Blog | CoreFirst in Washington: Trip One

CoreFirst principals Ben Kaiser and Paul Conway recently traveled to Washington D.C., accompanied by lobbyist Lee Weingart of LNE Group (Cleveland, Ohio). The group engaged Members of Congress to provide an introduction to the CoreFirst technology, its application, and benefits to be realized in communities along the Cascadia Subduction Zone.

Kaiser and Conway met with the following offices: Sen. Wyden, Sen. Merkley, Rep. Schrader, Rep. Bonamici and Rep. Blumenauer of Oregon; and Sen. Cantwell and Rep. Smith of Washington. Staff members acknowledged the value CoreFirst could bring to their communities and agreed to help connect the group with federal agencies responsible for implementing natural disaster preparedness, response, and recovery. January has been slated for the next trip to DC to meet with FEMA and Homeland Security to discuss potential opportunities for demonstration projects.

While in the Capital, the group also met with the American Red Cross to discuss how this new technology fits into hazard mitigation plans, in general, and earthquake preparedness, in particular. The Red Cross intends to the review the technology internally in the scientific review committee- where advancements such as that being proposed by CoreFirst can begin to be evaluated and potentially aligned with current safety protocols (drop-cover-hold on) and future protocols.

Going forward, CoreFirst and LNE Group will continue to advocate for implementing the CoreFirst safety protocol: Get up and go to our cartridges or out of the building when an alarm sounds indicating an impending earthquake. CoreFirst’s cartridge safe zones will help mitigate damage to critical buildings in one of the nation’s most at-risk regions.