Location insight and mapping from Ordnance Survey (OS) supports the emergency, or blue light, services including Police, Fire, and Ambulance, as key members of our resilience community.
Location data for emergency services
Using geospatial data and services to support a resilient Britain
Through the Public Sector Geospatial Agreement (PSGA), the emergency services have access to OS expertise and support, and can use a range of OS data to enhance the critical services they provide, including:
- Quicker incident response
- Sharing location information
- Event security planning
- Locating places with no fixed address, or colloquial and local names
OS has a long and proud history of supporting the blue light services and responsive agencies. OS data increases the accuracy of their own location data; lessening delays and getting people the critical support they need when they need it most, helping secure a safer future for Britain.
Learn how customers are using OS data
Faster responses to cave rescues
The North Wales Cave Rescue Organisation have used OS data from the OS NGD to enable faster responses to search and rescue operations underground.
How the British Army use OS NGD APIs for training
Read how the British Army used our flexible mapping solution to create realistic training scenarios.
New navigation system for ambulances
OS’s data and updates provided ambulance crews with best possible methods of routing and navigation.
Find out more
Mapping for Emergencies
Emergency mapping service for PSGA members
Mapping for Emergencies (MfE), a service available to PSGA members, is accessible for free at any time as support to our resilience community. We will provide geospatial support during any emergency or major incident, delivered by OS’s expert analysts, provided remotely or at your location.
Supporting emergency services delivering events
We have played a critical role in the planning and delivery of several national events, supporting emergency services on the London 2012 Olympics, Glasgow 2014 and Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games and the 2017 G7 Summit in Cornwall.
How mapping supported risk analysis for Plymouth evacuation
When an unexploded bomb was found in a garden in Plymouth, Devon and Cornwall Police (DCP) reached out to Ordnance Survey for assistance.
Discover OS data products
OS National Geographic Database (OS NGD)
The OS National Geographic Database (OS NGD) contains Britain’s most comprehensive location data. A single store of all Ordnance Survey’s authoritative data for Great Britain, such as address and building data for emergency planning.
OS NGD data is accessed from one source, without having to download whole datasets. It has a simpler structure, designed to help answer questions, and develop more intelligent solutions, with quicker loading and implementation.
The OS Emergency Services Gazetteer (ESG)
The OS Emergency Services Gazetteer (ESG) is a recent offering from OS, providing a comprehensive and maintained database of locations to support our blue light services.
The OS ESG is a geographical dictionary containing 1.3 million features (names, places and objects) and is used alongside a map to identify locations with no fixed addresses, like named cliffs, waterfalls, road junctions and roundabouts.
Developed in close collaboration with our customers, it is designed to equip responders with precise location information, to act quickly during emergencies.
The OS ESG will provide a single, unified source of truth, one that will continue to adapt and grow as new information is added over time.
The Vernacular Names Tool
The Vernacular Names Tool, available in the OS Data Hub, helps emergency services pinpoint a location instantly using colloquial and alternative local names given to places and objects.
Vernacular names have been historically captured by emergency services call handlers when they struggle to find a location to deploy to. We created the Vernacular Names Tool as a means for these experts to capture and share names data where there is no authoritative source.
The tool is available exclusively for emergency services and support rescue services and can be used to help foster better communication during multi-agency incidents, saving precious time and potentially lives.