Rock Island County, Ill., E9-1-1 Center Connects GIS Data to Calls

Rock Island County, Ill., is implementing a system that will give dispatchers at the county's E9-1-1 dispatching center access to geospatial information relevant to incoming emergency calls. The solution is being supplied by Pictometry.

The first phase of the installation that links the location coordinates from inbound calls displayed on the county's mapping solution to aerial images of a caller's location is already complete. The result is a visual display for county 9-1-1 call takers that shows not only a map of the caller's location, but also high-resolution images that show the incident area from multiple sides and angles.

The solution allows public-safety agencies and 9-1-1 call takers to easily access up to 12 different views of any property, building, highway, or other feature in a county. It also enables users to create measurements such as distance, height, elevation, and area, directly from the imagery as well as insert GIS content and other data.

"Pictometry is an excellent product that plays an important and exciting role in public safety and emergency response in Rock Island County," said Steven Seiver, chairman of Rock Island County Enhanced 9-1-1, Emergency Telephone System Board. "The easy access to current, high quality oblique and ortho photos aids in the prompt and appropriate emergency response. The variety of tools available through Pictometry's software facilitates both analysis and pre-planning."

The county's future plans include deploying the imaging technology to other county public safety agencies such as law enforcement, fire departments, as well as in emergency response vehicles. This will allow all county public safety agencies to have a shared visual information system for viewing, measuring, and communicating vital information on situations in progress.