Public Safety Signals

All too often our public safety first responders are in harm’s way during an emergent event. Hurricane Ike was no exception with public safety first responders helping with rescue and recovery operations. While this is the nature of the job please allow me to say thank you to all of the first responders for [...]

On the night of September 12, 2008, Hurricane Ike made landfall at Galveston, Texas at approximately 2:00 am Central Time as a Category 2 hurricane. With sustained winds of 110 mph (1 mile an hour shy of a Cat3), this should not have been a major hurricane by Gulf of Mexico standards. However, Ike was [...]

Once again, today’s anniversary conjures up just about every available emotion and feeling. The significance of today’s date is etched in the collective psyche of nearly every American. Most Americans can recall exactly what they were doing and where they were at a precisely the moment they heard of the news of the [...]

While planning for National Preparedness Month (September), the United States Fire Administration (USFA) released a new report on August 20th which is the latest technical report in a series regarding being prepared. The report named Fire Department Preparedness for Extreme Weather Emergencies and Natural Disasters shares serious insights on not only keeping the fire department [...]

A full week prior to landfall, and without full knowledge of where Gustav would make landfall, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal was making plans for a full-scale evacuation of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. This evacuation plan, a result of the Katrina experience, involved no less than three state police agencies, dozens of local agencies, [...]

           Another terrible anniversary looms, one that we all wish had never happened. In September of 2001, the way we did our public safety jobs changed forever. We watched as planes crashed into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and a field in Pennsylvania. The day soon was dubbed “9/11”. This is a date [...]

I would like to welcome several public safety practitioner learners as they join as new authors of Public Safety Signals. These practitioners represent the first set of learners to join as authors on the blog. Melissa Beasley is a Police Captain from the Florence, AL Police Department, Darryl Jones Chief of the Pittsburg Bureau of [...]