Page 42 - GCN, April/May 2018
P. 42
case study FIRST RESPONDERS
Firefighters get help in locating nearby resources
The National Mutual Aid System combines crisis management software with geocoded data
BY STEPHANIE KANOWITZ 42 GCN APRIL/MAY 2018 • GCN.COM
In a letter to California Gov. Jer- ry Brown, five fire emergency response managers said they could have better fought the fires and floods that ravaged the state last year and cost $18 billion if they had a bet- ter way to track emergency resources during multi-jurisdictional events. Now an application is in the works to do just that.
The cloud-based National Mutual Aid
System (NMAS) modernizes the 10-year- old Mutual Aid System created by the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC). It merges data and mapping by combining Intermedix’s WebEOC crisis management software with Esri’s Arc- GIS platform to help fire officials quickly search for and find additional resources — such as personnel, teams, facilities, equipment or supplies — from across the country.
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