IRVINE, CA – As wildfires spread across the West Coast, Verizon remains committed to maintaining the safety and connectivity of communities, businesses, and first responders nationwide. With wildfires increasing in both number and severity – like in Maui last year and more recently in West Texas – the need for year-long, round-the-clock preparedness has never been more critical. Verizon’s teams are leading the charge, employing advanced technology and thorough preparedness strategies to ensure we are ready to face any challenge.
“Our priority at Verizon is clear: keeping our communities safe and connected. We’re part of the fabric of the communities in which we live and work,” said Steven Keller, Pacific Market President for Verizon. “Our focus is on ensuring that when challenges arise, our network stands strong to support first responders and keep people connected with their loved ones and the essential information they need to stay safe.”
Proactive network resilience and rapid response
Verizon’s network is engineered for resilience, with extensive redundancy measures and backup power solutions across critical sites to ensure seamless service. Our fleet of over 550 mobile assets, including drone and aerial technologies, stands at the ready to rapidly deploy and deliver essential services from the skies. This capability is complemented by our pioneering use of 200 satellite-based assets, ensuring reliable communication even when traditional infrastructures are compromised.
“At Verizon, our commitment to disaster readiness is unwavering, not just during wildfire season, but year round,” said Mark Paff, Senior Director of Network Operations at Verizon. “Our Verizon Response Team takes part in various emergency drill exercises throughout the year so we are ready at a moment’s notice to run to a crisis to restore critical connectivity impacted by extreme weather events.”
Empowering first responders with Verizon Frontline
The Verizon Frontline Crisis Response Team is poised to provide mission-critical communications support to public safety agencies nationwide. Composed primarily of former first responders and military personnel, this team offers immediate, emergency assistance to public safety agencies during crises, delivering Verizon Frontline solutions that help enhance communications capabilities during emergency response operations.
To help enable mission-critical voice and data service during fire mitigation efforts in locations across the country, the Verizon Frontline Crisis Response Team delivered close to 2,400 Verizon Frontline solutions to public safety agencies in 2023.
Last year alone, the Verizon Frontline Crisis Response Team responded to more than 200 requests for support from wildland firefighters battling blazes everywhere from Hawaii to Virginia.
Encouraging community preparedness
Verizon offers preparedness tips for consumers, from protecting personal devices to downloading essential safety apps. We also highlight the importance of business continuity planning, ensuring that organizations can maintain operations during wildfires. From SD-WAN to advanced security tools, Verizon Business equips businesses with the tools needed to maintain productivity amid disruptions.
Suggested steps for businesses and government organizations include:
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Mitigate customer disruption: Think about what you need to ensure continuous service to your customers, and what software and equipment your business needs to continue operations. Make a detailed list, including service contracts and warranty information and all pertinent phone numbers for local authorities, utility companies, suppliers, and vendors. Speak with your insurance agent and suppliers, and ensure you are protected with the right business insurance policies.
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The right tech makes an impact: Ensure you have the right technology to support your business connectivity needs assuming you might need to move away from your primary location.
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Contacts and documents are key: Make sure you have contact information updated and readily available for all employees, including at-home information for remote workers and branch information for satellite offices. Make copies of insurance documents, review insurance coverages, and update as appropriate.
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Test, test, and test again: Stress-test primary and backup networks and shore up any weak areas
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Keep track of equipment: Ensure employees working from home have documented all corporate equipment being used to work from home in case of damage or loss.
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Have a backup plan: Ensure backup plans are in place to shift work in case work-from-home employees in a wildfire-impacted area have to evacuate their homes or their home loses commercial power.
Commitment to our Verizon family
Through the V toV Employee Relief Fund, we provide support to Verizon employees impacted by natural disasters, reinforcing our pledge to stand together in times of need.
More information
Visit our Emergency Resource Center at https://www.verizon.com/about/news/emergency-resource-center for further details on Verizon’s emergency response capabilities.
For media: We have b-roll and pictures available in the Media Resources Center at https://www.verizon.com/about/news/media-resources.
Based in New York, Stephen Freeman is a Senior Editor at Trending Insurance News. Previously he has worked for Forbes and The Huffington Post. Steven is a graduate of Risk Management at the University of New York.