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iranfromthezoo · Mar 16, 2007, 10:57 AM

I work with the local FD and we are in the process of looking at going to all mac. The problem is there already isnt much software for the Emergency Services and much of it is crap ware. My question is we want macbook's.

What would it take for us to create software that will have the maps of our region saved in there so we can easily get directions, show the nearest hydrant source, and any preplans on the buildings if we have them. We'd also like to do something that will keep a database such as our times and stuff for when we do our reports.

I know that sounds alot but I was just wondering what all was involved in this. It's something a lot of the fire service and EMS is needing because of new requirements.

besson3c · Mar 16, 2007, 11:06 AM

You would probably want to put your database on a server in a proper, monitored environment where it receives backups and the attention it needs. Do you have something like that? If so, I'd be happy to help with a web-based database.

As far as the maps thing, would a web-based photo gallery of Google Maps maps do the trick there? I"m not really sure I understand exactly what your requirements are there.

iranfromthezoo · Mar 16, 2007, 11:26 AM

well the problem will be that all of these laptops will be in the trucks as a Mobile Data Terminal. So correct me if I am wrong but wouldn't this have to be all database supported?

I'm not sure if we could do a city-wide/county-wide wifi system. Although our Sheriff and PD units all have internet in their squad cars, I'm not sure how it works though. (They use motorola computers which is our radio system also)

We're also just throwing the idea around but in the near future (6 months to a year) we will be having to put major money down and invest.

besson3c · Mar 16, 2007, 11:30 AM

Originally Posted by iranfromthezoo

well the problem will be that all of these laptops will be in the trucks as a Mobile Data Terminal. So correct me if I am wrong but wouldn't this have to be all database supported?

I'm not sure if we could do a city-wide/county-wide wifi system. Although our Sheriff and PD units all have internet in their squad cars, I'm not sure how it works though. (They use motorola computers which is our radio system also)

We're also just throwing the idea around but in the near future (6 months to a year) we will be having to put major money down and invest.

well, would it be possible to simply have a database field for each person's username, and have your workers check in their DB entries at the end of each shift?

Do they need to see the most up-to-date entries of other workers?

peeb · Mar 16, 2007, 11:39 AM

There are a bunch of companies out there that specialize in this kind of thing, especially since the War to Terrify Us was launched. I'm not sure how much of it is Mac-Happy.

besson3c · Mar 16, 2007, 11:41 AM

Your options are basically going to be in the form of personal databases, or client/server based databases (where data is stored via a centralized source, and the clients have the ability to manipulate this data).

As far as the former, options like Filemaker and the OpenOffice/NeoOffice Base might work. I believe you could run a Filemaker server by getting into Lasso and stuff, but this gets expensive and I don't really see the point. With the server, your clients could interact with it via ODBC.

As far as the latter, getting somebody to design you a MySQL or Postgresql database might not be a bad idea, providing you have the facilities to house a server. There are a number of ways the client machines could interact with it.

BTW, the plural of Macbook is "Macbooks", not "Macbook's"

iranfromthezoo · Mar 16, 2007, 11:42 AM

besson3c....I think the only reason we see other reports is for the report number which can change. The reason we would need to keep it would be to send it in to Homeland Security which we do twice a month. We wouldn't do the reports after each call.

besson3c · Mar 16, 2007, 12:33 PM

I don't understand your response, but hopefully the info I've provided is of some use to you.

arcticmac · Mar 17, 2007, 08:34 PM

It sounds to me like what you want would be a client/server system in which the individual macbooks can be synched with a main server periodically to ensure they've got the latest maps, etc. and the server has all the necessary call info. I would think it would be relatively simple to create something to fit the bill, at least from a programming point of view. I'm not exactly sure how/where you'd get the data though.

bri-guy · Mar 23, 2007, 02:39 PM

Just chiming in, but have you asked your local planning/zoning/etc departments if they have GIS data for the city? Most larger cities (at the minimum) use GIS for keeping track of hydrants, trees, roads, etc. There are GIS data viewers for OS X, including a free, open-source one.

I'm not aware of any direction-calculating software that would use your GIS database, but it would not be difficult to write one, especially if you added attributes about each road section to the GIS data.

A database to record times and such for reports - that's easy.

If your in-truck computer doesn't need to be constantly connected to HQ or whatever, all that you asked would not be too difficult. Just sync up when you get back to the station and can plug the computer in.

If you ask me, all of your requirements could be met with any laptop and any OS, but a Macbook is a great machine for it, as OS X comes, out of the box, set up so you can get a database going in a couple minutes and it already has PHP and perl for scripting to the built-in Apache webserver, allowing an easy user-interface to access and store data in the database.

If you'd like to chat about what I've done with GIS data on my Macbook, send me an email

CheesePuff · Mar 24, 2007, 11:11 AM

We just have a Filemaker Pro database of our box book and it can then of course be used on a PC or Mac.

besson3c · Mar 24, 2007, 11:21 AM

Originally Posted by CheesePuff

We just have a Filemaker Pro database of our box book and it can then of course be used on a PC or Mac.

Client/server sort of deal, or just a particular DB tethered to a particular client machine that you somehow pass around?

Thilo Ettelt · Mar 28, 2007, 02:42 PM

You should look at the Google Maps API. If you need a map with highlights of certain locations then this might be the right thing for you. It lets you set markers according to GPS locations, so you could fill up the whole world with fire hydrants, if you knew where they are located. The advantage of this is that you can have it for free and you might use a GPS device to sync your Google Maps position (don't know if there's a software for that?).

- Thilo