First Responders
First responders are often the primary line of defense for U.S. communities, responding to an evolving spectrum of natural and man-made threats. The Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) works closely with first responders across jurisdictions and disciplines to improve their safety and effectiveness.
S&T works hand-in-hand with members of all first responder disciplines -- law enforcement, fire services, emergency medical services and emergency management officials, as well as innovators and industry -- to develop capabilities that:
- Make first responders safer
- Improve communication tool security and effectiveness
- Enhance data and information sharing during daily, emergency or joint operations
- Promote and sustain partnerships with responders and responder organizations across the nation at all levels
- Help investigate cybercrime and cases involving digital evidence
- Secure 911 emergency call systems from cyberattacks
S&T holistically examines responder technology and capability needs and safety requirements. Starting with first responder uniforms and working outward, S&T helps first responders integrate sensors that monitor their health, location and safety, as well as improve uniforms' protective properties. S&T develops first responder technologies and conducts market surveys and assessments to help responder organizations make informed buying decisions. From ensuring interoperability to improving connectivity and capabilities, S&T’s programs and projects also encompass the communications spectrum.
S&T strives to identify first responder needs, identify existing technology, and work with the development community and industry to provide solutions that improve effectiveness, efficiency and safety.
No emergency is standard. S&T strengthens first responder capabilities in daily operations and in response to critical incidents and catastrophic events and modern criminal investigations.
Check out S&T Impact: First Responders to discover technologies making a real difference and to read several compelling scenarios featuring innovation in action.
Current Projects and Programs
- 2016 First Responder Electronic Jamming Exercise - Updated 2019
- 2017 First Responder Electronic Jamming Exercise - Updated 2020
- 2017 Technical Assessment of Counter Unmanned Aerial Systems Technologies in Cities (TACTIC)
- 2018 NGFR -- Harris County Operational Experimentation
A
- Activation of Body-Worn Cameras without Responder Manipulation
- ADvanced CIRCulation (ADCIRC) Storm Surge Model
- Advanced Multi-threat Base Ensemble for Responders (AMBER)
- Alerts and Warnings Using Social Media Project
- Ambulance and Patient Compartment Safety and Design Standards
- Automated Driver and Responder Alert System (ADRAS)
- Automated Speech Recognition Technology -- Hands-free Solutions for First Responders
- Anonymous Networks and Currencies
- Assistant for Understanding Data through Reasoning, Extraction and Synthesis (AUDREY)
B
- Bilayer Nanofibers as Wearable Sensors for Detecting Fentanyl
- Board Armor® Backboard Cover
- Broadband Demonstration Network -- Deployables
- Broadband Demonstration Network -- Developing Tools to Measure and Assess In-Building Coverage
- Burn Saver Thermal Sensor
C
- Canada-U.S. Enhanced Resiliency Experiment (CAUSE)
- Canada-U.S. Enhanced Resilience Experiment Series (CAUSE)
- ChemTag -- Personal Chemical Warning Device
- ClearAlert
- Combatting Human Trafficking Through Social Science
- Communications and Networking Engine
- Countering Unmanned Aircraft Systems
- Countering Violent Extremism -- Actionable Indicators and Countermeasures Project
- Critical Incident Management Technology Assessment (CIMTA) Hosted by the National Urban Security Technology Laboratory
- Cybersecurity Forensics
- Cycle of Warning: Alert Origination
- Cycle of Warning: Public Response
D
- Datacasting -- Broadcasting Real-Time Video and Critical Data over Existing Digital Television Spectrum
- Detection Canine
- Developing Risk-based Metrics for Flood Resilience to Support Community Investment Strategies
- Development of an Enhanced Performance Rescue Hoist Glove
- DHS S&T and Central United States Earthquake Consortium (CUSEC) Partnership Promotes Community Resilience
- Digital Volunteer Program Guide
- Distributed Denial of Service Defense
E
- Emergency Vehicle Alert for Civilians and Responders
- Enabling Unmanned Aircraft Systems
- Enhanced Rescue Hoist Glove
- Eye-Dentify - Emphasizing Training Improves Operational Security at the Border
F
- Field Detection and Analysis for Fire Gases and Particulates: Metal Organic Frameworks
- Firefighter Incident Commander Training Simulator
- First Aid for Severe Trauma Training (FAST)
- First Responder Resource Group (FRRG)
- Flood Apex: Automated National Structures Inventory Project
- Flood Apex: Community Hazard Assessment and Mitigation Planning System (CHAMPS) Assessed to help Mitigate Disasters
- Flood Apex: Enhanced Resiliency Experiment Framework
- Flood Apex: Rethinking America's Costliest Disaster
- Flood Apex: Smart Alerts Pilot Project
