S&T Snapshots: Bomb Threat? An App for that, too

Subject: S&T Snapshots: Bomb Threat? An App for that, too

 

 

 

 

S&T Snapshots: Bomb Threat? An App for that, too 

 

  

 

Caption: Homeland Security's new smartphone application for bomb threats

 

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Science and Technology Directorate and its public and private sector partners have developed a must-have "app": the First Responder Support Tools (FiRST) for computers and smartphones.

 

At approximately 6:30 pm on Saturday, May 1, 2010, a smoking SUV in Times Square was reported by alert street vendors. Acting quickly, NYPD evacuated vast stretches on 7th and 8th Avenues, including Broadway theatres and several other buildings and hotels in the area. The entire area was barricaded. Times Square on a Saturday evening before the shows is teaming with people, and the terrorist knew that. The bomb failed, but had it detonated, it would have killed and wounded many, according to NYPD.

 

In the first chaotic moments after suspicion of a bomb threat, first responders have a myriad of questions, assessments, and decisions to make, all at once, and all the while the scene could be changing rapidly. Is the bomb real? How large is the potential blast radius? Where will we evacuate people? Are there any critical infrastructure or special-needs population centers in the vicinity? Any schools, hospitals nearby? What roads should be closed? Which roads should stay open for evacuees? And on and on....

 

What if they could get all this information in one place?

 

Now they can: The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) and its public and private sector partners have developed a must-have "app": the First Responder Support Tools (FiRST) for computers and smartphones.

 

 *Interested in learning more? Read the full S&T Snapshots story. Do you have any questions about the publication? Please email st.snapshots@hq.dhs.gov.

 

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