Public Safety GIS Data Model
Organizations representing the fire and emergency services (ESF 4), have developed a template for a GIS data model to support standard and disaster related operations at the local level. Initial funding for the Public Safety GIS data model project is through a cooperative agreement between The National Association of State Fire Marshals and US DOT Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, and ESRI.
The initiative is currently being coordinated with the IT standards being defined by the NFPA Data and Technology (DAT) Committee. The data model template has been incorporated into the DHS-Geodatabase Model (GDM) and published on the Federal Geospatial Data Committee (FGDC) website. It incorporates other relevant standards such as the National Emergency Information Exchange Model (NIEM).
The purpose of this project is to develop a national model for managing geospatial data related to fire operations at the local level. The initial phase of the project focuses on incident data with an emphasis on hazmat operations. A draft model for the initial phase has been released and is available for public comment. Sample data sets and application templates are available on the Public Safety Resource Center.
The Leadership Team
Developing a data model is a process. The initial development of the existing data model was guided by oversight from a national leadership team. The key roles of these participants are outlined in this section. The overall goal is to provide enough leadership structure to facilitate active engagement by as wide a spectrum of interested participants as possible.
The leadership team provides direction, coordination and oversight to the project. The social, educational, and even political aspects of the exercise need to be considered throughout—this is an important part of the modeling exercise. It is about communication, understanding, and balancing the perspectives of data producers, data users, and business partners that provide applications. This team helps set the overall scope/focus/direction of the model by drawing on their own experience as well as the input from the constituents they represent.
National Fire Service Organization Representatives:
- Rand Napoli—FL State Fire Marshal, Ret. (National Association of State Fire Marshals)
- Chief Keith Richter—Orange County Fire Authority, CA (Metro Fire Chiefs—IAFC and NFPA)
- Chief Fred Windisch—Ponderosa VFD, TX (Volunteer and Combination Officer Section—IAFC)
The National Fire Service Organization Representatives provide policy guidance to the project. They provide information and outreach to the organizations listed below and solicit feedback into the process to ensure alignment with the goals of the organizations they represent and coordination with the other organizations listed below.
ESRI Representatives:
- Jennifer Schottke—Industry Lead, ESRI—Jennifer guides participant involvement in the project to make sure that the important "players" in the domain are involved. She helps to organize meetings and make sure the right people show up for key review meetings.
- Steve Grise—ArcGIS Technical Lead, ESRI—Steve facilitates the technical design and reviews of the model. Steve has extensive experience designing other data models and from a technical perspective is able to explain the rationale behind modeling decisions relative to pilot project objectives. Throughout the project, Steve provides technical oversight, workshop facilitation, and reach back into other relevant modeling projects currently in progress.
Key Technical Liaison:
- David Blankinship—Senior GIS Analyst, Colorado Springs Fire Department, CO—David is the key technical liaison and assists the ArcGIS Technical Lead in the development and testing of the data model.
In consultation with ESRI Representatives in the implementation and management of public safety GIS, the Key Technical Liaison provides technical leadership in the user community to help people to understand what we are working on and how it is relevant to their organization. Together, this team understands the discipline well enough to provide strong outreach to the domain experts and community of end users intended as the ultimate beneficiaries of the project. This team also provides input into the projects interface with the big issues: i.e., current and evolving federal standards, typical projects, what is important in the design, etc.
Fire Service Stakeholder Review
This is the larger group of reviewers and participants. This group represent key interests for all parts of the user community. They represent their personal/organizational interests but they also represent the interests of their peers that will eventually use the data model template.
This briefing has been prepared by The Leadership Team to provide information on the project and to encourage widespread participation. For more information on the project and to learn how you can participate, contact Jennifer Schottke at 703-506-9515 ext 8019.