- Flood Apex: Utilizing the Landsat Mission and Spectral Indices to Automate Flood Extent Mapping
I
- Identity and Access Management Engine
- Identity, Credential, & Access Management (ICAM) Acquisition and Implementation Guidance
- Imaging System for Immersive Surveillance
- IMPACT Toolkit for First Responders
- Improved Structure Firefighting Glove
- Improving Model Capabilities
- Improving Radiation Confirmation Technology -- Development of an Organic Radiochromic Compound for First Responders
- Incident Management Information Sharing (IMIS) Capability Maturity Model (CMM)
- Integration of Video Data to Improve Situational Awareness in Response to an Active Shooter Event
- Interagency Technology Exploration
- International Forum to Advance First Responder Innovation
- Internet of Things (IoT): Low-Cost Flood Inundation Sensors
K
L
- Leveraging Existing Video Cameras for Radiation Detection Capabilities
- Lost Person Locator
- Low-Profile Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus Fact Sheet
M
- MaXphone -- Multi-access Extension for Smartphones
- Mission Critical Voice Intelligibility over Long Term Evolution (LTE)
- Mobile Ad-hoc Networking (MANET) to Improve Public Safety Situational Awareness
- Mobile Application Security
- Mobile Biometrics
- Mobile Device Attribute Validation Technology Demonstration Report
- Mobile Device Security
- Multifunctional Textiles for Advanced Personal Protective Equipment
N
- National Hurricane Program Technology Modernization Hurricane Evacuation Study Tool
- National Hurricane Program Technology Modernization HURREVAC-eXtended (HV-X)
- National Hurricane Technology Modernization Project
- NATO/Next Generation Incident Command System (NICS) Pilot Project
- New York Area Science and Technology (NYAST) Forum
- Next Generation First Responder (NGFR) and Fact Sheet
- NGFR Birmingham Shaken Fury Operational Experimentation
- NGFR Communication Hub
- NGFR Integration Demo
- NGFR Internet of Things (IoT)
- NGFR Technology Integration Handbook
- Next Generation Incident Command System (NICS)
- News Extraction from Public Data Feeds for First Responders
O
P
- Pat-Down Accuracy Training Tool (PATT)
- Performance Test and Evaluation at NUSTL (PTEN)
- Photovoltaic Energy Harvesting Fact Sheet
- Portable Handset Integrated Next-Generation Incident Command System (PHINICS)
- Post Tracking System (PTS)
- Precision Outdoor and Indoor Navigation and Tracking for Emergency Responders (POINTER)
- Project 25 Compliance Assessment Program (P25 CAP)
- Protecting Citizens and Responders
Q
- QuickRoute – Mobile Emergency Routing Services for First Responder Vehicles
- QuickRoute Operational Field Assessment Report
R
- Radiological Dispersal Device (RDD) Response Guidance Planning for the First 100 Minutes
- Radiological Emergency Management System (REMS)
- Radiological/Nuclear Response and Recovery Research & Development
- Recovery Transformer (RecX)
- Resilient Electric Grid (REG)
- Resilient PNT for Critical Infrastructure
- Resilient Structures and Facilities Project
- Resilient Tunnel Project
- Respiration Protection for Firefighters During Overhaul Operations
- Respiratory Protection for Medical Personnel
- Responder Training and Exercise Program (RTE)
- Response and Defeat Operations Support (REDOPS)
- Risk Prediction Program
S
- Safeguarding Grand Central Terminal
- Safety, Health, and Environmental Management (SHEMS)
- Scientific Support for RDD Response & Recovery
- Screener’s Auto-diagnostic Adaptive Precision Training (ScreenADAPT) System
- Screener Training and Selection
- Sensor-Smart Affordable Autonomous Robotic Platform-SAARP
- Shaken Fury 2019
- Situational Awareness and Decision Support Engine
- Smart City Internet of Things Innovation (SCITI)
- Smart City Internet of Things Innovation (SCITI) Labs: Autonomous Platforms
- Smoke and Particulate Resistant Structural Turnout Ensemble
- Social Media Business Case Guide
- Solar Storm Mitigation
- SUMMIT for Homeland Emergency Response and Planning (SHERPA)
- System Assessment and Validation for Emergency Responders (SAVER)
- Systematic Reviews of Terrorism Prevention Research
T
- Terrorism Prevention Grant Evaluation
- Terrorism Prevention Research
- Text-to-911 Translation
- Training and Performance Optimization
- Turbo FRMAC Expansion
U
V
- Video-Based Training Helps Create Expert Border Patrol Trackers
- Video Quality in Public Safety (VQiPS)
- Virtual Social Media Working Group
- Virtual Shooter
W
- Wearable Alert and Monitoring System (WAMS)
- Wearable Smart Chemical Sensor: Small, Rugged Monitor Warns First Responders of Toxic Exposure (Morphix)
- Wearable Smart Chemical Sensor -- Small, Rugged Monitor Warns First Responders of Toxic Exposure (TDA)
- Wildland Firefighters Advanced Personal Protection System
- Wildland Firefighter Respiratory Protection
- Wildland Urban Interface (WUI)
- Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA)
X
Available Technologies
S&T maintains a growing list of transitioned technologies that were all imagined and field-tested by first responders across the country and are now available for agencies and other members of the Homeland Security Enterprise to procure.
