Email

By Greg Bartlett

The 911 dispatchers just received a call. There’s a fire on the outskirts of town. Now the dispatchers have to determine which fire truck is closest to the fire and alert it to head out immediately. But there’s another call, this time an accident that requires a least one ambulance. Dispatchers must locate the nearest ambulance and get it there right away if the victim’s life is to be saved. And yet another call, a bank robbery. Which police officers are closest to the bank and could arrive in time to stop the robbers?

In emergency calls, a minute could mean the difference between life and death. So every minute between a 911 call and the time the emergency vehicle arrives on scene is vital. With GPS monitoring, dispatchers no longer have to guess about which vehicle is closest – they can know.

And emergency response personnel no longer have to rely on memory to find the fastest route to an emergency site – the GPS device will find it for them.

A number of cities are beginning to use GPS monitoring to keep track of emergency vehicles so that dispatchers can send the closest vehicle, cutting down on response time and thus saving lives. Dispatchers can monitor emergency vehicles in real time, and when a call comes in, it only takes a moment to locate the nearest appropriate vehicle. Knowing the precise location of each emergency vehicle also allows dispatchers and drivers to find the fastest way to the emergency site.

GPS tracking has become popular with police departments, who recognize that GPS can provide safety for their officers, monitoring them even while they are in dangerous situations, and also help decrease response time to emergency calls.

One fire department in Georgia uses GPS monitoring on their vehicles and on their fire hydrants. When a fire is reported, fire fighters can find the fastest way to the site, but they can also know exactly where the nearest active hydrant is before they arrive.

Using the GPS devices has already increased efficiency and cut down on response time and the time it takes to hook up to a hydrant.

Decreasing the response time to a 911 call is critical and can save lives. If emergency vehicles are equipped with GPS monitoring, dispatchers can help fire trucks reach the fire faster, ambulances to arrive at the accident scene within minutes, and patrol cars to show up in time to capture the bank robbers.