On June 1, 2021, Stafford County Government held a ribbon cutting ceremony celebrating Stafford County’s connection to the National Capital Region Network (NCRnet). NCRnet is a fiber optic network built to establish a strong, safe, and effective way for community leaders and first responders to communicate and share critical information during regular operations and emergencies.

As the region's responders have worked tirelessly to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic, NVERS has taken action to support efforts across disciplines. The infographic above outlines the key NVERS efforts to date. 

The NVERS team is pleased to announce the launch of the NVERS Workspace, a SharePoint platform for regional document sharing. Previously registered users of NVERS.org may have received notification of the site’s April 29, 2020 launch date.

Earlier this year, the Northern Virginia Emergency Response System (NVERS) procured 644 incident command boards for Northern Virginia (NOVA) Fire & Rescue Departments.

This February, NVERS launched a monthly newsletter to highlight new and ongoing projects, share information on committee work, and provide updates on organizational activities. With a readership base of over 500 Northern Virginia first responders, emergency preparedness professionals, and partners, the newsletter will provide a platform for NVERS and stakeholder communication.

On December 11th, 2019, NVERS sponsored a tabletop exercise for first responder agencies and partner organizations to test the recently-developed Northern Virginia Silver Line Incident Coordination Tool. Over the past six months, an interdisciplinary planning team of subject matter experts from Northern Virginia collaborated with WMATA and Tidal Basin Government Consulting to refine the tool and develop a tabletop exercise to evaluate the tool's ability to enhance agency coordination across jurisdictional and discipline boundaries.

(TNS) - The volunteer firefighters in Clendenin, W.Va., weren't around to save their equipment as the Elk River poured over its banks, flooding their fire station and their town. They were busy in neighboring communities where flooding already was worse, rescuing people trapped in their homes. The ruined gear at their station included air packs that cost thousands of dollars and about $6,000 in gear that had just been ordered and was still in boxes at the station. Fire trucks left at the station were moved to high ground before the flooding started, but little else was saved.

(TNS) — On Tuesday morning, Emergency Management Institute superintendent Tony Russell spoke to members of the media about his career with FEMA, his passion for training communities and how he views disaster preparedness in the 21st century.

As an emergency responder tasked with assisting Louisiana during its recovery from hurricanes Katrina, Rita, Gustav and Ike in 2009, Russell said his time spent at ground zero has helped shape his approach to emergency management as a leading official.

(TNS) - The people handling security for the nation’s busiest malls and amusement parks are no longer retired cops. They are a 24-year veteran of the FBI, a former CIA operative and the onetime chief of counterterrorism for Scotland Yard.

The theme-park industry’s annual security bill, already roughly $250 million a year, is expected to grow by more than $100 million over the next few years, according to one consultant. Disneyland, Universal Studios Hollywood and SeaWorld all installed metal detectors outside their gates for the first time in December.

(TNS) — Mountaineering tents are lightweight equipment, meaning they are easy to carry around. The fact that they are more spacious than vehicles makes them quite popular.

At L-Breath, an outdoor equipment chain store in Tokyo, the number of people buying tents for emergency use has increased since the Kumamoto Earthquake. “There’s a lot of interest from middle-aged and elderly customers who have no outdoor recreation experience,” says Hiroaki Oka from the store in Tokyo’s Ochanomizu area.