Why 9/11 changed how first responders communicate

Twenty-five years ago, our nation experienced the deadliest terrorist attack in our history. Nearly 3,000 lives were lost on Sept. 11, 2001. Like all Americans, I will never forget where I was and what I was doing that day. I started that Tuesday morning in Tallahassee, putting on my police uniform, when I learned what was unfolding in New York City, Pennsylvania, and around our nation's capital. At the police station that day, my fellow officers and I watched as firefighters, police officers, EMTs, and other first responders rushed toward danger to help others escape it.  Many were still inside the World Trade Center when the towers fell. Others ran into the rubble, searching for survivors and caring for the injured. In the hours and days that followed, thousands of first responders answered the call at Ground Zero in New York, the Pentagon, and the fields of Shanksville. In the aftermath of September 11th, our nation examined what happened and what needed to change. Congress established the 9/11 Commission to study the attacks and recommend steps to make the country safer. A key finding that emerged was the need to improve our nation’s emergency communications. The response to 9/11 showed that our existing telecommunications infrastructure was not enough to support first responders during a crisis of this magnitude. First responders from different agencies and jurisdictions needed a better way to talk to each other during major emergencies.  

[Sheriff Michael A. Adkinson Jr., Walton County Sheriff's Office, Florida, First Responder Network Authority Board Chairman]