Columbia Weather Systems

T his National First Responder's Day, we recognize the men and women who serve our communities and help make them a safer place to live. Thank you! CWS is proud to equip first responders with professional weather monitoring equipment across the United States and beyond. Built by LDV, this Incident Command Center for Avondale AZ Police Department Police/Fire & Medical is outfitted with a Magellan MX500™ Weather Station with Weather Display console from CWS for monitoring on-site met data. Environmental awareness is critical to the safety of public and crew. Click here for a virtual tour  of the Avondale Police/Fire & Medical Incident Command Center Weather Display  installed on the vehicle interior shows weather data from the Magellan MX500 Weather Station.

Each weather station purchased from Columbia Weather is custom-built to order. This Magellan MX500™ Portable Weather Station is headed for the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre in Belize. The organization provides “forecasts and analyses of potentially hazardous impacts of both natural and man-induced climatic changes on the environment” to promote sustainable development. Popular with environmental research applications, as well as HazMat teams, CWS portable weather stations provide sensor and electronic components housed in a rugged polyethylene carrying case with foam padding and roller wheels, allowing for safe and rapid deployment. The tripod mast comes in an easy-to-carry bag. For more information on our portable weather stations: https://columbiaweather.com/prod…/weather-stations/portable/ (If video is not shown, click here .)

After Hurricane Irma, the Boca Raton Fire Department turned to CWS for accurate weather data in preparation for future storms. With a network of Orion™ Weather Stations utilizing the CWS Cloud Weather Server, the Boca Emergency Operations Center is now able to determine whether it is safe to send out First Responders in risky weather conditions. Thanks WPTV for the highlight!

If you’re thinking about a new Fire Station, early-bird registration ends tomorrow, August 31 for the FIERO Fire Station Design Symposium coming up in Raleigh, NC, September 24-26 . This article by Alan Petrillo caught our eye several times recently —  “Architect Advice for Fire Departments Designing New Stations.”  Here are the recommendations from experts in the field: Create an outline of rooms with list/description of equipment in each room Consider polished concrete floors Get input up and down chain of command, including different age groups “You want to get the input of the boots on the ground who will be using the station to be designed,” says James Zwerg, architect and facilities manager for the Phoenix (AZ) Fire Department Protection from contaminants might include a decon zone as well as transition area to limit carcinogen transfer. Isolate hot zones from living areas. Additional considerations include gender issues, Americans with Disabili...

In HazMat or CBRN incidents, toxic cloud movement can be affected by wind, solar heating and cooling, humidity and precipitation as well as topographical features. Depending on meteorology, the toxic cloud could be several miles long, but only a few blocks wide. Changing wind patterns could cause the plume to shift, or meander in another direction. PEAC® Software from Aristatek provides responders with vital information to make informed decisions such as evacuation at an incident scene. Its features include integrated mapping, an easy-to-use toxic or flammable vapor cloud dispersion model, and a comprehensive database of toxic industrial chemicals, biological agents, explosives, and radioactive isotopes. Utilizing a variety of modeling tools, the PEAC System quickly calculates standoff distances and exclusion zones based on actual met data and conditions. Based on the request of several of our customers, data from CWS weather stations can be integrated automatically to provide on-s...

“Being aware of the weather conditions before, during, and after an incident is imperative,” quotes columnist Chuck Sallade in Firefighter Nation. Weather information is critical for: 1. Risk Management – Identify and assess hazardous weather conditions for PPE and resource management from safe approach through potential evacuation 2. Helping predict fire behavior 3. Safe operation of equipment – firefighting and rescue 4. Incident reporting and recording the weather for Fire Cause Determination 5. Plume modeling for smoke and HazMat Vehicle-mounted weather stations are quick to set up and within minutes can be automatically recording data for incident decision-making and reporting, as well as, transmitting data to programs such as CAMEO/ALOHA for plume modeling. “We are now able to receive ‘Live’ accurate weather data to use with the ALOHA Air Plume modeling program,” says Lieutenant Pearson of Tualatin Valley Fire and Rescue. “Having ‘Live’ weather data is vital to our oper...

The Magellan MX™ is a new weather station line from Columbia Weather Systems offering GPS and compass readings, particularly useful for vehicle and mobile applications requiring real-time met data on the go, such as incident command centers and hazmat vehicles. Read more ...

This recent article from Fire Apparatus magazine describes one of our key public safety markets: "Special Operations Command (SOC) vehicles have become nerve centers at complex fire scenes and natural disaster calls, serving to link all related communications, direct operations, function as rehab centers, and even issue weather reports." Click here to read the rest of the article. Click here for information on Mobile Weather Stations.

Columbia Weather Systems is shipping eight Magellan portable weather stations™ to the Des Moines Fire Department. According to Captain Robert Cox, the state of Iowa has set up seven WMD Hazmat teams to respond to WMD events anywhere in the state. Apparatus for each team will be outfitted with a portable weather station and WeatherMaster Software™ for use on all hazmat runs to support decisions such as evacuation of downwind areas. Magellan weather stations offer sonic wind speed and direction, temperature, pressure and humidity measurements with an internal compass for automatic alignment of wind direction. Rugged metal construction makes them ideal for installation or deployment in hazardous conditions. WeatherMaster Software provides computer weather monitoring with automatic interface to CAMEO/ALOHA and hazmat plume dispersion software.