New York Safety Officials Collaborate to Secure Large-Scale Events

New York Safety Officials Collaborate to Secure Large-Scale Events

Safety officials from the Oswego area are collaborating to increase security for large-scale events

Public safety officials are collaborating to increase security infrastructure at large public events in Oswego, N.Y.

According to police and fire officials, the Harborfest in July will feature increased security measures for the tens of thousands of attendees.

Oswego Fire Department Chief Randy Griffin and Deputy Chief Justin Norfleet said they’re working to implement strategies learned from an on-site collaboration with Chicago emergency operatives preparing for the city’s annual marathon last October. Emergency officials in Chicago recruited members of the emergency management communities of Oswego and Houston, Texas, to help them with planning and response.

“There are things we can learn from a large-scale event like the Chicago Marathon to things we’re doing here locally,” Norfleet said.

Griffin said the experience with Chicago was “invaluable.”

“I approached [Norfleet] late last summer and said a colleague of mine, who is the deputy director for emergency management for the city of Chicago, offered us an opportunity to come and help with the planning process for the Chicago Marathon,” Griffin said. “I thought it would be a good idea to see how other cities manage incidents and large events.”

Norfleet was able to get an inside look at the security infrastructure protecting the 45,000 participants and 1.7 million spectators at the marathon, including the aid stations and the Emergency Operations Center (EOC). The EOC housed a team of health and safety professionals responding to calls.

According to Norfleet, one crucial point he took away was how Oswego events could benefit from similar operating centers using existing equipment, if the public safety and municipal staff could collaborate.

“Here’s one of the takeaways — it doesn’t have to be fancy. [The EOC] is a tent with table, phones and masking tape,” Norfleet said.

The police and fire departments already share communication, but an EOC would provide a single operating station for their crew members during an event.

“Does an operations center for an event have to be super fancy and high tech? No,” Norfleet said. “There are things you need. You need phones, you need some kind of data connection and a TV.”

Norfleet said public safety officers will set up markers around Oswego, allowing anyone calling emergency responders to identify their exact location using an alphanumeric labeling system.

A police and operations center staffed by fire police and law enforcement would oversee the event using surveillance technology, including camera monitors with GPS tracking abilities.

“It’s people in chairs with laptops communication devices,” Norfleet said. “It’s problem solving with people all in the room.”

According to Griffin, the fire department is working with the Oswego County Department of Planning and Community Development to create a Geospatial Information System (GIS), a digital topographical map allowing the user to interact with their environment in real time.

“The idea would be i can take a map of the city of Oswego...and I would be able to see where all the chemicals are stored in the city. If the wind is blowing in this direction, who would be affected by that? Instead of reading that in a narrative format, I’m actually seeing it geospatially,” Griffin said.

GIS would let public safety officials access public and private surveillance cameras if they use digital technology, Griffin said, though it’s not clear when they would be able to implement this, he added.

Featured

  • Pragmatism, Productivity, and the Push for Accountability in 2025-2026

    Every year, the security industry debates whether artificial intelligence is a disruption, an enabler, or a distraction. By 2025, that conversation matured, where AI became a working dimension in physical identity and access management (PIAM) programs. Observations from 2025 highlight this turning point in AI’s role in access control and define how security leaders are being distinguished based on how they apply it. Read Now

  • Report: Cyber Attackers Continue to Turn to AI-Based Tools to Avoid Detection

    Comcast Business recently released its 2025 Cybersecurity Threat Report, a comprehensive analysis of 34.6 billion cybersecurity events detected between June 1,2024 and May 31, 2025. Now in its third year, the report offers business leaders a unique perspective into the evolving threat landscape and provides actionable insights to help organizations strengthen their defenses and align cybersecurity with business risk. Read Now

  • Axis Communications Creates AI-powered Video Surveillance Orchestra

    What if cameras could not only see the world, but interpret it—and respond like orchestra musicians reading sheet music: instantly, precisely, and in perfect harmony? That’s what global network technology leader Axis Communications set to find out. Read Now

  • Just as Expected

    GSX produced a wonderful tradeshow earlier this week. Monday was surprisingly strong in the morning, and the afternoon wasn’t bad at all. That’s Monday’s results and asking attendees to travel on Sunday. Just a quick hint, no one wants to give up their weekend to travel and set up an exhibit booth. I’m just saying. Read Now

    • Industry Events
    • GSX
  • NOLA: The Crescent City

    Twenty years later we finds ourselves in New Orleans. Twenty years ago the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina forced exhibitors and attendees to look elsewhere for tradeshow floor space. Read Now

    • Industry Events
    • GSX

New Products

  • Unified VMS

    AxxonSoft introduces version 2.0 of the Axxon One VMS. The new release features integrations with various physical security systems, making Axxon One a unified VMS. Other enhancements include new AI video analytics and intelligent search functions, hardened cybersecurity, usability and performance improvements, and expanded cloud capabilities

  • Mobile Safe Shield

    Mobile Safe Shield

    SafeWood Designs, Inc., a manufacturer of patented bullet resistant products, is excited to announce the launch of the Mobile Safe Shield. The Mobile Safe Shield is a moveable bullet resistant shield that provides protection in the event of an assailant and supplies cover in the event of an active shooter. With a heavy-duty steel frame, quality castor wheels, and bullet resistant core, the Mobile Safe Shield is a perfect addition to any guard station, security desks, courthouses, police stations, schools, office spaces and more. The Mobile Safe Shield is incredibly customizable. Bullet resistant materials are available in UL 752 Levels 1 through 8 and include glass, white board, tack board, veneer, and plastic laminate. Flexibility in bullet resistant materials allows for the Mobile Safe Shield to blend more with current interior décor for a seamless design aesthetic. Optional custom paint colors are also available for the steel frame.

  • AC Nio

    AC Nio

    Aiphone, a leading international manufacturer of intercom, access control, and emergency communication products, has introduced the AC Nio, its access control management software, an important addition to its new line of access control solutions.