In order to track the whereabouts of firefighters and equipment in areas without cellular service, RoGO Communications introduced DropBlock 2.0, a new smartphone software.  

Following the tragic deaths of 19 firefighters in the 2013 Yarnell Hill fire in Arizona, Rod Goossen, the CEO of RoGO Communications, and his brother Derek, who served on teams fighting more than 100 wildfires, founded the company to develop technology that will save the lives of wildland firefighters. The 13th anniversary of the tribute to the deceased firefighters and their families coincides with the release of DropBlock 2.0.

One of the Granite Mountain Hot Shots who sadly perished in the Yarnell Hill wildfire was Andrew Ashcraft. In 2011, the year he joined the crew, he was named "Rookie of the Year." According to his mother, Deborah Pfingston, Andrew loved being a wildland firefighter and was honored to be a member of the crew.

“We have been excited since RoGO Communications began developing this type of technology. We know this kind of tool might have saved the lives of my son and his courageous crew members giving them vital information about the fire,” she said. “We know it can help save lives in the future." 

Wildland firefighters can now carry the satellite-enabled DropBlocks because they are lighter and smaller. When linked with a DropBlock, the new RoGO mobile software allows point-to-point communications and shows fire weather information and the GPS location of firefighting assets on mobile phones in distant, austere, or cellular-denied places.

Six wildland fire handcrews participated in a field test of DropBlocks conducted by the Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management. They suggested the smaller size and added point-to-point data links to convey signals to selected teams.

Tracking the whereabouts of crews, equipment, and resources—such as bulldozers, water tenders, fire engines, high-value structures, medical evacuation rescue sites and temporary water resources—allows for immediate tactical coordination and life-saving situational awareness. Additionally, DropBlocks function as portable weather stations and exchange hyper-local meteorological data, including temperature, humidity, wind direction, speed and other IoT sensor data.

DropBlocks were first designed to save the lives of wildland firefighters by preventing them from becoming trapped by the fire's spread. They also assist first responders in crises involving various types of hazards, such as hurricanes, earthquakes and floods.

“Based on feedback from wildland firefighter field trials, the commercial launch of our new DropBlock and mobile phone app enables immediate deployment for everyone to have a common operational picture of resources and conditions to support the initial attack of a wildfire, the time of most dangerous risk to firefighters,” Goossen said.

A NASA Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant has been given to RoGO Communications to organize aircraft assistance for fighting wildfires. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Phase II contract prolongs cooperation on the development of RoGO's DropBlock 2.0. The Phase II contract facilitates improved communication and data exchange between aerial firefighting forces and ground firefighters.