From a thumbtack to a life-saving service, the COTAK solution

This past month, the Center of Excellence for Advanced Technology Aerial Firefighting (CoE) achieved a significant milestone by launching the Colorado Team Awareness Kit (COTAK™) service. 

Developed for emergency responders, COTAK™ offers Colorado public safety agencies a free of charge solution providing up-to-the-second location information of emergency responders, resources and critical information

The driving force behind COTAK was a problem that hit close to home. As a former wildland firefighter, I experienced firsthand the challenge of locating team members in emergencies. Command staff used to rely on archaic methods like paper maps, Sharpie markers, thumbtacks, and sticky notes to keep tabs on the location of firefighting assets. In fact, I still remember the day I found a handwritten sticky note under a rock with the message "go this way" on the trail from a fellow firefighter. It was a stark realization of the need for a better solution.

After this experience, our team was driven by the belief that we could do better for not only wildland firefighters but for all emergency responders. The potential impact of COTAK was evident: it could revolutionize how we coordinate and collaborate in emergencies, offering a brighter and safer future for all responders.

Early Efforts

In 2015, our research began to find a solution. It was then that we discovered "TAK." The U.S. Department of Defense originally created the Team Awareness Kit (TAK) software to assist military forces with awareness on the battlefield. Our team identified an opportunity to adapt the TAK software for its use in public safety, and COTAK was born. Since then, we have been developing the software as an innovative way to improve emergency responder collaboration.

Testing, Testing, Testing

Once we laid the groundwork for the COTAK service, we began developing and testing it. We first deployed COTAK at the 2018 Country Jam, one of the largest music festivals and public safety operations on Colorado's Western Slope. With over 100,000 attendees and 240 acres of festival grounds to cover, we saw this as the ideal opportunity to test COTAK.

During the four-day music festival, thousands of recreational vehicles park and camp on festival grounds, and it's not uncommon for an attendee to need responder assistance in the sea of RVs. This is when COTAK shined. Displaying as a dot on a map, emergency responders could quickly identify their location and that of their team members to respond to the incident.

The Clear Need for COTAK

A few years had passed, and COTAK was gaining momentum when a tragic incident occurred: the Marshall Fire. It started on December 30, 2021, and within hours became the most destructive wildfire in Colorado state history, resulting in the loss of two lives and over 1,000 structures. It became increasingly apparent that emergency responders needed a solution to enhance their team coordination, situational awareness, and overall safety.

Turning on COTAK

Following the Marshall Fire, the CoE received a one-time legislative appropriation and a statutory mandate to develop and implement the Colorado Team Awareness Kit for interested public safety agencies in the state. The COTAK system first came online in October 2022, with Mesa County Search and Rescue being the first agency to receive access to COTAK.

Reflecting on my time as a wildland firefighter, I can vividly remember numerous instances where this technology could have assisted my crew and potentially saved a life. With over 2,300 users currently utilizing COTAK, it is now being provided to all Colorado public safety agencies free of charge. What started as a thumbtack on a paper map has quickly evolved into a life-saving service. We take pride in offering this solution and encourage agencies to join us in deploying the future of public safety.