Home Verizon Frontline supports wildfire response efforts in Virginia
Virginia

Verizon Frontline supports wildfire response efforts in Virginia

Crystal Graham
blue ridge parkway smoke wildfire
Milepost 168 on the Blue Ridge Parkway, smoke from the Tuggle’s Gap fire is seen in the distance. Photo courtesy NPS.

The Verizon Frontline Crisis Response Team recently completed a deployment in support of the more than 200 first responders responsible for battling the Quaker Run Fire in Madison County and in Shenandoah National Park.

At the request of the Madison County Emergency Management Agency, a Satellite Picocell on a Trailer and several other Verizon Frontline solutions were delivered to a location near the fire to help provide firefighters and other public safety agencies on the front lines of the response operation with critical voice and data service.

SPOTs are rapidly deployable and provide wireless network coverage in remote areas where traditional signals are challenging or unavailable, like the area in and around Shenandoah National Park, where the Quaker Run Fire, which started on Oct. 24, burned nearly 4,000 acres before it was contained late last week.

The Verizon Frontline Crisis Response Team’s deployment in Virginia is the most recent example of how it helps to provide firefighters the connectivity they need to achieve their missions 24/7, at no cost to supported agencies.

This year alone, the team has responded to 194 requests for communications support during wildfires in 22 states and has delivered nearly 2,300 Verizon Frontline solutions to 66 different public safety agencies.

Verizon Frontline is the advanced network and technology built for first responders – developed over nearly three decades of partnership with public safety officials and agencies on the front lines – to meet their unique and evolving needs.

 

Crystal Graham

Crystal Graham

Crystal Abbe Graham is the regional editor of Augusta Free Press. A 1999 graduate of Virginia Tech, she has worked for nearly 25 years as a reporter and editor for several Virginia publications, written a book, and garnered more than a dozen Virginia Press Association awards for writing and graphic design. She was the co-host of "Viewpoints," a weekly TV news show, and co-host of Virginia Tonight, a nightly TV news show. Her work on "Virginia Tonight" earned her a national Telly award for excellence in television.