LANCASTER, PA - Two months ago, the Hempfield Fire Department was about to respond to a call for a house fire on what sounded like "Pennington Drive."
As the driver climbed into the firetruck, the officer in the passenger seat already knew within three pen taps on the installed Tablet PC that they were, in instead, looking for "Penningdon Drive."
The map highlighted the house's location and the firefighters could see a fire hydrant across the street.
A few months earlier, the firefighters wouldn't have been able to leave the station until the officer flipped through a map purchased at a convenience store and found the street name and map number in the index and then turned to the appropriate map to find the street. Other information about the fire call would be stored in three-ring binders; it was a time-consuming process to find initial details.
Technology, designed by the Lancaster firm Iron Compass Map Co., is speeding up firefighter response time and improving safety. On-Scene Xplorer is a quick-response mapping program designed to guide emergency service providers to their destination by an on-board computer. The computer is current with all county roads, unlike a commerically published street atlas that may be revised every two years.
The computer shows fire hydrants, crossroads, the best way to enter a neighborhood, and has a fire department's pre-plan, which alerts firefighters of any potential problems. The computer uses data from the Lancaster County Planning Commission's Geographic Informational System.
"It benefits us in many respects," Hempfield fire Chief Matt Burfete said. "Before, the information was available to us, but it just took longer to find it. The ability to store information is so much easier now."
On-Scene Xplorer was created by Landisville resident John Fix, a computer mapper with a degree in geoenvironmental studies from Shippensburg University. From 1988-91, Fix managed the digital conversion of Lancaster County's hard-copy inventory maps into the development of a countywide GIS database.
He worked for MapQuest for 10 years, managing the development of mapping databases and the conversion of the National Geographic Society's "Atlas of the World" into a high-quality, worldwide database.
In 2001, Fix left MapQuest to start Iron Compass Map Co., a custom cartographic company that does maps for large publications such as telephone companies and Web sites. Iron Compass moved to Liberty Place in August. Prior to that, the business was run in the basement of his home for three years.
His neighbor was Burfete. Fix asked Burfete a few years ago how firefighters found their destinations. He learned that firefighters were putting out fires in state-of-art trucks, but with a primitive system for reaching the fires. "They didn't have a good way to get out as first responders on the scene," Fix said. "There was no suitable software."
Bundled with a rugged Panasonic Tablet PC, On-Scene Xplorer is a turn-key system ready for the toughest conditions. The system includes installation and mounting of the hardware in each fire truck. Fix said Iron Compass can also provide conversion of GIS mapping databases and pre-plan drawings into On-Scene Xplorer formatted data, creating mapping layers and converting a county's hardcopy maps into digital files for use in GIS databases.
It also has a Global Positioning System. Maps and information can be stored on PDF files.
In addition to Hempfield firefighters, Lafeyette, Eden, Rohrerstown and Manheim fire departments have purchased the system, which is priced about $7,000 a unit. It's $1,300 for the software, $4,000 for the computer and $1,600 to mount the computer. Fix does not charge for the data because it comes from the county. It isn't cheap, but firefighters believe it has made their job easier.
"We're very enthusiastic and pleased with the system," said Ron Nolt, fire chief at Lafayette in East Lampeter Township. "We are able to tag certain areas with an orange triangle to show there is additional information or to indicate that there are hazardous materials being stored in a building." Nolt said another nice feature is updating information. Lafayette has three units. If new information comes in about a building or neighborhood via e-mail, he can download it and update it in all three computers.
He said he also likes, just from typing in an address, knowing where gas meters and sprinkler turn-off valves are located. The pre-incident planning windows allow for storage and retrieval of important details like utility shut-off locations, hazardous materials storage, occupancy, and fire suppression systems.
Many times multiple departments assist at a scene. On-Scene Xplorer can access data for the entire county. Stations that have the system can exchange data. "There's no guesswork," Nolt said. "Technology is wonderful." For example, the sooner firefighters can locate where sprinkler shut-offs are, means less water damage for a business.
Tim Bair, plant manager at Kellogg's, said his plant is on 78 acres, 40 of which are under roof. "Now they have a map that they can pull up right away, instead of pulling one of my guys away to gain the information," he said. "They [firefighters] know the column numbers in the plant and know where the fire hydrants are in the touch of a stroke. It was a no-brainer to get on board and supply them with information."
As fire department calls continue to rise - Hempfield has had more than 370 calls this year, up from last year's 350 and Lafayette has had more than 450, up more than 5 percent from last year - firefighters look for anything that will help their job.
"It makes it a lot easier," said Randy Artz, assistant fire chief at Hempfield. "What it has done for me, being a bit newer and a younger fire chief, it has helped me give incoming fire apparatus direction. Before, I had to look in three different books for information. Now, here's the hydrant. Here's what road to enter. Here's what to avoid. It's all there." Fix is looking to expand On-Scene Xplorer to other counties. He has talked to stations in Dauphin, Cumberland, Lebanon and Chester counties.
