Mobile Telecom Units Gaining Popularity During Wildfires

Rescue42, a small firm in Chico, Calif., has been supplying firefighters with “42s,” vehicle support struts that the company developed years ago. But it is the newer Compact Rapid Deployable units (CRDs) that are saving lives in fire-plagued California.

The portable telecom units, the equivalent of a mobile cell tower, are being used during wildfires when the you-know-what hits the fan — which it inevitably does — and communication is lost. Once powered up, these mini cell towers can sustain communication for up to 10 days.

The units were new when Butte County deployed them during the 2018 Camp Fire, and the latest models have been shipped to wildfires elsewhere. They can be deployed from the back of a pickup truck — that’s the full-sized version — or a suitcase, which can house the miniCRD.

The portables were developed by Tim O’Connell, the founder, CEO and chief technology officer of Rescue42 who gained an understanding of disaster response while in the Navy.

“My experiences in the Navy instilled a demand for good planning, absolute attention to details and over-engineered products that do many things instead of just one,” O’Connell said in an email to the Chico Enterprise-Record. “I’ve surfaced through the ice and walked on the North Pole. You better have planned well and taken care of your gear. It’s a long way to the hardware store from there.”

Rescue42 contracts with AT&T to supply the portable devices to be compatible with FirstNet cellular and is working on developing units for other carriers.