Dublin Fire Brigade has teamed up with digital mapping specialist Esri Ireland to deploy a new location-based system designed to improve emergency response and public safety.
The partnership will also help decide the allocation of critical resources across Dublin, where the fire and rescue service provides emergency support to 1.5 million people.
The organisation is using a system built on Esri’s ArcGIS technology that brings together operational data – the locations of fire stations, historic fire incidents – and third-party data such as census and population health information to help manage fire risks.
The new system can be used to map buildings that have fire safety issues, including inadequate means of escape, building defects or over-occupancy, and put in place effective response plans.
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The fire service can also use the information to carry out targeted community fire prevention activities, focusing on at-risk communities and areas where there is evidence of fire clusters.
The new system is part of the service’s new organisational intelligence unit, which was established to utilise location-based information to manage fire risks.
“This technology gives us the ability to target our fire prevention strategies – we can deliver campaigns in the right locations to reach the most vulnerable people and have the biggest impact in terms of community fire prevention,” said Rob Howell, station officer at the organisational intelligence unit of Dublin Fire Brigade.
“Equally, we have to consider firefighters’ health and safety as well as that of the general public and, by being better informed, we can improve our responses to incidents and keep our responders safe in fires and other emergency situations.
“The potential for location intelligence in the fire service is absolutely huge and has a big role to play in our future.”
Dublin Fire Brigade is also using the ArcGIS technology to determine the best location for new fire stations to serve an expanding Dublin, and plans to make the system available across departments to enable strategic planning and informed decision-making.
“Location intelligence is helping the fire brigade in managing and reducing fire risks, addressing some of the biggest dangers in a changing cityscape,” said Gareth McBride, customer success manager with Esri Ireland.
“We are delighted to be working with Dublin Fire Brigade on such an important and necessary project, and excited to see its expanded capabilities as the technology is rolled out more widely.”
