As Hurricane Gustav approached from the Gulf of Mexico on Labor Day weekend, public safety officials in Jefferson Parish, La. contracted with CommsFirst , a managed services provider of deployable mobile communications experts and equipment in anticipation of losing land-based phone and radio services.
In the immediate aftermath of Gustav’s landfall, CommsFirst systems and teams provided critical telephone connectivity, radio bridging, and data networking for the mayor and city council; fire, police, sheriff, EMT, and parish medical personnel; the U.S. Army National Guard and Army Corps of Engineers; the American Red Cross, Salvation Army, and local businesses.
Four CommsFirst team members arrived within 24 hours—just hours before Gustav came ashore—with two satellite-equipped SUVs (OP-Vs), a backpack loaded with portable communications gear (CommsPack), and other critical communications resources for the rapid establishment of multiple networks that operated independently of local infrastructure.
“The Jefferson Parish 9-1-1 center dispatched us to the island of Grand Isle early Tuesday morning on a Parish helicopter. While homes were largely intact, the devastation to the local infrastructure was quite unexpected -- no power, no phones, no radio, and no water,” said Michael Helfrich, deployment team leader for CommsFirst, Inc.
“Because the roads were impassable and the island was completely cut off from any kind for communication, one of our team, with a CommsPack, deployed with emergency management and homeland security officials to help coordinate the disaster recovery efforts,” said Helfrich. ”Within 15 minutes of touching down, local officials were reconnected with the outside world, using the CommsPack’s satellite-based, solar-powered network for phone and email access.”
About CommsFirst
Founded in 2006, CommsFirst provides managed services for high-impact operational disruptions. Regardless of the state of local infrastructure, the company delivers communications, power, and applications to help organizations recover quickly.
Contacts:
Jeffrey Jacobson, 240-481-3175
jeff.jacobson@commsfirst.com
