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Digital boost for frontline firefighting - Map maker's national fire cover
Fire brigades across the country are discovering that hi-tech digital mapping has many more uses than simply showing crews the quickest route to an emergency. As well as helping to speed up response times, mapping used within computer-based geographical information systems (GIS) also has an important part to play in locating fire hyrdants, pinpointing hoax calls, risk assessments and even tackling the aftermath of a freak tornado!
GIS link information databases to a geographical framework, allowing the rapid integration, analysis and presentation of data on computer screens. National map maker, Ordnance Survey, has invested in the latest technology to provide powerful digital information for both frontline firefighting and behind-the-scenes planning.
Increasing numbers of command and control centres, and in some cases even the vehicles themselves, are being equipped with computers featuring a range of Ordnance Survey data. Digital mapping allows controllers to pinpoint the precise location of emergency calls using grid references and road information to guide crews to the scene using the quickest route possible.
"We were one of the first brigades to have computers on board the whole of our fleet of firefighting appliances," says Assistant Divisional Officer Philip Goodwin of the Hereford and Worcester Fire Brigade. "All 42 of our appliances are fitted with map viewers showing not only detailed plans of the whole of both counties but also water supplies and hydrants. This mapping makes the information that we receive much more visual, making it easier to pass on details about an incident and assist with on the spot decisions."
Computerised mapping is also helping the Hereford and Worcester Brigade in its education campaign to tackle malicious callers and arson attacks on cars. Because the location of every call to the brigade's command and control centre is given a grid reference using Ordnance Survey mapping, fire chiefs know exactly where hoax calls are being made or arson attacks reported. Using this information they can target their community education programmes in these areas, visiting local schools and clubs to spread the message about fire safety and prevention.
Many brigades, including Greater Manchester Fire Service, also use digital mapping in risk assessment to identify buildings with a high risk of fire, such as chemical plants. Predictions can then be made about which appliances, equipment and personnel are likely to be needed. This means that appropriate resources can be based at stations close to key hazards, saving time, money and potentially, lives. Land-Line, Ordnance Survey's most detailed mapping, which can zoom in on large-scale features such as fences, hedges and walls, is often used in this tactical planning.
Four computers on the appliance gave firefighters views of Ordnance Survey 1: 10,000 scale black and white raster mapping, 1: 50,000 scale colour raster and the more detailed Land-Line data. These were overlaid with information supplied by the brigade's fire control and personnel at the scene. Officers then used the on-screen data to manage the incident whilst copies were instantly printed out for operational crews to use at particular damage sites.
Using 'electronic pins' marked onto a digital map in the brigade's control room, the location of addresses where emergency calls had been received were relayed to computers in emergency vehicles already on their way to the scene. Combined with paper copies of updated maps, this computerised information gave the officer in charge of the incident the most reliable, up-to-the-minute information upon which to base operational decisions.
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