What would it be like to witness a flooded neighborhood, a collapsed building, a chemical contamination, a subway terror attack, and a hostage situation all in one day? Thankfully, most of us will never have to answer that question. For nearly 200 first responders, public safety officers, and state and local officials who attended Operation Convergent Response June 7-8 at The Guardian Centers in Perry, GA, it was an opportunity to see firsthand how advanced technologies can support them in a crisis situation.

The exercise, one of the largest of its kind, brought together first responders and government officials from across the country, as well as several other countries, to see technology in action and to learn how Verizon and 40-plus technology companies join forces to support first responders and our communities in an emergency. Technology demonstrations played out over several live-action scenarios reenacted by teams of actual first responders.

“Collaboration is key,” said Mike Maiorana, senior vice president of sales for the public sector at Verizon. “Getting federal, state and local first responders together, allowing them to understand what we can do before the real problems start is critical.”