Planning any outdoor event requires great teamwork.  Someone needs to make sure the petit fours are delivered on time, but most importantly, someone has to know what Mother Nature might bring and how often will she change her mind.  Making a "weather team" part of the planning crew will make your event much safer and more successful for all involved.

We thought we’d round up some of the top highlights this week in the Communication world and give them to you in one place. Check out some buzz worthy stories happening in the wireless communication, hospitality, and public safety world!

1) Public Safety Grants: The Assistance to Firefighters Grant deadline is TODAY! Be sure to check out the FEMA website if you haven’t already. If you’ve ran out of time for this grant, don’t worry. There’s a few more with deadlines that are soon approaching. Be sure to check out these Federal Grant Opportunities to see if you qualify!

We thought we’d round up some of the top highlights this week in the Communication world and give them to you in one place. Check out some buzz worthy stories happening in the wireless communication and public safety world!

1)  Drones- Although the majority of the public fears the use of drones and their own privacy, firefighters are actually encouraging the use of these robots. They say the drones can help spot and view fires before the firefighters even get to the blaze, allowing for more adequate relief. Right now, officers can only see the fire when it’s right in front of them. These drones would consist of a camera strapped to an aviation unit, to help firefighters identify the blaze. Fireflight owner, Jerry Stuckey said, "The way I see it, it's technology, and technology that can save lives and property." Read more on the implementation of drones to help firefighters here.

The advancement of technology comes with major overhauls in terms of how we communicate and learn, what keeps us safe, and how things are made. One of the biggest technological advances within the past decade is something we all probably see on a daily basis on our commute: Public Safety vehicles.

We’ve transitioned from a single light on the hood of the car, to the multiple individual lights, to a light bar, and now LED lighting. Some of these advances you might not have ever encountered, such as communication equipment and computer technology equipped within the vehicle.

These technology changes not only required police officers to learn to operate new equipment, but have also posed a challenge for the installers of said equipment.

Mike Falls, installation coordinator here at Chicago Communications, has noted the difference in how equipment has to be installed in today’s public safety vehicles, as opposed to those from nearly a decade ago. What’s the biggest change? How the vehicle is put together, thus is changing how installers have to take it apart to install radio equipment, computer systems, and light fixtures in the car.

We thought we’d round up some of the top highlights this week in the Communication world and give them to you in one place. Check out some buzz worthy stories happening in the wireless communication and public safety world!

1) Google Glass & Public Safety- Google Glass is a wearable technology (like a pair of glasses) with a head mounted display that would relay information to the officer’s line of sight, replicating a computer monitor. This would reduce the time an officer spends on having to radio in information, while waiting to obtain an answer. NYPD seems to be the first one to test this new technology, and you can read about it on PublicCEO.

Not sure if you want to put down the thousands of dollars for a nosebleed ticket or bear the unseasonably cold weather this Sunday? For most of us, we’ll spend our Super Bowl in front of the television with plenty of food, drinks, and friends to forget the nostalgia of being on the East Coast in person. Don’t forget the copious amounts of awesome commercials.

But for those braving the cold or taking out a second mortgage to finance such a ticket, there are some new and some traditional safety measures this year to keep you safe. All the way from pregame to leaving the stadium, public safety officers are in line to make sure everything runs as smooth as possible. Check out these wireless safety measures that will pop up at the 2014 Super Bowl.

Well 2013 is finally over. For some of you it was a good year, for the radio business it was a slow year. Coming off of the FCC’s Narrowbanding Mandate and all the radios sold in 2012 made us really look at our business and determine to focus on Service! Many of the police and fire departments are in limbo this year as Grants and Funding have not been as plentiful in the past years. In addition, with the FCC putting a freeze on the 470Mhz band, many police departments are sitting on their hands waiting for a direction from the FCC; that means slow radio sales.

The good news for some of you is that you are keeping your radios an extra year or two (maybe three). Your budgets are being spent on maintaining your existing equipment, whether a service contract for a 24 hour response or just routine maintenance. It is prolonging the inevitable. Technology is changing, but service teams, like Chicago Communications, are equipped with the latest in technology to meet whatever challenge is thrown towards us. From basic analog radio systems to the most advanced P25 Public Safety systems we can monitor and respond to service outages in any required timeframe you need. We can consult on your equipment with our contracts department to see whether it makes sense to put your equipment on a contract or actively seek replacement because of age or parts issues.

What are the first things you think of when given the slogan ‘Are you ready for some football?!” Many ideas such as food, tailgating, friends and team rivalries are the first to pop into our minds. But what if we didn’t have our Sunday afternoon/nights of football, or what would we have to look forward to on Monday nights after a day at work if the NFL ceased to exist? Fault proof communication is one of the silent, yet very important aspects of running not only a successful game, but a stellar season.

We’ve been taught ever since childhood to dial 911 when we encounter a problem concerning the law, health, or safety. As natural as this may feel to us in a time of need, there is actually protocol into whether or not to call 911 vs. the general police/safety numbers.

Now of course, incidents that put someone’s life, safety, health, or property in immediate danger without hesitation require a 911 call.

I’m speaking of those occurrences that may not be time sensitive, or requiring emergency services. Events that happened longer than 15 minutes prior, (that do not involve an injury and suspects are not present at the scene) do not require an immediate 911 dial. Instead, contact the local authorities via their general phone number. If you don’t know your local non-emergency line, dial 411 to be connected or click on the link below. If you live in Chicago, dial 311 for non-emergency events.

Halloween is right around the corner – costumes are being finalized, trick or treat routes are being mapped, and candy is overflowing. Sometimes with the excitement of such a fun holiday, we forget to remember the basics in terms of safety.  If we let the safety of these little vampires, ghosts, and ballerinas slip to the background of all the enthusiasm, things can go from fun and games to spooky in a matter of minutes.

The Biggest Safety precaution:  SEAMLESS COMMUNICATION

For Trick or Treaters & Parents:

Cell phones are a great way to keep in touch with the older Halloween goers, or if it’s a relatively small group. But how do you communicate with groups of children who may be old enough to walk down the block, but not own a cell phone!? The same way Police and Fire crews communicate with each other- two way radios. Obviously purchasing high tiered radios aren’t the option we are suggesting, but there are two way radios designed for these types of instances- for relatively cheap in many stores. By sending your ghouls and goblins off in the neighborhood equipped with a  two way radio (or commonly referred to as a walkie talkie) you are able to constantly connect with them at the push of a button.