FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

FireCast Submits Innovative Wildfire First Responder Tracking Solution to FireWERX Dismounted Resource Tracking Challenge

Integrated tracking, resilient communications, and real-time situational awareness architecture aims to improve firefighter safety and interagency coordination in communications-degraded environments.

CAMARILLO, Calif. — October 18, 2026 — FireCast LLC has submitted its proposed FireCast Dismounted Resource Tracking Solution to the 2026 FireWERX Dismounted Resource Tracking Challenge, an innovation initiative conducted in collaboration with the Orange County Fire Authority (OCFA) to identify and advance technologies that improve the safety and operational effectiveness of wildland firefighters.

The challenge seeks innovative solutions capable of providing near-continuous location tracking for firefighters operating on foot in remote, rugged, and communications-degraded environments, where conventional cellular networks and other communications infrastructure may be unavailable or unreliable.

FireCast's proposed solution addresses this challenge through an integrated architecture combining Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) tracking, LoRa-based wireless communications, Iridium satellite messaging, and interoperable geospatial information services to improve visibility of personnel, equipment, and operational resources during emergency response operations.

Addressing a Critical First Responder Safety Gap

During wildfires and other large-scale emergencies, incident commanders must coordinate personnel and resources across multiple agencies, jurisdictions, and geographic areas. Maintaining awareness of individual firefighters becomes particularly difficult when personnel move beyond established communications networks or operate in terrain that obstructs conventional radio and cellular coverage.

FireCast is being developed to address this operational gap by enabling distributed teams to securely access, exchange, and interact with mission-critical information as a coordinated “Team of Teams.”

"Knowing where firefighters are operating, especially when communications infrastructure is unavailable, is fundamental to protecting personnel and coordinating an effective emergency response," said a FireCast spokesperson. "Our objective is to connect dismounted responders, their team leaders, and incident command through a resilient, interoperable architecture that strengthens situational awareness without imposing unnecessary operational burdens."

A Four-Tier Architecture Designed for Resilient Operations

The proposed FireCast solution integrates four complementary architectural tiers:

  1. FireCast Tracker: A compact, battery-powered personnel tracking device designed to provide automatic GNSS position reporting, resource identification, operational status, and emergency alert capabilities.

  2. FireCast Team Gateway: A distributed communications gateway that aggregates tracking information from nearby personnel over LoRa wireless links and forwards operational data through Iridium Messaging Transport (IMT), with optional terrestrial communications pathways.

  3. FireCast Incident Command Gateway: An incident-level integration service designed to consolidate tracking information, manage communications, and distribute authorized operational data to command personnel and compatible external systems.

  4. FireCast Cloud and Mobile: Situational-awareness services supporting geographic visualization, incident coordination, and interoperability with compatible Common Operating Picture (COP) applications.

The architecture is intended to support operations in which terrestrial connectivity is limited, intermittent, or unavailable, while providing a pathway for integrating collected information into existing agency workflows.

Interoperability Across Agencies and Jurisdictions

A distinguishing objective of FireCast is its emphasis on open interfaces and cross-jurisdictional information sharing.

The proposed architecture incorporates geospatial interoperability capabilities involving GeoJSON, KML, PMTiles, what3words (W3W), and Cursor-on-Target (CoT), supporting the exchange, visualization, and interpretation of operational information across compatible applications.

Rather than requiring participating agencies to adopt an entirely new command-and-control environment, FireCast seeks to complement existing systems through adaptable data interfaces and a common operational information framework.

This approach is intended to support collaboration among local, regional, tribal, state, federal, and authorized nongovernmental emergency response organizations.

Building Upon Demonstrated Capabilities

FireCast's submission builds upon existing FireCast Mobile capabilities involving personnel tracking visualization, wildfire perimeter overlays, and aircraft position displays.

The proposed tracking devices, satellite-enabled gateways, integrated communications pathways, and associated performance characteristics represent additional development and validation activities.

If selected to advance in the FireWERX program, FireCast intends to refine and evaluate these capabilities through hardware integration, communications testing, interoperability demonstrations, and operationally relevant assessments with participating fire agencies.

The development effort will emphasize location-reporting reliability, communications resilience, personnel safety, usability, power endurance, cybersecurity, and deployment scalability.

Supporting the FireWERX Pilot-to-Scale Mission

The FireWERX Dismounted Resource Tracking Challenge is part of a broader Pilot-to-Scale Pathway intended to connect promising wildfire response technologies with operational end users.

The initiative offers up to $300,000 in total potential sub-grant funding for selected solutions, supporting technical refinement, controlled testing, and subsequent evaluation in operationally relevant environments.

The program's challenge evaluation is currently scheduled for December 14, 2026, with finalist notifications expected in late October.

FireCast's submission reflects its commitment to advancing technologies that help first responders operate more safely and effectively in challenging environments, while enabling coordinated emergency response across organizational and jurisdictional boundaries.

The FireCast submission is an application for evaluation and does not constitute selection, an award, or an endorsement by FireWERX or the Orange County Fire Authority.

About FireCast

FireCast is an emerging emergency response technology platform focused on improving first responder safety, resilient communications, geographic situational awareness, and interagency coordination.

The FireCast product family is being developed to enable emergency responders and incident commanders to securely access and exchange mission-critical information across distributed operational environments, including areas with limited or disrupted communications infrastructure.

Through integrated tracking devices, edge communications gateways, mobile applications, and interoperable information services, FireCast seeks to connect responders and decision-makers into a coordinated Team of Teams.

About FireWERX

FireWERX is a nonprofit innovation organization dedicated to accelerating the development, evaluation, and adoption of technologies addressing wildfire response challenges. Through its Fire Innovation Units and Pilot-to-Scale Pathways, FireWERX connects innovators with fire agencies to evaluate operationally relevant solutions and support broader adoption.

For additional information about the Dismounted Resource Tracking Challenge, visit https://www.firewerx.org/challenge.

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