Blom aerial imagery for Fire Brigade in Brussels

15 January 2010, 11:24am

Blom has signed a two-year license agreement with the Fire Brigade of Brussels, Belgium, for use of oblique aerial images as new key integrated component in the daily workflow within the fire brigade. The images allow the user to see relevant properties from up to 12 different views before physically arriving on a scene.

Blom has signed a two-year license agreement with SIAMU, the fire brigade of Brussels, in Belgium, for use of geo referenced oblique aerial images as new key integrated component in the daily workflow within the fire brigade. The oblique images are based on the RealImages™ technology, and cover Brussels-Capital Region, totaling an area of approximately 250 square kilometers. Acquired from multiple cameras, the oblique images bring a new perspective to aerial photography available for stand alone use or integrated within geographic information systems (GIS).

“RealImages™ is used in all the services of the SIAMU: call center and intervention teams for a better coordination during the incident, prevention unit to prepare visits on the terrain, and prediction department in order to prepare the intervention plan on risky areas (schools, industrial areas, etc)” says Francis Boileau, deputy general manager of the SIAMU, continuing “this is the main advantage of RealImages™, which will help us save time, resources, and, most importantly, lives”.

The system, based on oblique aerial images, allows the user to see relevant properties from up to 12 different views before physically arriving on a scene. Blom’s oblique images allow you to see every object in an image, such as fire hydrant, manhole, power line, intersection, door, and window, in stunning clarity. The system provides the user the ability to measure the length of a hosepipe between a fire hydrant and a building, fix the size of a ladder to reach a specific floor plan, and orientate in the images, to a degree not previously possible with traditional aerial photography. By combining the oblique aerial imagery with existing traditional maps (vector datasets), users can leverage their geographic information even further.

The technology is easy-to-use, whether for preplanning scenarios in major buildings or locations, searching alternative water sources en route, or other tasks where detailed visual information can help improve response time and efficiency for fire brigades. Users can easily obtain vital information such as roof type, or structural composition of properties and buildings.

Blom has captured oblique images of every urban centre in Europe with a population of 50,000 inhabitants or more, totaling more than 1,000 cities.

Blom ASA

Geo: International