RICHMOND, Va., Dec. 08, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- GRID2020, Inc. today announced that its GRIDWIDE FIRE-SPY™ sensor is FirstNet Ready® and its solution is ready for use on FirstNet®. GRID2020, Inc.’s evolving subsidiary GRIDWIDE FIRE-SPY focuses on wildfire mitigation and public safety protection solutions. The GRIDWIDE FIRE-SPY™, a novel field sensor solution, provides a first-ever, always-on outdoor wildfire detection and auto alert system to create community-wide public safety monitoring canopies, by uniquely using the existing distribution grid infrastructure. The GRIDWIDE FIRE-SPY solution will help to improve public safety, reduce wildfire impacts and occurrences, reduce post-event rehabilitation costs, lessen environmental damages, and reduce liabilities risk for utility operators.
FirstNet, built with AT&T is a public-private partnership with the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet Authority) – an independent agency within the federal government. It’s designed with and for first responders and the public safety agencies and extended community that could be called on to support them. This includes companies that perform mitigation, remediation, overhaul, clean-up and restoration and provisioning services, including utility operators, required in an emergency or its aftermath.
The GRIDWIDE FIRE-SPY solution, now FirstNet Ready®, supports access to the physically separate and dedicated FirstNet network core and the Band 14 spectrum. FirstNet eligible customers can feel confident the GRIDWIDE FIRE-SPY solution combined with FirstNet services will provide the necessary critical connectivity in a reliable, highly secure and cost-effective manner.
The FirstNet Embedded IoT Program is a program that allows for industry leading FirstNet eligible devices to be combined with FirstNet to create a single, end-to-end solution that an equipment manufacturer such as GRID20/20 can sell to FirstNet-eligible customers for a single fee. The GRIDWIDE FIRE-SPY solution will include FirstNet connectivity.
FirstNet embedded solutions go through extensive review, so first responders and the extended public safety community can be confident that the GRIDWIDE FIRE-SPY sensors meet the highest standards for reliability, security and performance. The GRIDWIDE FIRE-SPY wildfire sensor is FirstNet Ready®, after having gone through a rigorous device certification process to ensure first responders on FirstNet have access to highly secure, high-performance devices.
“GRIDWIDE FIRE-SPY will present a first-ever, always-on outdoor wildfire monitoring solution that leverages existing electric utility infrastructure to simultaneously deliver valuable early detection, automated alerts, prevention and situational awareness capabilities. All of these features are combined into one cost-effective solution,” said Alan Snook, GRID20/20 spokesperson. “By using early detection and field-proven technology as the foundation to our emerging solution, GRIDWIDE FIRE-SPY will help to save lives, reduce and/or even avoid certain wildfire occurrences, while also protecting our local economies and our environment.”
To date, the emerging GRIDWIDE FIRE-SPY sensor solution has been successfully field-tested, involving utility operator personnel and first responders, at various locations within Virginia and Hawaii.
“We’re pleased to welcome GRIDWIDE FIRE-SPY as a member of our FirstNet IoT Embedded Program,” said Scott Agnew, assistant vice president, product marketing, FirstNet Program at AT&T. “This allows us to further our mission to deploy, operate, maintain, and enhance the only nationwide wireless platform dedicated to public safety and the extended community that support public safety response.”
GRIDWIDE FIRE-SPY sensors can typically be deployed onto overhead distribution transformers in under 10 minutes by utility operators. By leveraging the location, height, and density of existing transformers, an outdoor monitoring canopy which overarches our communities is quickly created. The sensors uniquely provide outdoor smoke and gasses detection, ground surface temperature monitoring, and changing atmosphere humidity levels which are individually and collectively indicative of wildfire conditions. Since “time is of the essence” with wildfires and public safety interests, GRIDWIDE FIRE-SPY presents a game-changing solution to help save lives and reduce or avoid a series of costly wildfire impacts.
“Our field tests suggest that GRIDWIDE FIRE-SPY will certainly help to pinpoint unfolding event location accuracy better than just relying on a citizen driving down the road and calling a 911 center,” said Chief Kevin Foster, Company 1, Prince George Volunteer Fire Department, Prince George, VA. “This outdoor, atmospheric monitoring solution will be paramount to improved public safety.”
“We tested GRIDWIDE FIRE-SPY in multiple ways on two separate occasions. I believe there is great value in this outdoor sensor solution. Because fires typically double in size every minute, our receipt of accurate and timely information is key,” said Paul P., Senior Fire Instructor, Major US Investor-Owned Power Utility. “GRIDWIDE FIRE-SPY has the potential to give us a leg up and be a difference-maker when it comes to winning the battle against unfolding wildfires and public safety events.”
To learn more about GRIDWIDE FIRE-SPY, go to gridwidefirespy.com. For more on FirstNet, check out FirstNet.com.
FirstNet and the FirstNet logo are registered trademarks of the First Responder Network Authority. All other marks are the property of their respective owners.
About
GRIDWIDE FIRE-SPY is an evolving subsidiary of GRID20/20, Inc. GRIDWIDE FIRE-SPY is focused on delivering wildfire mitigation and public safety protections. The emerging GRIDWIDE FIRE-SPY™ solution leverages the time-proven and field-proven technology and turnkey software capabilities of GRID20/20, Inc. thereby presenting multiple value propositions for utility operators, local, state and federal authorities, first responders, and communities. The emerging GRIDWIDE FIRE-SPY solution simultaneously addresses critical needs such as wildfire early detection, automated alerts, wildfire prevention, ongoing situational awareness, public safety protection improvements, environmental protections, carbon emissions reduction, local economy protections, reduced wildfire rehabilitation costs, and reduced utility operator liabilities risk.
