[iranfromthezoo]

Okay guys I got a really weird question and I`m not sure if this is the place for me to ask. I am a firefighter down here in MS and me and the guys were thinking. If there was a natural diaster such as a tornado or forest fire and multiple agencies were responding to the scene would there be a way to track them? Well I know your wondering how does this have anything to do with computers, well heres the question. On my mac, is there anyway I can get a computer program, with maps, of roads and home addresses. Could we somehow figure out a way to use those maps and mark points of entry, homes that are in danger or destroyed, and what units are to be sent where? I know a weird question, but it was something that popped in my mind, and figured it would be a easy way to at least have some handle on a situation. By the way, we do have CAD (Computer Aided Dispatch) but I am not sure how it works. Do you guys this something like this would be wasting the FD's time, or would you like something like this for your town? ALSO IMPORTANT, must play well with mac and Win. XP.

[DigitalEl]

These guys pitched our department last week. The brochures are damn impressive, but I wasn't privy to the actual demo. AFAIK, we didn't bite on it, but it sure looks cool.

Although Mac support is important to you, I'm pretty sure this is only a Windows program. I don't know of any CAD software that's Mac-based... Although our communications manager is looking at the biggest Cinema Displays to try and consolidate our current array of 9 (yes NINE) 15" displays per station.

[yogi]

This is definitely not a stupid question or concern, as organizing and co-ordinating various emergency services is problematic and potentially deadly if poorly organized, as anyone who read the nine-eleven report could tell you.
I'm soorry I don't have any software solutions for this, but its worth pursuing. Perhaps the open source community could be challenged with this problem in need of a solution.

[Moose]

Originally posted by yogi:
Perhaps the open source community could be challenged with this problem in need of a solution.

Knowing that First Responder 0.7 Nightly 20050320 was keeping my local police, fire, and medical emergency services organized sure would give me warm fuzzies.

[DigitalEl]

Knowing that First Responder 0.7 Nightly 20050320 was keeping my local police, fire, and medical emergency services organized sure would give me warm fuzzies.

LOL