Abstract

GIS Business Intelligence Tool to Improve Emergency Operations and Communication
Track: Fire, Rescue, and EMS
Authors: Sarel Jansen van Rensburg

In the emergency services sector, communication plays a key role. We had to improve communications between vehicles and call centres. Areas with poor communication was analysed in relation to incident hotspots and routes most often travelled by the emergency vehicles. This helped with the spatial planning of resources and implementation of stationery satellites and in vehicle satellite communication.
Hotspot analysis and kernel density were used on vehicle tracking data, communication and incident locations.
We overlaid data from multiple specialized systems. When considering the incident hotspots with the vehicle routes and the gaps in communication it became easier to plan the deployment of resources and the improvement of communication.
This can help any service to better plan the spatial deployment of their resources. You can monitor the routes most often travelled by your vehicles and areas where they idle or stand still for extended periods.