Public Safety/Emergency Communications

Within emergency management day to day and particularly during times of crisis, emergency communications is paramount. The Wyoming Office of Homeland Security’s Public Safety/Emergency Communication Program is made up of a variety of redundant and interoperable systems serving a broad stakeholder audience. This program is organized to best support the many customers across Wyoming with their emergency communication needs.

WOHS personnel and equipment are deployed to events where communications support is required - wildfires, power outages, etc.

WOHS communications equipment at a wildfire camp.
Helicopter used to reach radio repeater sites.

State level strategic support to partners

Much of the emergency/public safety radio equipment across Wyoming first responder agencies at the local level is supported by WOHS administered grant funding.

Emergency Alerts

All of the 23 counties in Wyoming are IPAWS (Integrated Public Alert and Warning System) compliant. This enables emergency alerts through the IPAWS system to be sent to all individuals in an impacted area. The state IPAWS program is managed by the Wyoming Office of Homeland Security. To learn more about IPAWS click here. Download the state Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS) Plan.

Interoperable Communications and Deployable Resources

Deployable personnel and resources serving communities in crisis:

  • This support can deploy to a variety of all hazard and austere environments to support the communication needs of a local jurisdiction during wildland fires, floods, tornadoes, cyber incidents or any other disaster a community faces.
  • Certified personnel including Communication Unit Leader, Communication Technician, Radio Operator, Amatuer Radio Operators, Public Information Officer and Prevention/Education Team Members.
  • The Wyoming Office of Homeland Security has the following assets available for all-hazard emergency response operations to support local jurisdictions across Wyoming 24/7/365:
    • Two Mobile Support Vehicles (MSVs),
    • A deployable transportable 105 ft tower system with an ACU-100 interoperable radio gateway system for use when communications is required in challenging terrain or when temporary tower replacement is required,
    • One Amateur Radio Emergency Services (ARES)/Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service (RACES) trailers that have the ability to respond to any emergency and augment public safety interoperable communications, and
    • Two Tactical Communications Trailers (TCT),
    • These trailers consist of:
      • An onboard very small aperture terminal (VSAT) satellite system for Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) telecommunications and data networking.
      • Cellular phones for access to commercial carriers.
      • Tactical communications caches that consist of:
        • Six portable Very High Frequency (VHF) repeaters used to augment/expand radio communications during events such as wildland fires,
        • One hundred portable VHF conventional and 70 Wyolink compatible hand–held radios that can be distributed to responders during events,
        • Three transportable VSAT satellite systems for voice and data networks,
        • An ACU-T interoperable radio gateway,
        • Six mobile radio kits, and
        • Two High Frequency (HF) amateur radios for use by ARES/RACES personnel.
      • In Wyoming, a total of nine STR packages were designed and staged with the eight RERTs and at WOHS Headquarters in Cheyenne. Each STR package has the capability to provide interoperable communications using the following systems:
        • HF amateur radio communications,
        • VHF WyoLink compatible hand held radio communications cache,
        • Portable satellite transceiver with VoIP telecommunications,
        • Portable VHF radio repeater system, and
        • ACU-1000 interoperable radio gateway.