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GIS: Futuristic or Realistic?
Last week I attended ESRI's User Conference here in San Diego. Although a lot of the concepts are above my head technically, I do enjoy reading and hearing about how various fire departments and public safety agencies are using GIS to improve processes.
This year I attended two sessions, one on the use of GIS for mapping predicted flood paths and planning a corresponding evacuation strategy, and the other on a specific GIS application that helps improve agency situational awareness by pulling together various real-time data (weather, impending threats, civilian mapping data, Flickr photo feeds, etc) on one map.
This last application is being used in the DHS Unified Incident Command and Decision Support (UICDS) project in an effort to help emergency response organizations share information more effectively. UICDS enables police, fire, emergency medical and other response organizations to use incident management technologies to share information and provide decision support to help prevent, protect, respond, and recover from natural, technological, and terrorist events. project. You can read more about UICDS here.
So what's my question? Sitting in these seminars, it's easy to imagine a public safety world in which everything is just a click away and all the data you need to make the best informed decisions flows automatically to your fingertips. But I'd like to know how close to reality such things really are. Is your department using GIS and if so, for what? Do you use it for prevention, mitigation, disaster planning, resource allocation, incident analysis, creating map books? Do you share data with other county/city agencies? What role does GIS play in your position as an emergency responder?
Thanks!
This year I attended two sessions, one on the use of GIS for mapping predicted flood paths and planning a corresponding evacuation strategy, and the other on a specific GIS application that helps improve agency situational awareness by pulling together various real-time data (weather, impending threats, civilian mapping data, Flickr photo feeds, etc) on one map.
This last application is being used in the DHS Unified Incident Command and Decision Support (UICDS) project in an effort to help emergency response organizations share information more effectively. UICDS enables police, fire, emergency medical and other response organizations to use incident management technologies to share information and provide decision support to help prevent, protect, respond, and recover from natural, technological, and terrorist events. project. You can read more about UICDS here.
So what's my question? Sitting in these seminars, it's easy to imagine a public safety world in which everything is just a click away and all the data you need to make the best informed decisions flows automatically to your fingertips. But I'd like to know how close to reality such things really are. Is your department using GIS and if so, for what? Do you use it for prevention, mitigation, disaster planning, resource allocation, incident analysis, creating map books? Do you share data with other county/city agencies? What role does GIS play in your position as an emergency responder?
Thanks!
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by FETC on
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Wow I guess the future came two years ago. We use GIS on everyday response, during emergencies and prevention. We have a toughbook computer in every truck - officer's side.
We have our city GIS mapped for actual photos for street mapping, hydrant location, and property lines for exposure issues. Straight from the tax department, with overhead photographs. Great for brush fires, flood, used it back in the floods 07 for flood plain, projected flow and neighborhood evacuations, many times for missing persons in the woods and ATV accidents for logging roads and access.
Streets - Nothing like looking at the real street and not the stick drawn roadway. Great for homes that have big set backs and narrow un-marked driveways.
Hydrants are GPS mapped by the water department and the IT department has overlayed the hydrant mapping onto the GIS. Upgraded frequently with in and out of service hydrants when they flow and test them.
Prevention, the FPO has used the information when added to the system to identify utility and conservation issues, in the pre-plan.
The only downfall is when the computer decides to hiccup, better continue training your officers to learn the district first hand, and use the puter for what it is.... just another tool.
FETC
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Permalink Reply by Ben Waller on
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We use it for all of the above. We combine it with Pictometry for pre-emergency planning, where it's extremely effective. Used with Pictometry, we can measure hose lays and building sizes, measure the pitch of gabled roofs, locate hydrants, perform incident-specific mapping for large or prolonged incidents and/or critiques, emergency management planning...you name it.
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Permalink Reply by Chris Tomlinson on
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I think GIS for the larger paid departments and in cities will be much more prevalent now and in the future, it's the volunteer departments who are going to lack the technology for a couple of reasons.
1.) Lack of funds. Lack of funds. Lack of funds.
2.) May not have the personnel to manage the technology
3.) Some departments (self included at items) is a bit resistant to change
4.) More than likely many volunteer departments know that x-street and y-street cross 3 miles z-direction and wouldn't see the need
I would love to see more volunteer's able and willing to use this, but for now I think we're stuck with binders, a radio and knowledge of the area. :o /
F.D. Web Design
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Well hate to burst the bubble but the Mutual Aid System we are in is 95% volunteer and the mutual aid system searched out fed grant money to award every town a laptop and our State GIS mapped all the towns for their E-911 system. So I know that most all of our system has the basic system, to include the capability to see emergency calls, response run cards, who responding just like a dispatcher, and any updated 911 information during the actual response using a sat card for over the road internet connection, even communicate via laptop to dispatch and truck-to-truck.
I have seen some pretty aggressive VFD's with some IT gurus, seek additional grants / fundraising to take the basic system and make it similar to ours. We didn't accept the offer from our mutual aid system (dispatch) as we had already started the process internally with the city coffers.
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Even if the VFD has no "IT guru" you may still be able to get help from your city or county GIS department. Most municipal and county Planning departments have a GIS unit - it's standard practice in public administration.
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Absolutely Ben,
Great point, the other day we operated at a bad motorcycle verse car and the PD called the GIS unit to the scene for post accident investigation.
They actually GIS mapped critical impact points for future criminal, and/or court proceedings. I was like what the heck is the IT department doing here, and then they came walking up the street with their equipment and an ANSI DOT Vest on.... pretty cool.
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