Prepared Response, Inc. Adds GIS Capability to Rapid Responder Crisis Management System
New GIS Functionality allows Police and Fire to Respond Faster and More Effectively to Emergencies
SEATTLE, WA,-- March 29, 2006 -- Prepared Response, Inc., a Seattle-based developer of crisis management planning and response systems, announced today it has added Geographic Information System (GIS) functionality to the Web-based version of its Rapid Responder® crisis management system. The GIS capability allows police, fire, and other first responders to view a variety of features, such as streets, pipelines, railroads, or political subdivisions as layers on an interactive map. The GIS functionality allows emergency responders to create more accurate tactical pre-plans and respond faster and more effectively during a wide variety of emergencies, including terrorist related incidents, bombings, civil disturbances, hazardous materials spills, fires, earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, and tsunamis.
“During an emergency, first responders need to access key infrastructure information quickly and easily,” said Jim Finnell, president and CEO of Prepared Response, Inc. “GIS is a powerful technology, but it is typically difficult to learn and expensive to implement. In Rapid Responder, the GIS functionality is easy to learn and easy to use. First responders can better visualize ‘the big picture’ so they can make key decisions quicker and more decisively during emergencies.”
The Rapid Responder crisis management system currently protects more than 1,230 sites nationwide, representing over 5,200 individual buildings and more than 135,000 digital images. The system is used to “digitally map and inventory” critical infrastructure, including public and private buildings, transportation systems, hospitals, utilities, schools, bridges and other structures. Using Rapid Responder, police, fire, and other first responders can instantly access more than 300 data points, including tactical response plans, evacuation routes, exterior and interior photos, floor plans, utility shut-off locations, and hazardous chemical inventories for virtually any facility.
GIS functionality has long been desired by first responders, but GIS systems typically require powerful computers with substantial bandwidth. One of the key features of Rapid Responder’s GIS system is that it was specifically designed to operate on wireless networks, allowing for fast presentation of complex graphical and mapping data. Additional GIS functionality under development, through GPS integration, includes the cataloguing and tracking of mobile infrastructure such as ships, containers, rail, and fleet assets. This functionality will make it much easier for public safety agencies to track shipments of sensitive materials across the country.
As an example of how the GIS-enabled Rapid Responder system could be used during a major disaster such as Hurricane Katrina, Finnell offers the following scenario: “During a regional disaster, additional help would come from other states and federal resources, who most likely would not be familiar with the local area. Leaders from these contingents could use the GIS functionality of Rapid Responder to better understand the region and identify transportation nodes such as roads, airports, and railroads that could be used to evacuate victims as well as bringing in relief supplies. Next, they could use GIS-enabled satellite imagery to survey available federal lands to identify staging locations, helicopter landing zones, and evacuation routes. Another use might be the identification of relief supply locations in or near the affected area. With Rapid Responder, they could zoom into a specific neighborhood and plan their strategy on a block-by-block basis if needed. During the recovery stage, the GIS functionality could also show political divisions that could be viewed against other geographic features thereby assisting in the coordination and approval of recovery efforts and the identification and notification of elected officials.” |
