Disaster Preparedness | Emergency Response
Boston shut down as bombing suspects chased down
Boston bombing
suspects
The greater Boston area is shut down with bus and subway service suspended and local businesses and universities closed, as federal and local authorities chase down two men believed to have carried out the Boston Marathon bombings.
Law enforcement, homeland security, White House vow to find Boston bomber
Copley
Square
explosion
Federal, state and local investigators are in the initial stages of tracking down the person or persons responsible for two bombs detonated near the finish line of the Boston Marathon on April 15 that killed three people and wounded over 100, but said no one has claimed responsibility for the attack.
The latest details to emerge from the afternoon of chaos in the city included news that the bombs -- which were stuffed in trashcans near the race route -- contained ball bearings or BBs meant to cause even more substantial injuries to bystanders.
GSN 2012 Awards announced: White House deputy of homeland security recognized for leadership at annual gala
GSN Awards 2012
Hundreds of the best of the homeland security community’s federal, state and municipal government officials, government contractors, systems integrators, IT vendors and physical security product and solutions providers all came together the night of November 29 in a ballroom of the Washington, D.C. convention center to receive accolades.
The GSN awards dinner, which has become a Washington tradition over the last four years, offered a chance for the excellence and civic-minded spirit of homeland security efforts nationwide to be recognized.
GSN 2012 Homeland Security Awards program open for entries
The Government Security News 2012 Homeland Security Awards Program officially opened for entries on May 1, once again featuring 45 Awards in three broad Categories:Best Vendors of IT Security Products and Solutions, Best Vendors of Physical Security Products and Solutions and the 2011 Government Excellence Awards.
GSN 2011 Awards Program opens for entries on April 26
Government Security News has announced that its 2011 Homeland Security Awards Program will officially open for business and start accepting entries in the program’s 45 awards categories on Tuesday, April 26.
Obama seeks three percent hike in discretionary budget at DHS
Despite official murmurings a few months ago that the fiscal year 2011 budget request for DHS might decline slightly, the budget package unveiled on February 1 actually shows a three percent increase in “discretionary spending” by DHS in 2011, versus the prior year, and modest growth, at approximately the predicted rate of inflation, in the outer years.
Retrieving human remains buried beneath 40 feet of ice in arctic Greenland
A Grumman Duck aircraft
The U.S. Coast Guard wants to hear from companies that could mount an expedition to a frigid part of arctic Greenland, excavate a downed J2F-4 Grumman Duck aircraft which crashed at the site during World War II and is now buried beneath 40 feet of ice, and recover the human remains of the Duck’s crew, along with their personal effects.
Shifting ‘vibration isolation’ technology from table tops to data centers
Mike Reilly, of
WorkSafe Technologies
Talk about a specialized niche. WorkSafe Technologies, of St. Charles, MO, produces devices and contraptions that are intended to isolate natural vibrations in the Earth and protect equipment and property that might otherwise be damaged or destroyed by such vibrations.
WorkSafe for decades has built tabletops and carts -- they prefer to call them “platforms” -- on which sensitive or valuable instruments and equipment can be placed, and safeguarded, even when the ground beneath them begins to shake violently.
During decontamination, first responders can use DQE’s new ‘Decon Stability Cane’
Decon
Stability
Cane
Wearing a bulky HazMat suit during responder decontamination makes it difficult to maneuver, leading to slips and falls. After watching emergency responders resort to using walkers, traffic cones and other objects not designed for their specific needs during decontamination, DQE, of Indianapolis, IN, has developed the Decon Stability Cane. Now, responders can move with ease, grasping the security of the Decon Stability Cane.
ASIS NYC 2013: Gaffco Ballistics builds ultra-secure ‘safe rooms’
Tom Gaffney
Tom Gaffney’s career in the security business has come a long way from the days, a few decades ago, when he was installing check-cashing booths, with bullet-proof glass, in retail storefronts in the Bronx.
Now, Gaffney’s company, Gaffco Ballistics, of South Londonderry, VT, installs high-end “safe rooms” in the palatial homes of millionaires and billionaires, who travel frequently and might worry, “What do I do to protect my wife and kids when I’m not at home.”