DEVELOPMENT OF FIRE RESPONSE ZONES USING NETWORK ROUTING TO DETERMINE SERVICE AREAS AND RESPONSE TREES

Alex SmithCapstone Peer Review PresentationOctober 1, 2008Advisor: Dr. Alexander Klippel

Outline

Background Information Problem Potential methods of segmentation Proposed procedures Questions

Richland County, South Carolina 767 Square miles 350,000 people Important features

Fort Jackson – 52,000 Acre Army basic training facility

Congaree Swamp National Park – 26,000 Acres

Richland County, South Carolina

Map of SC Map of Richland

County

County Location County Detail

Emergency Dispatch

675,000 calls per year to 911 Center result in 475,000 incident dispatches

Fire Response

38,000 fire dispatches per year – 105 per day

3600 road miles 30 fully staffed fire stations

“Preserve lives, property and resources”

911/ Dispatch Procedures (Quickly)1. Citizen dials 9112. Call routed by phone carrier to Public

Safety Answering Point (PSAP)3. Call answered at 911 Center

1. Phone carrier provides number, address, and Emergency Services Number (ESN)

4. Nature of call determined (Police, Fire, EMS)

5. Closest unit determined and dispatched*

Outline

Background Problem Explained Potential methods of segmentation Proposed procedures Questions

Problem Explained

Currently, the way in which a fire suppression unit is chosen for dispatch is…less than desireable Dispatch may not be same in two identical

incidents at the exact same location

There exist two methods – neither of which has been updated or maintained completely over the past 7 years Emergency Services Number (ESN) Computer Aided Dispatching (CAD) System

Proposed Solution

For every location within Richland County, I will develop a call list, in order, of the 10 quickest responding units of each type (Engine, Ladder, Battalion, Pumper, Brush)

Any time a call location is determined, a simple point in polygon analysis will determine the call list of responding stations

The resulting methodology will be repeatable, providing for updated data in the future

Outline

Background Problem Potential methods of

segmentation Proposed procedures Questions

Straight Line DistanceVoronoi Tesselation or Thiessen Polygons

Straight Line Distance

Quick Easy

Does not take into account actual travel time

Calculates as if fire response apparatus did not require roads

Advantages Disadvantages

Raster Allocation - Cost

Raster Allocation - Cost

Quick and relatively simple

Better result than straight line distance

Can not provide for unique situations such as one way roads

Does not provide as good a result as is possible with vector based calculations

Advantages Disadvantages

Vector Based Network Analysis

Vector Based Network Analysis

Vector Based Network Analysis

Vector Based Network Analysis

Vector Based Network Analysis

Vector Based Network Analysis

Most accurate results of methods available

Parameters can be tweaked

Includes one-way streets and turn prohibitors

Difficult to set up Cumbersome

analysis Results need

human verification

Advantages Disadvantages

Outline

Background Problem Potential methods of segmentation Proposed procedures Questions

First Closest – 4 Units

Second Closest – 4 Units

Third Closest – 4 Units

Fourth Closest – 4 Units

4 Units – Call List

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

4 Units – Call List

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

1 2 2 3 3 4

4 Units – Call List

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

1 2 2 3 3 4

2 1 3 2 4 3

4 Units – Call List

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

1 2 2 3 3 4

2 1 3 2 4 3

3 3 1 4 2 2

4 Units – Call List

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

1 2 2 3 3 4

2 1 3 2 4 3

3 3 1 4 2 2

4 4 4 1 1 1

4 Units – 911 Call

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

4 Units – 911 Call

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

4 Units – 911 Call

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

3

2

4

1

4 Units – 911 Call

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

3

4 Units – 911 Call

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

3

2

4 Units – 911 Call

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

3

2

4

4 Units – 911 Call

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

3

2

4

1

Network Impedances

Speed Limits Street Widths Other Factors

One way streets Turn Prohibitors

Medians and fencing

Locked gates

Distance or time?

Temporal Variables Daily and

seasonal

10 Closest – by drive time

10 Closest – by drive time

Final Intended Results

A map in which at every location, we can immediately determine the response list of units to dispatch in an fire emergency 1st to 10th responder for each type of

apparatus

Use of Final Results

Emergency dispatch for fire

Richland County

Fire Response

Plan

Use of Final Results

Commercial Fire!!!

153

Use of Final Results

Commercial Fire!!!

Commercial FireResponse

• 2 Engines• 1 Tanker• 2 Battalions•1 Ladder

Richland County

Fire Response

Plan

Timeline

October 1, 2008 – Peer Review Proposal December 2008 – complete analysis January 2008 – test and verify results February 2008 – finalize and finish

presentation February 19, 2008 – presentation at

North Carolina GIS Conference in Raleigh, NC

Alexander Smith

alexwsmith@gmail.com

Advisor: Dr. Alexander Klippel

Questions??