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Colorado Springs Fire DepartmentView Photo(s) of Award Presentation Project Goal
Using GIS, the Colorado Springs Fire Department sought to create a system that could provide incident information to Fire Apparatus, Dispatch Centers, Incident Command Posts and Emergency Operations Centers simultaneously. Optimally, this enhanced AVL system would create an environment that would fuse information from many agencies and databases (both spatial and otherwise), create routing, pre-empt traffic signals en-route for first responders and create the ever elusive Common Operating Picture that has traditionally been difficult to create without spending an exorbitant amount of money. The department also required a system that could be built and maintained in-house while providing inexpensive total cost of ownership and simplified ongoing maintenance. Finally, the system had to be developed to be absolutely simple to use for first responders – one that provided all relevant information about the call and location – information that could be gleaned at a glance and with minimal interaction allowing firefighters to focus on the situation, not the computer… Business Problem Solved
Firefighters and first responders are called at any time to go any place and face life-threatening situations. Their need for a great deal of information in a compressed amount of time is only half of the problem facing public safety agencies. Every situation they face is known to them but needs to be shared with Incident Command and the larger emergency management community in real time. With the creation of the Colorado Springs Fire Department Enhanced AVL system, Emergency Management and First Responders are connected with a system that provides real time situation and resource status updates for all parties involved. In addition to providing updates while crews are on scene, the system automatically understands where the call for service occurs, geocodes it, creates instant optimized routing and preempts traffic signals allowing decreased response times and accurate destination information. It further combines data from many agencies (Fire, EMS, Military, and others) and displays that information in the meaningful context of a mapping application. Technology Implemented
The Colorado Springs Fire Department is most proud of the fact that our system: hardware, software, communications, wireless, applications and integration was completely developed within the City of Colorado Springs and its departments. The computer on-board the apparatus was custom built by city staff and integrates a Pentium IV computer with 900mHz and 802.11g wireless. The communication infrastructure blankets Colorado Springs with a 900mHz network that is inexpensive and easy to maintain. It is used to pass GPS and CAD call information as well as incident information. When units are in proximity of Fire facilities, their resident data is updated via wireless hotspot. There are a variety of custom software applications at work. There is an application that listens to the Computer Aided Dispatch system and address matches/geocodes the calls, one that creates the optimized route with ESRI’s NetEngine, another that sets up the traffic signals for preemption along the route, a MapObjects application that handles the fusion of all information on board the fire apparatus, and finally – a macromedia flash application that uses GIS information and current call and vehicle information to display on a web-based client that can be used in any web browser Development Team Biography
Steve Harris - CSFD Information Systems Manager |
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