Eglin Air Force Base First Responders dealing with two military aircraft crashes within the span of five days. The crashes involved the elite F-22 Raptor and the joint strike fighter F-35A Lightning II. Both pilots ejected successfully and were transported to the base medical center and released.
The Eglin Air Force Base Fire Department deployed a state-of-the-art crash phone system four years ago to improve response times of emergency crews and streamline information of the incident details in real time throughout the base. When the Air Traffic Control Tower receives an incoming aircraft alert, the Air Traffic Controller uses a technologically advanced system that can alert fire stations, the dispatch center, base operations, and the hospital all within ½ second. The massive time savings provided by the Westnet Aircraft Emergency System, (AES), allows personnel to stage and respond quicker than ever before. Traditional and sometimes obsolete crash phone systems can take anywhere from 3-5 minutes to get responders out of the station and en route to the crash site. Current FAA Circular part 139 summarizes that the first responders have 1 minute to respond for announced emergencies and 3 minutes for unannounced emergencies. The Eglin Air Force Base Fire Department responded within 2 minutes for the most recent crash.
The implementation of the Westnet Aircraft Emergency System and the heroic actions of the First Responders at Eglin AFB FD combined to save the lives of pilots and improved the incident responses to both recent crashes. Thank you, Eglin Air Force Base Fire Department.
As we move into the Memorial Day Weekend, we will forever be grateful for your service.
Westnet, Inc. was founded over 46 years ago in Orange County, California. Headquartered in Huntington Beach, Westnet, Inc. is currently the world’s foremost creators of emergency alerting and dispatch products used in civilian/ military fire stations and police departments throughout the country. Unique products such as the First-In Dorm Remote, First-In Video Messenger and the First-In Satellight Controller have broken new ground in public safety notification products. Today, Westnet products are engineered, designed, and manufactured in-house (USA) and continue to push the envelope of the First Responder industry. Westnet also has offices located in Miami Dade County, Florida and Prince William County, Virginia. Learn more about Westnet’s entire range of cutting-edge alerting products at www.FirstInAlerting.com.
