ESRI Provides First Responders With GIS Mapping for Better Fire Response and Planning

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ESRI, the Environmental Systems Research Institute, provides first responders across the United States and around the world with GIS (geographic information system) modeling and mapping hardware and software to help them in planning for, responding to, and recovering from structure fires, wildfires and other natural disasters. ESRI's ArcGIS system collects data about an area's topography, such as vegetation, power poles, natural resources, and building developments, and can provide fire departments with the information they need to plan for, mitigate, and respond to these emergencies in the safest and most effective ways.

ESRI's ArcGIS system can be used in wildfire applications in various ways. For wildfire prevention, it can analyze vegetation for flammability, slope steepness, historical fire occurrences, and the proximity of housing developments to determine where high risk areas are located. This gives planners and decision makers the information they need to try to prevent this type of natural disaster. When a wildfire does occur, ArcGIS uses several technologies, such as GPS, AVL, Computer-aided Dispatch (CAD), remote sensing, aerial photography, modeling, and wireless data communication to predict fire behavior and assist firefighters in forming a plan of attack to fight the wildfire. According to Russ Johnson of ESRI's Fire Management Division, "When a fire occurs we can bring GIS in to begin to predict, based upon weather conditions and vegetation fuel moisture, where that fire is going to go, where we're going to need to place our resources and where we need to think about stopping that fire before it gets into areas that will do unacceptable damage and result in unacceptable losses."

ESRI's GIS system can also help first responders in the aftermath of a wildfire. According to Tom Patterson, a Wildland Fire Specialist at ESRI, his company's system has a built-in GPS system and camera that allows firefighters doing post-incident damage assessment to photograph damaged areas. These photos are geo-referenced with coordinates, so that an affected area can be displayed on a map with various points, and users can click on each point to see a photo of the damage at that specific place.

While GIS has been helping first responders for several years with wildfires, ESRI's ArcGIS system can now assist municipal fire departments with structural fire protection. It can help fire crews find the location of an emergency call, and while they are en route, they can view floor plans, locations of hazardous materials, utilities, and local fire hydrants. Fire chiefs can use this and other information collected by ArcGIS to form a plan of attack while responding to a structure fire, helping them to decide where to place apparatus, where to deploy triage teams, and where to direct evacuated victims. Russ Johnson says, "That allows them to save precious seconds, which results in precious property being saved and potentially lives being saved. Those are all the basic elements that GIS provides which are huge in terms of being a first responder and taking away the mystery of what you are going to discover when you arrive on-scene at an incident."

A global leader in mapping and modeling technology, ESRI has been in business since 1969. With corporate offices located in Redlands, California, ESRI has offices and representatives located throughout the United States and internationally. The company provides this technology to various industries and government services including fire, EMS, law enforcement, Homeland Security, defense, civil engineering, transportation and logistics, agriculture, environmental management, banking, insurance, retail, real estate, and more.

For the fire service, ESRI provides training for both firefighters and for incident commanders and planners on ArcGIS. For first responders using this technology on a daily basis, ESRI has developed applications that require only one to two touches, making training very easy. For officers and planners who are using ArcGIS to manage or plan for an incident, week-long training is given. ESRI also assists fire departments that are interested in purchasing their systems to find grants to help defray the costs. Explaining the importance of obtaining GIS technology, ESRI's Russ Johnson explains, "Investing in GIS is investing in a long term capability that recognizes that that tool provides the capability for safer operations, quicker operations, and more efficient operations over time and is just as important as apparatus you buy to put fires out with."

For further information about ESRI's systems, please visit www.esri.com.