UK fire & rescue services to choose Cadcorp SIS

17 December 2008, 10:09pm

Three new contract signings bring to 37 the number of UK fire & rescue services to choose Cadcorp SIS for their GIS applications

Cadcorp’s GIS software now used on a daily basis by two-thirds of fire & rescue services throughout England and Wales.

Digital mapping and geographic information systems (GIS) software developer Cadcorp has announced that with the recent signing of contracts with three more of the UK’s fire and rescue services, 37 of the 54 services in England and Wales have now selected Cadcorp SIS – Spatial Information System either on a corporate basis or as part of their GIS strategy.

Among fire and rescue services using Cadcorp SIS desktop and web-based software is the third largest in the world – the London Fire Brigade (LFB) – where it is used both as an operational tool and as a management information tool. Developed on Cadcorp’s dynamic web-based GIS, GeognoSIS, the London Fire Brigade’s corporate GIS, known as IMapping, is integrated with the incident recording system and also provides links to the brigades own Incident Risk Analysis Tool (IRAT). Beyond day-to-day activities, LFB’s IMapping system is used to publish maps on event plans, such as the location of resources at major sporting events and to publish site maps under the Control of Major Accident Hazards (COMAH) regulations. It is also used in various corporate-level activities, such as emergency planning and risk management as well as for the presentation of performance statistics.


SUPPORTING REGIONAL CONTROL CENTRES

Many other fire and rescue services elsewhere in the UK have also selected Cadcorp SIS desktop and GeognoSIS web-based GIS software for a variety of applications. These applications all benefit from Cadcorp SIS’ support of Ordnance Survey data, direct connections to a range of databases, dynamic analysis tools and the ability to read over 160 different GIS and CAD data sources without translation. This last capability in particular is especially important in multi-agency work and in simplifying data exchange with the new Regional Control Centres.

At Nottinghamshire Fire & Rescue Service, for example, Cadcorp SIS was originally deployed for incident and fire safety analysis, map management and distribution and for operational CAD plans but has since been extended to include its use in the Control Room. Here it is used alongside the brigade’s existing control GIS during extremely busy periods and for major incidents.
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Meanwhile, at Gloucestershire Fire & Rescue Service Cadcorp SIS Map Manager has been selected for use in the Control Room while Map Modeller is used for risk management applications. It will also interface with a number of other, existing applications, including SSi Fireplan, hand-held GPS systems used by fire hydrant inspectors, the Fire Services Emergency Cover (FSEC) toolkit and the Community Fire Risk Management Information System (CFRMIS).

Another example is Leicestershire Fire & Rescue Service, where Cadcorp SIS integrates with and augments the service’s existing GIS installations, enabling data from these disparate systems to be input to and accessed from a single spatial data warehouse, making it readily available to a wider audience.


WORKING TOGETHER, SHARING IDEAS

To provide a forum for the exchange of information and ideas among the UK’s fire brigades, the Cadcorp Fire Service Users Group meets annually, having been formed six years ago. Since its formation it has proved extremely helpful in enabling individual services to maximise the benefit from their investment and to share their experiences with others.

“We are very proud that the great majority of the UK’s fire and rescue services use Cadcorp SIS to satisfy their GIS requirements,” said Mike O’Neil, managing director, Cadcorp. “Together, these services form a community with similar aims and objectives and we are delighted to be able to help them learn from each other by actively supporting the Fire Service Users Group,” he added.

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