Tech Med
New Smart Card System to Coordinate First Responders in National Capital Region
By
Aug 30, 2005, 17:29

Courtesy the EMS House of DeFrance http://www.defrance.org

The National Capital Region (NCR) is leading the nation in identifying first responders with a new smart-card credentialing effort. The First Responder Partnership Initiative (FRPI) is designed as a model for other regions to enhance cooperation and efficiency between state and local first responders and their federal counterparts.

"We are excited to launch an effort that will help the country better coordinate its most valuable resources -- its people -- during an incident," said Tom Lockwood, Director of the Department of Homeland Security's Office of National Capital Region Coordination. "I encourage state and local governments to adopt the interoperable technology to support mutual aide across jurisdictional lines."

The architecture of the card, which uses the FIPS 201 and 14443 contactless standards, will identify first responders and their qualification(s) at the site of an incident, so they may move rapidly into, out of, and within an area in a trusted and secure manner. The card will be recognized across all NCR federal, state, and local multi-jurisdictions.

The smart card technology is standards-based and can serve as a platform for:

• physical access into buildings
• logical access to networks
• human resource asset accountability
• incident command and control
• property/firearms accountability
• National Incident Management System (NIMS) integration

The Partnership, said a DHS release, has strong endorsement from state and local leadership within the National Capital Region.

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