Redstone’s Deputy Fire Chief Robert Simmons received the FirstNet Patriot award June 26, for his commitment to making the installation safer.
FirstNet is a broadband network that ensures first responders will have priority and preemption to transmit data over the cellular broadband network. The concept came about in the wake of 9/11 when a limited bandwidth hampered first responders’ communicating because they were on the same network as the public.
Simmons was recognized at the FirstNet 5x5 Public Safety Innovation Summit in Chicago and received the national award for his role in improving communications for Redstone first responders.
The deputy chief said he was surprised and humbled when he was notified of the award.
“The deployment of the First Responder Broadband Network to first responders on Army installations across the U.S. is something I’m very passionate about, and there are many deserving people who have worked with me to make that happen,” Simmons said. “It has been a team effort, and I just hope this award gives me another platform from which we can move public safety communications forward for the Army.”
Simmons was instrumental in Redstone Arsenal becoming the first Army installation to build infrastructure to support FirstNet and 5G. The FirstNet network expansion at Redstone Arsenal began on Dec. 2, 2021. The construction to build towers to house FirstNet and 5G included three towers, 28 small cell antennas and about 41 miles of fiber.
The deputy fire chief is known and recognized as an early adopter of new tools and technology to improve emergency response. Last year he received the Installation Management Command’s coveted Stalwart Award for his work in deploying FirstNet to Army first responders.
Established in 2023, the Patriot Award recognizes individual first responders or public safety agencies that use FirstNet to make their communities safer. Recipients of the award are considered from across public safety disciplines – fire service, law enforcement, EMS, emergency management, and 911/emergency communications.
The First Responder Network Authority, or the FirstNet Authority, is an independent agency within the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration that oversees FirstNet.
Any sworn member or agency of public safety is eligible for this honor.
Garrison Commander Col. Brian Cozine shared his thoughts on Simmons’ award.
“Chief Simmons continues to demonstrate his strategic thinking in enterprise solutions that continues to enhance our life/health/safety systems,” Cozine said. “He’s always putting people first and these systems will ensure that happens for the entire Redstone community and our partners.”
Simmons, Redstone deputy fire chief since October 2017, has been with the fire department a total of 14 years. He was in Korea from 2012-14 and at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, from 2014-15. His 24 years of service include four years as a Soldier from 2000-04, leaving the Army as a specialist. A veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom, he was in Iraq in 2003.
He has a master’s in crisis and trauma counseling from Liberty University, and a bachelor’s in fire service administration from Waldorf University. He is also credentialed as a chief fire officer by the Center for Public Safety Excellence.
He began his career in public safety as a volunteer firefighter in his hometown, Kelso, Tennessee. The New Market resident and his wife of 23 years, Kristi, have two sons: Baylor and Cash.
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