Is Special Data Driving Your Fire Engine? Continued from page 41 drills. The Kent Fire Public Information Office has developed excellent relationships with the media and citizens in the fire district. Kent Fire supports close relationships with commercial utility providers throughout its jurisdiction. Appropriate information is carefully shared and incorporated into emergency response plans. Utility data often includes secure, private information, so special arrangements between the two organizations protect sensitive information. Fire Suppression Water Supply Type Water sources and storage Water distribution system Water delivery systems Communications Type Emergency services communication Public telephone Utilities Type Culinary water Electrical service Gas service Example Location, quality, and security, emergency backups Distribution systems, service areas, emergency backups Distribution systems, service areas, emergency shutoffs and shutdown procedures Collection systems, treatment facilities, environmental sensitivities Kent Fire Station 73, located in the southwest corner of the district, protects residential and commercial occupancies along a major interstate highway. information is used to update census population counts. Many regional associations of governments estimate annual population increases for municipalities, but it is much more difficult to determine growth within special districts that do not match city boundaries. Growth studies often use Traffic Analysis Zone (TAZ) projections to estimate future population in reasonably small areas. At the local level—and until Census 2010 data is released—emergency service planners use a variety of spatial and tabular information to update current populations and estimate future growth. Sources of demographic data might include  U.S. Census Bureau  Community census updates  Business statistics  Building permits (both issued and finalized)  Planning and community growth projections  Local expert knowledge At Kent Fire, GIS analysts filter current assessor parcel data to separate single family from multifamily dwellings. Building permits, fire preplans, and housing authorities provide multifamily data including unit counts and occupancy rates. Once the unit count www.esri.com assessor parcels, building footprints, building permits, and field inspections keeps this data current. Kent Fire uses this point data as the source for its first order incident geocoding address locator because this data places incident points directly on the involved structure. Demographics Demographic data is often the best way to identify which resident populations are at risk. The U.S. Census Bureau updates block-level statistics every 10 years. It is 2010, and Census 2000 data is out of date in many parts of the country. Kent and other agencies anxiously await the release of this 2010 data. In the interim, locally collected summary Kent Fire analysts use risk maps to compare primary station response capabilities to urban, suburban, and rural areas within the district. Example Reservoirs, wells, tanks, and towers Pipes, pumps, valves, pressure regulators Fire hydrants, fixed fire protection (sprinklers) Example CAD center, emergency operations center, repeaters, portable and fixed radios Land line and cell towers Sewer, storm sewer system Table 3: Infrastructure types and datasets Location and Descriptive Information This category can become a catch-all for a variety of data. It is sometimes difficult to distinguish between a critical facility with very special needs and a target hazard exhibiting lesser hazard or risk. This data has location or position information that is important to public safety mappers. Data types are typically points or polygons. Data sources can include assessor parcels, fire preplans, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) inventories, or similar datasets. Important location-based data might include  E-911 address points  Target hazards  Cultural values  Areas of critical environmental concern Kent Fire works closely with the King County E-911 office to maintain a complete, current E-911 point set. Information collected from 42 ArcUser Fall 2010