DHS Completes Demonstration of Next-Generation Wildland Urban Interface Alert System

The Department of Homeland Security has completed a demonstration of the Wildland Urban Interface integration model, which allows authorities to send out wireless emergency alerts in the event of fire and other emergencies and hazards.

The Fairfax Emergency Operations Center, along with a nearby field, hosted the proof-of-concept demonstration, which was conducted in collaboration with the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Integrated Public Alert Warning System Program, Fairfax County’s Office of Emergency Management and HAAS Alert.

The model uses advanced technologies and the Federal Emergency Management Agency Integrated Public Alert Warning System to send out wireless emergency alerts. Screens in vehicles can display the alerts, along with other information, the Department of Homeland Security said.

IPAWS, GPS navigation, and other technologies can be combined to provide the public with timely critical information, such as evacuation routes and safety zones, the Department of Homeland Security said.

“The IPAWS Program strives to find new methods and paths to effectively communicate emergency information to people that enables emergency managers to reduce the loss of life, personal injury, and property damage of disasters,” said Antwane Johnson, FEMA IPAWS division director.

The WUI integration model will give emergency officials the ability to directly connect with drivers on roads to alert them to hazards, he added.

Norman Speicher, DHS S&T program manager, noted that effective communication is crucial to first responders as it helps them provide better routes as they direct the public to safety during emergencies.

The DHS awarded the project to Washington, D.C.-based Corner Alliance, a small-business consultancy, through the Science and Technology Directorate’s Long-Range Broad Agency Announcement program.

HAAS Alert will integrate its Safety Cloud platform with the FEMA IPAWS Open Platform for Emergency Networks system to receive the emergency notifications.