Uzi Bashan, the Fire Officer with Israel’s Fire and Rescue Commission, recently wrote an article on the Google Enterprise Blog on how they use Google Earth and Google Maps to help with their fire and rescue efforts.
From the article:
After the devastating Mt. Carmel fire in December 2010, which killed 44 people, injured dozens, and wiped out nearly 40,000 acres of forest, senior officers at the Fire and Rescue Commission realized we needed a more advanced fire alert system. This prompted our decision to deploy mapping technology from Google.
Now, using Google Earth Enterprise as our main GIS mapping platform, each call center operator has two screens – one displaying information from the national system, and the other displaying maps with Google Earth. Google Earth maps, with customized data layers, are automatically updated in real-time to show exactly where fires are and which firefighters are the closest to them. What used to take minutes now takes seconds.
It’s an excellent use of the Google Earth Enterprise platform, and I’m sure we’ll continue to see new examples like this in the coming months and years as other organizes streamline their processes in a similar manner. Be sure to read the full post at the Google Enterprise Blog.
About Mickey Mellen
Mickey has been using Google Earth since it was released in 2005, and has created a variety of geo-related sites including Google Earth Hacks. He runs a web design firm in Marietta, GA, where he lives with his wife and two kids.