- Visit S&T’s Commercialized Technologies page or contact us at First.Responder@hq.dhs.gov to learn more.
- S&T’s Cyber Security Division (CSD), part of the Homeland Security Advanced Research Projects Agency, is working on new cyber solutions that have direct impact on first responders in the areas of Cyber Forensics, Anonymous Networks & Currencies, Mobile Device Security and Distributed Denial of Service Defenses. For more about these and other cybersecurity R&D areas, visit the Cybersecurity webpage.
- S&T and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Computer Forensic Tool Testing (CFTT) Reports.
Additional Resources
The following resources provide more information about some of our projects.
DHS recognizes that first responders at the Federal, State and local level are on the front lines of providing support to their communities during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Videos
Visit the S&T Videos page for project specific videos.
- 5 Things You Probably Don’t Know about S&T’s EDGE Virtual Training
- ADvanced CIRCulation (ADCIRC)
- Android Team Awareness Kit (ATAK)
- Assistant for Understanding Data through Reasoning, Extraction and Synthesis (AUDREY) S&T Tech Talk
- Burn Saver
- ERAD Prepaid Card Reader
- Explosive Detection Canines
- Improved Structure Firefighting Gloves
- Next Generation First Responder II
- Precision Outdoor and Indoor Navigation and Tracking for Emergency Responders (POINTER)
- QuickRoute
- Radiological Dispersal Device (RDD) Response Guidance Planning for the First 100 Minutes
- Regional Explosives Detection Dog Initiative
- Respiration Protection for Overhaul
- Securing Surface Transportation
- Shaken Fury
News
Visit the First Responder News page for recent news products.
- News Release: QuickRoute Navigation App Now Available for First Responders
- Feature Article: Leveraging Partnerships to De-escalate Conflict in Law Enforcement Encounters
- News Release: DHS Awards $1.5M to Small Business for First Responder Emergency Alerts Technology Development
- News Release: Field Tests Demonstrate Precision of Groundbreaking Firefighter Tracking Technology
- Feature Article: S&T Launches New Initiative to Reduce Law Enforcement Driving Risks
- Feature Article: Power Hawk - The "Jaws of Life" for Bomb Squads
- Feature Article: Disaster Preparedness in the Palm of Your Hand
- News Release: DHS S&T Seeks First Responder Technology for Demonstration
- Blog: Virtual Events - Managing Security Risks Today and Beyond
- Feature Article: S&T-Funded App Allows Emergency Responders to Communicate Seamlessly on the Front Lines
Publications
- Automated Driver and Responder Alert System Operational Field Assessment Report
- Ballistic-Resistant Body Armor for Women Market Survey Report
- Burn Saver Operational Field Assessment Report
- First Responder Robotic Operations System Test (FRROST) Small UASs for Search and Rescue Focus Group Report
- Handheld Radionuclide Identification Devices (RIDs) Assessment Report
- In-Suit Communication Equipment Focus Group Report
- In-Suit Communication Equipment TechNote
- Interworking Mission Critical Push-to-Talk (MCPTT) between Long Term Evolution (LTE) and Land Mobile Radio (LMR) Report
- Less Lethal Technologies for Law Enforcement TechNote
- Radio Frequency Detection, Spectrum Analysis, and Direction Finding Equipment Market Survey Report
- Respiratory Protection for Firefighters during Overhaul Operations: Operational Field Assessment Report
- Team Awareness Kit (TAK) – Enhancing Homeland Security Enterprise Collaboration on the Mobile Edge Whitepaper
- Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) Fire Operational Requirements and Capability Analysis: Report of Findings
National Urban Security Technology Laboratory (NUSTL)
As a federal laboratory organized within DHS S&T, the National Urban Security Technology Laboratory brings together the interests and initiatives of the Homeland Security Enterprise with the first responder community. The laboratory’s mission activities in test and evaluation and research and development help first responders prepare, protect and respond to homeland security threats.
Questions? Email us at first.responder@hq.dhs.gov.
For more information on how to work with us visit our Business Opportunities page or review our Industry Guide.