate (May 1, 2006)
That report will follow one by the First Response Coalition, a nonprofit group representing emergency response workers, that concluded emergency crews in eight hurricane-prone states can't communicate across jurisdictions.
Report: Improve responder network
Palm Beach Daily Report (Apr 30, 2006)
The next hurricane season is just around the corner, and first-responders in the Gulf Coast and Atlantic regions apparently still do not have the right equipment to communicate with each other.
Report Finds Emergency Communications In Hurricane States Lacking
Firehouse.com (Apr 28, 2006)
The FRC finds a wide disparity in the commitment to interoperability; some states have implemented successful statewide interoperability plans, while others have only begun to conduct needs assessments.
FRC report critical of preparedness levels in eight hurricane prone US states
ContinuityCentral.com (Apr 26, 2006)
The FRC finds a wide disparity in the commitment to interoperability; some states have implemented successful statewide interoperability plans, while others have only begun to conduct needs assessments.
Hurricane Communication Devices Inadequate, Pose Danger for Responders
OccupationalHazards.com (Apr 26, 2006)
With only 37 days before the start of the hurricane season, a new report reveals that many emergency responders in eight hurricane-prone states are not equipped with necessary communication gear.
Is Florida Ready for Hurricane Season (mp3)
WDBO Radio (Apr 26,2006)
"First responders in localities throughout the nation are often unable to communicate with one another, because they use different radio systems and operate on different radio frequencies."
Emergency Communication on Coast Remains Problematic (mp3)
Mississippi Public Broadcasting (Apr 26,2006)
As the Coast prepares for the 2006 hurricane season, emergency communication remains a major problem. As Gary Michel reports, there are temporary measures being rushed into place to overcome the failed systems of Hurricane Katrina.
First Responders' Radios Called Inadequate
Washington Post (Apr 25, 2006)
Although the report offered some praise for efforts in South Carolina and Florida, most emergency workers remain a long way from having adequate communications networks, said Steven Jones, executive director of the coalition.
Communications Glitches Plague First-Responders as Hurricane Season Draws Near (subscription required)
Congressional Quarterly (Apr 25, 2006)
The next hurricane season is just around the corner, and first-responders in the Gulf Coast and Atlantic regions apparently still do not have the right equipment to communicate with each other.
Report addresses states’ readiness for 2006 hurricane season
Mobile Radio Technology - MRT (Apr 25, 2006)
The First Response Coalition released a report on the current readiness of first responders prior to this 2006 hurricane season.
States not prepared for ’06 hurricanes
Government Computer News (Apr 24, 2006)
Eight hurricane-prone states still lack interoperable communications in the face of the 2006 storm season, according to a new report from the First Response Coalition.
Report: Most Hurricane-prone states fall short on communications
Associated Press (Apr 21, 2006)
The report praises South Carolina for having a strong, reliable system that lets state and local police and emergency services workers talk to each other.