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New initiative to improve road safety and bring first responder training closer to home in the Permian Basin. The Permian Strategic Partnership's $1.5 million investment will expand access to certification academies, advanced training, and specialized courses for first responders across the region MIDLAND, Texas (September 22, 2026) - As the Permian Basin continues to face a shortage of certified firefighters and first responders, the Permian Strategic Partnership (PSP) is partnering with the Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service (TEEX) on a $1.5 million initiative to expand firefighter and first responder training across the Texas Permian Basin. The PSP investment over four years will help to accelerate training, increase the number of certified firefighters, expand access to advanced and specialized training - including training for vehicle crash responses- and strengthen the region's first responder workforce. "First responders are essential to the safety and health of our community," said Tracee Bentley, President and CEO of the PSP. "We are honored to invest in the dedicated first responders who serve our communities. The TEEX training program will help remove barriers for firefighters and first responders to earn their certifications, give certified firefighters access to specialty and advanced training, and continue to increase safety in the Permian Basin." Through the partnership, TEEX will expand its existing regional training program, bringing firefighter certification academies, advanced and specialized training classes, and conferences to the Permian Basin. The PSP's investment will help hire a local adjunct instructor to coordinate training, fund fire academies and other training classes, and expand access to training facilities. The program will be available to students across 19 Texas counties, helping local departments build a larger pool of certified firefighters and giving current first responders greater access to training close to home. "Providing firefighters with adequate training and facilities is critical to delivering a higher level of fire safety throughout the region" said Chris Angerer, Division Director of the Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service. "TEEX is proud to partner with the PSP to invest in first responders in the Permian Basin and ensure they have access to the training and resources they need to continue to keep our communities safe." The expanded program is expected to train approximately 200 participants annually, with a focus on fire academies and first-on-scene skills needed during vehicle crashes. Certification-level training will support firefighters working toward Texas Commission on Fire Protection requirements, which include 474 hours of firefighter training and 40 hours of recognized emergency medical training. About the Permian Strategic Partnership: The Permian Strategic Partnership (PSP) is a coalition of 26 leading Permian Basin energy companies and two university systems who have joined together to work in partnership with leaders across the region's communities to address current and future challenges to the responsible development of the vast oil and natural gas resources of the Permian Basin in the states of New Mexico and Texas. The PSP members are BPX Energy, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Coterra Energy, Crescent Energy, Deep Blue, Devon Energy, Diamondback Energy, Energy Transfer, EOG Resources, ExxonMobil, Halliburton, Helmerich & Payne, Kinetik, Liberty Energy, Mewbourne Oil Company, Occidental, Oncor, Ovintiv, Permian Resources, Phillips 66, Plains All American, ProPetro, SLB, Targa Resources, The Texas Tech University System, The University of Texas System, WaterBridge Resources, and Western Midstream. For more information, visit www.permianpartnership.org.

Out of the lab, into the fire: TEEX Office of Research puts lifesaving technology in first responders' hands. July 29, 2026 When a firefighter crawls through smoke or a hazmat technician steps into the unknown, the tools they carry can mean the difference between life and death. The Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service (TEEX) Office of Research exists to make sure those tools work in any emergency situation. "A lot of great ideas die because they work in the laboratory, but when you get them out in the field, in the dirt and the sand, and you put them in a firefighter's hands, whose hands are now wearing gloves and in intense environments," Office of Research Director Ray Ivie said. "Those little buttons don't work, or they break when they drop it, so we want to figure out how it will work in the same harsh conditions they will experience in the real world." To address the need for operation-ready products, the TEEX Office of Research has grown into a hub for applied research and operational testing, partnering with federal agencies, technology developers and Texas A&M University System researchers to evaluate emerging public safety equipment in the environments where they will be used. Facilities like Brayton Fire Training Field and Disaster City(R) give developers real fire, real rubble, real props and opportunities to collaborate with trained experts that can stress-test the research materials, so they are field-ready. One of the most dangerous moments in emergency response comes when responders enter a hazmat scene. Responders walk into contaminated environments wearing bulky suits and breathing apparatuses with limited visibility, often holding a meter in one hand and a sensing wand in the other. After a development company and the U.S. Department of Transportation called Ray's office for an operational test of new hazmat technology, TEEX conducted developmental testing of a wearable alert system that reduces the risks associated with hazmat response and frees a responder's hands of bulky sensor equipment. According to Ray, the protective equipment device, which is still undergoing testing, uses haptic sensors worn in a hazmat suit sleeve that vibrate when chemical detectors register a threat, with patterns that can indicate what kind of hazard is present. During a simulated train derailment, hazmat instructors tested the product in full gear and provided significant feedback, which is already shaping its development, including adding a sensor inside the suit to detect ruptures in the garment itself. "We gave them a lot of practical advice on how to make the product better and how to make it more usable in an operational setting," Ray said. "It's going to be a relatively inexpensive device, and I think it will be very useful for hazmat responders in the field." Another project underway at the Office of Research puts actionable information directly in front of a firefighter's eyes. As part of a Department of Homeland Security testing effort, TEEX is working with Qwake Technologies on an augmented reality fire helmet that displays a thermal image through a reticle over one eye, allowing wearers to see through smoke and darkness while communicating with crews inside and outside a structure, including structures engulfed in flames. TEEX instructors are using the helmets at Brayton Fire Training Field to monitor students through smoke, and the research team is helping the developer explore what else the platform could do, including improving the accessibility of certain firefighting trainings. "To me, the helmets are going to be the biggest game changer in the next 10 years," Ray said. "We're going to be able to put significant, actionable information in front of a firefighter, an emergency medical technician or a police officer so they can avoid or take action on something they're seeing right in front of their face. So many opportunities can come from these helmets." TEEX research is also already protecting responders nationwide. Lithium-ion batteries power everything from phones to electric vehicles, and when they fail, they burn hotter and more unpredictably than traditional fires. TEEX partnered with the Southwest Research Institute on a published study characterizing the contaminants these fires produce and their effects on firefighter protective equipment. That research guides free TEEX training that has reached more than 7,000 first responders across the country, and the agency's annual First Responder Summit continues turning those findings into practical response strategies. TEEX is now researching potential suppressants for battery fires that current methods cannot extinguish, and the technology grew out of an agency-published report about the dangers associated with lithium-ion battery fires. "We're helping companies and researchers test products that make a significant difference in the hands of our first responders," Ray said. "Our lithium-ion research has already had a great impact on the responder community, and with our other research, I think the best is yet to come." Distributed by: Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service Vita Vaughn | Director of Communications [email protected]