Skip to main content

Emergency response day kicks off at ITS America in Pittsburgh

Don’t forget to make some time for Emergency Response Day 2015 tomorrow--an annual event at the ITS America Annual Meeting and Expo since 2011. Conference attendees will have the ability to engage with emergency responders as they act out a Traffic Incident Management (TIM) scenario, complete with a planning meeting, training, a staged incident and after-action review. Local first responders will participate, including firefighters, police, tow vehicles and traffic management engineers from Allegheny County
June 1, 2015 Read time: 2 mins
Don’t forget to make some time for Emergency Response Day 2015 tomorrow--an annual event at the ITS America Annual Meeting and Expo since 2011. Conference attendees will have the ability to engage with emergency responders as they act out a Traffic Incident Management (TIM) scenario, complete with a planning meeting, training, a staged incident and after-action review. Local first responders will participate, including firefighters, police, tow vehicles and traffic management engineers from Allegheny County.

A hack-a-thon will also be held in the afternoon. Conference attendees, first responders and participants from local universities will work together to develop application ideas to solve major data, communications and safety issues in the world of TIM and emergency response. The winning application will be invited to the Emergency Response Symposium in September held by ITS New York and the Transportation Safety Advancement Group to present their application to industry leaders.

“We really want to get ITS technology companies to think about emergency response and how they can make first responders’ jobs easier,” said Doug Smith, director of transportation planning for the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission. “It’s a great opportunity to get these two groups together to come up with solutions for safety and traffic management.”

The day will start at 9:30 am in room 336 (upstairs from the exhibit hall) with a welcome address and an overview of the day’s events. Emergency responders will then demonstrate the lifecycle of the TIM process from planning to debriefing with a focus on where data and new applications could assist first responders. Teams will be formed via speed dating format, and the Data Jam, essentially a hack-a-thon, will begin after lunch. The winning application will be announced at 4:30 pm.

Emergency Response Day 2015 is sponsored by Transportation Safety Advancement Group (TSAG) and the Motorola Solutions Foundation. The event is free for conference attendees, students and emergency responders in uniform.

Related Content

  • August 23, 2023
    The inside story of how traffic chaos was avoided after I-95 collapse
    June’s collapse of major US roadway I-95 in Pennsylvania could have caused lengthy traffic chaos. But - relatively speaking at least - it didn’t and gridlock was avoided. Alan Dron finds out why
  • September 8, 2014
    World Congress hosts first responders from southeast Michigan
    ITS America welcomes the 2014 ITS World Congress to a busy schedule of special events this week. Tuesday has been declared Emergency Responder Day in an effort to put a spotlight on what first responders do on the scene of an accident and how ITS developments can help their life-saving efforts run smoother, faster and safer. Anyone in uniform will be granted entry to the World Congress for free throughout the day and can attend two special sessions focused on emergency response.
  • November 26, 2019
    ITSWC 2020 - LA, here we come!
    Planning for next year’s 27th ITS World Congress in Los Angeles is well under way. ITS America president Shailen Bhatt explains what visitors can expect from the 2020 event...
  • December 7, 2021
    ITS America: it's showtime!
    After two years of mostly virtual gatherings, it is wonderful to kick off this 29th ITS America Annual Meeting. The next four days will enable intelligent transportation professionals to learn, network, connect, and discuss how technology is a foundational piece of a new 21st century transportation system.