Availability for Oct. 2020 Fires

My name is Eric Anderson, and I’d like to be of help if I can. I’m an applied researcher who works on wireless communication systems with an emphasis on emergency, disaster, and public-safety information and communication systems. Some ways I think I might be able to be useful are:

  1. (Try to) help with any wireless communication / coverage / connection quality issues you’re having. There’s no guarantee that I can improve things, but I can try.
  2. Observe and stay out of the way. As much as possible, I want to learn anything I can about who needs what information where and when, and what (if anything) is preventing the`m from getting it. This doesn’t help you any in the near term, but is extremely valuable for the future.
  3. Just stay home and leave you alone if you don’t have the time and energy to deal with this right now.

About Me

I’m an applied researcher and research manager working on very relevant topics:

  1. I developed and ran research programs for the NIST Public Safety Communication Research division (PSCR) located in Boulder.
  2. Most relevantly, I created and managed a research portfolio focused on maintaining information and communication availability for first responders in the face of wireless communication issues.
  3. I’ve worked directly with a number of relevant agencies and groups on this, including the Western Fire Chiefs Association, the IAFC, and rural regional fire, rescue, and forestry departments.
  4. My not-specifically-public-safety research has mostly been about optimizing performance and reliability of networks and systems compensating for the challenges of wireless communication.

For a non-professional, I’m fairly ready to be on an incident without too much babysitting:

  1. I’ve been an observer at active fires before and have my own NFPA 1977 clothing, helmet, boots, and mask.
  2. I’m a (now-lapsed) EMT-B and Wilderness EMT.
  3. I did technical rescue training and volunteered with the Rocky Mountain Rescue Group, though quite a while ago.

If you think I could be useful to you, or if I would be welcome to observe and stay out of the way, please let me know. My phone number is 412-726-3560, and my e-mail is eric@ewa.xyz.


Thanks,
Eric