The Great American Eclipse 2024

In April 2024, millions traveled to experience the four minutes of darkness within the path of totality. Emergency crews from all over were brought in to make sure everyone stayed safe. Salamander was used throughout the US to account for responders during the eclipse, with Mutual Aid Box Alarm System (MABAS) taking the lead in Illinois.

Salamander Solutions Used

• SalamanderLive™
• RAPID TAG
• COMMAND

Outcome

MABAS IL utilized Salamander to credential and account for personnel from their organization, local and state police departments, Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA), Red Cross, Salvation Army, and emergency management agencies during the solar eclipse.

MABAS set up one of their Mission Support Units (MSU) at one of the State Unified Area Command (SUAC) where they provided wristbands. Chip Wilmont, MABAS Operations Branch Chief, noted that using wristbands from RAPID TAG “worked perfectly for this application.”

Two RAPID TAG solutions were running at the SUAC, where they would scan driver’s licenses to quickly capture registrants’ information, manually add their phone number to the profile, and print a wristband. Chip described RAPID TAG as easy to use and could easily be trained. “It is not too hard to show somebody, whether it is a manual entry or scanning cards or license. It is not that complex.”

Each day a wristband was provided in a new color at the SUAC for security purposes. For example, “Red is the color for today. You could see that they had a wristband and know that they were supposed to be there without having to ask,” explained Chip. If individuals worked more than one day, Chip noted that “It was nice to not have to go through the registration process again,” as they could easily be found in the system and have the new color wristband printed in seconds.

As the event was in progress, COMMAND was used to easily identify all the resources that were brought in. Overall, the event was a success, and everyone went home safely. And as a bonus, they were able to see a spectacular view of the eclipse!