Kent Fire/Fire District 37 in southern King County, Washington, protects an area of approximately 49 square miles that encompasses urban, suburban, and rural areas. Here an engine travels to the City of Covington to a new station that provides a high service level in the eastern portion of the district. Kent Fire/Fire District 37 is a career, rather than a volunteer, department in southern King County that protects a population living in approximately 49 square miles that encompasses urban, suburban, and rural areas. The district includes large warehouses and light industrial development. The district lies on a major north–south interstate freeway and a second high-speed arterial, and major north–south railroads traverse the city’s downtown core. The district lies immediately southeast of SeaTac International Airport and approximately 10 miles from Port of Seattle’s Duwamish seaport. Their fixed facilities include eight staffed fire stations and a Fire Prevention Bureau. In 2009, emergency responses exceeded 15,000 calls. Of these, approximately 76 percent were rescue and emergency medical service (EMS) calls; 5 percent were fire, explosion, and Hazmat calls; and 19 percent were service and other calls. The department serves a total population of more than 138,000 and protects assets that were assessed in 2009 at approximately $18 billion. The Valley Communications Center (Valley Com), the region’s dispatch center, is upgrading software and services. The district actively participates in the development of regional public safety datasets for deployment on mobile mapping and communication platforms. Framework Data for Public Safety FGDC, through the National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI), has developed a framework for assembling and supporting geographic data on a nationwide basis to serve a variety of users. The seven key data elements identified by the FGDC are (listed in order): geodetic control, cadastral, orthoimagery, elevation, hydrography, administrative units, and transportation. These familiar datasets are typically developed, maintained, and used by public and private organizations within a specific geographic area. Public safety mapping uses data from all these framework data types. For more information about the FGDC Data Framework, visit www.fgdc.gov/framework/frameworkoverview. My First Choice—Transportation To create and maintain time-based emergency response networks, current, accurate transportation data is essential. Detailed street data that supports both time-based travel and incident geocoding is essential. Geocoding incidents also supports risk analysis by allowing historic incidents to be posted on maps. To start a study, I first look for the best available street dataset(s). Sometimes, the same street dataset will support both functions, but often two street sets, obtained from the same or similar sources, are enhanced, then maintained separately to support each task. High-quality street data is available from commercial vendors. Reasonably current and accurate data is also available without charge from vendors and through the U.S. government. In many cases, locally constructed and maintained streets provide the most current, accurate, and adaptable solution. Continued on page 36 www.esri.com ArcUser Summer 2010 35