04 May 2007

Fire service takes advantage of Ordnance Survey’s most detailed data

To help ensure that their fire fighters are in the right place at the right time, Norfolk Fire and Rescue Service is among fire services across the country that are taking advantage of Ordnance Survey’s precise mapping and transport data.

Norfolk Fire and Rescue Service are using OS MasterMap Topography and Integrated Transport Network (ITN) Layers as part of their Fortek VISION command and control solution. By having access to the nation’s most accurate and up-to-date topographic and transport network data, Norfolk Fire and Rescue is able to provide its fire fighters with the very best information to prepare them for any incident.

OS MasterMap Topography Layer is the most detailed seamless digital map of Great Britain available and includes almost half a billion features, from individual houses and gardens to street lights and fire hydrants. It allows command and control centres to pinpoint an incident and have an in-depth view of its environment in advance of a fire crew arriving. This can reveal possible hazards, like a nearby petrol station, or features that might obscure rescue equipment, such as trees or walls.

OS MasterMap ITN Layer gives command and control staff and fire fighters en route to an incident detailed road network and routing data. ITN Layer with Road Routing Information (RRI) supports resource allocation by providing the details of over 740,000 named roads and allows restrictions like narrow roads and bridges with weight restrictions to be avoided. When timing is critical, having access to such detailed information makes a real difference.

Linda Davis, Control Room Manager at Norfolk Fire and Rescue Service, says, "Our Fortek command-and-control solution utilises the OS MasterMap Topography Layer, which helps our operators easily identify the exact location of an incident. It also takes advantage of the OS MasterMap ITN Layer, which enables us to deploy the most appropriate available resource to an incident as quickly as possible."

Peter ter Haar is Ordnance Survey’s Product Director with responsibility for OS MasterMap. Peter comments, "We are delighted that Norfolk Fire and Rescue Service and the citizens they serve are benefiting from OS MasterMap data.

"Like all the OS MasterMap layers, the Topography and ITN Layers are fully interoperable, so they can work simultaneously, while the unique identifiers we use, called TOIDs, allow for information to be pinned to any feature, making it ideal for incident analysis and planning."

Note for editors

Images are copyright of Norfolk Fire and Rescue Service.

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