An article published by the Guardian last week featured Perimeter’s partnership with the Palo Alto Office of Emergency Services, highlighting the importance of new incident response technologies as fires continue to spread across California.
Emergency management strategies have been hindered by silos since long before the recent focus on big data. In order to better contextualize the effects of information silos on public safety efforts, we’ll explore the harms that silos pose to each of the four phases of emergency management: mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery.
The storage of information across distinct information silos, also known as data silos, has resulted in barriers to data-sharing and collaboration between public safety agencies. Breaking down these barriers is key to bringing situational intelligence to public safety.
The coming months bring potentially devastating risks to the U.S., if the last three years are any indication. With the coronavirus expected to continue spreading throughout the summer, those risks are greater than ever.
In addition to physical resources like maps, radios, or personal protective equipment (PPE), responders use conceptual frameworks to help them make important decisions during an incident. One of the most important conceptual tools in the realm of emergency management is situational awareness.
As public safety agencies adapt to the new normal of pandemic preparedness, we look to industry experts for insight into the future of situational intelligence for public safety. Fire Chief Dan Munsey has been instrumental in bringing new technologies to San Bernardino public safety teams, making the county an important innovator for incident response tools.
According to the International Association of Fire Chiefs, as of May 3 over 13,000 first responders have been exposed to the coronavirus and over 12,000 have been quarantined as a result. Many departments are exploring new tools to get the most out of their limited resources while maintaining social distancing.