The Department of Homeland Security, FEMA, the United States Army, the National Guard, and emergency responders from around the country came to New Hampshire to participate in one of the largest emergency exercises of its kind – and PublicEye was there providing video streaming and communications support.
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The Bedford Fire Department, in an effort to improve its swiftwater rescue capabilities, organized the drill with the help of state and federal agencies. Visiting personnel offered valuable feedback and insight, observing local responders and providing safety support.
The scenario envisioned a large spring snow melt followed by an overnight nor’easter, taking residents by surprise. The goal was to rescue 350 victims along an eight-mile stretch of the Merrimack River in four hours. In reality, the river was just shy of the 11-foot flood stage at 9.9 feet, but the exercise assumed a 500-year flood with water levels up to 30 feet.
To help accomplish the objective of improving swiftwater rescues, the Bedford Fire Department wanted to incorporate new technologies. The video streaming and communications capabilities of PublicEye played an important role in keeping all participants aware of the developing situation.
“We have such a heavy reliance on PublicEye,” said Steve Brady, a Firefighter/Paramedic with the department. “Through our iPads, we were able to trial the new live streaming video feature. It provided a great, great benefit to us.”
Coordinators at the emergency operations center (EOC), located back at Bedford Fire Department headquarters, monitored live video from the flood zone streamed via PublicEye throughout the exercise. Individual rescue personnel also had the ability to view streamed video as well as stream from their own mobile devices back to the EOC or directly to other rescuers.
The incident commander, Chief Steven Achilles, was pleased with the use of video streaming to connect the sites. “Hopefully we can use this more and what they’re learning here today in our own department,” he said. For more information on our award-winning product, head over to our Product page!