Banks County E911 Expanding InterAct GIS Software to Include Buildings and Landmarks Throughout the County
Banks County, GA is expanding its GIS Map data to include buildings, mile markers, landmarks and fire hydrants. This increased detail will ensure the fastest and most reliable response from emergency services.
Winston-Salem, NC - Up ahead, you see a car weaving in and out traffic and think to yourself that it's just a matter of time before there's an accident. Almost simultaneously, the weaving car hits another. You pull over to the side of the road to make sure that everyone is okay as you pull out your cell phone to call 9-1-1. Once on the line, you tell the dispatcher that you don't know exactly where you are but you know what mile marker you are next to. Luckily, you''re in Banks County, GA, and thanks to InterAct GIS, they can pinpoint your exact location to get response teams on site quickly, when every second counts.
Banks County E911 in Georgia realized the need for an advanced mapping system several years ago. They chose the geographic information system (GIS) from InterAct Public Safety Systems, a leading provider of public safety technology systems used by local, state, national, and international government agencies. Throughout the years, InterAct GIS has proven very successful for them, and Banks County is now taking steps to use the system to the fullest potential.
Deidra Moore, E911 director, recently started an initiative to identify every building, fire hydrant, landmark, and mile marker in Banks County for use in InterAct GIS. In January of 2007, Banks County will start working on Phase 2 wireless capabilities, meaning that when a call to 9-1-1 comes from a cellular phone, the location of the caller will be pinpointed on the GIS map within meters by triangulating their position using two cellular towers or via GPS from a GPS enabled cell phone. Currently, Banks County is Phase 1 compliant, so only one tower is used to plot the caller location which means they can actually be anywhere within a certain radius of the originating tower.
Mapping the buildings, landmarks, mile markers, and fire hydrants will give dispatchers a more accurate map, a critical step in implementing Phase 2 capabilities. But in the meanwhile, it will also give dispatchers an easy method to identify the location of a cellular call and direct response units accordingly, even if the caller is unfamiliar with the area. With two major roadways passing through the county, "we needed to plot landmarks. That's all travelers really know to tell you," said Moore. Banks County hopes to have Phase 2 operating by mid 2007.
The enhancements will be beneficial for callers, dispatchers, and emergency services alike. "During a police chase, because we have GIS mapped through the entire county and all roads, we will be able to track the location of our units throughout the county on the map and easily direct other responders out to the location(s)," said Moore. "Some roads in one town have the same name, which can cause confusion when dispatchers are trying to relay location information to responding units. Now we''ll be able to give landmark and mile marker information to make communication as clear as possible in these high-stress situations."
The undertaking of mapping buildings and landmarks is highly ambitious. Many counties choose to have InterAct''s Mapping and Addressing Services Team go on-site and perform mapping projects for them. However, with the extensive training Moore received from InterAct, she is confident in her abilities to execute the entire project herself, saving the county money in the process.
Added Moore, "In short, there is not a day that goes by that the 9-1-1 call center does not benefit from the GIS software and the training I received from InterAct."
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