Center of Excellence

Center of Excellence
for Advanced Technology Aerial Firefighting

At the Center of Excellence we are focused on bringing the technology of the future to the fireground of today.

Register for UAS Certification

At the Center of Excellence we are focused on bringing the technology of the future to the fireground of today.

Contact the CoE

Register for UAS Certification

TAK Report - Video.

About the Center of Excellence

The Center of Excellence for Advanced Technology Aerial Firefighting (CoE) was created in Senate Bill 14-164. During the legislative session, proponents of the CoE explained that there was currently no mechanism for determining the efficacy of aerial firefighting and the need existed for an innovative, science- and data-focused research entity. For this reason, the CoE was held up as an integral part of ensuring the successful implementation of Colorado's own aerial firefighting fleet. In the years since its inception, the CoE has become the go-to research and development team for projects across the public safety service spectrum.

Mission

The Center of Excellence drives technological advancements to improve firefighting practices and influence innovation across the public safety community.

Vision

The Center of Excellence will overcome Colorado’s natural and human caused obstacles to consistently defy expectations and deliver unparalleled services to the public safety community and the people of Colorado.

Happenings at the CoE

Pine Gulch Fire - Synthetic Aperture Fire Investigation.

During the Pine Gulch Synthetic Aperture Radar project, the CoE evaluated the use of an airborne synthetic aperture radar (SAR) to detect post-wildfire changes in vegetation, changes to the surface resulting from erosion and depositional responses of the burned watershed in the Big Salt Wash area. Burn area boundary detection was also evaluated. This effort was undertaken to look at how a SAR might be used in support of wildland fire monitoring and for other applications such as detecting...

FirstNet High Power User Equipment Test Results and Recommendations

Testing AT&T MegaRange High Power User Equipment Executive Summary In 2021 the Center of Excellence (CoE) tested a new cellular capability available to the First Responders on the AT&T FirstNet® Network, namely High Power User Equipment (HPUE). Offered under the “MegaRange™” moniker, this is a high-power cellular modem that can be installed either as a fixed or semi-fixed installation or in a vehicle. The HPUE operates at high power on FirstNet Band 14 in low coverage situations and provides a...

TAK Deployment Reports

2021 Deployment Reports In July 2021 CoE staff supported the U.S. Forest Service Dingell Act Resource Tracking (DART) team with a deployment of the TAK app on the Tamarack Fire in Northern California and Nevada. Read about the deployment and see maps of the tracking data collected by the DART technologies here: https://arcg.is/1fPG8q In September 2021 CoE staff supported the U.S. Forest Service Dingell Act Resource Tracking (DART) team with a deployment of the TAK app on the Caldor Fire in...

Introduction to the Team Awareness Kit

First responders have many options for gaining and maintaining situational awareness at a strategic level when responding to disasters. Computer aided dispatch systems and dashboard-style maps can provide information across a jurisdiction or the entire country on emerging disasters, and are easily accessed when first responders are at their duty station or responding to a disaster in a vehicle. However, when first responders are operationally engaged in disaster response, in other words are...

Quickstart ATAK Training

Full featured ATAK training is available at tak.gov with a login. However many first responders may receive their first ever introduction to ATAK immediately prior to using it in the field. For first responders who do not have time for in-depth training on ATAK, below are three videos to provide a basic understanding of how to operate the app. Video 1: Find me, online and offline maps, coordinate locator, bloodhound tool, and point dropper (4:43) Video 2: Changing callsign, screen orientation,...