Dublin Fire Brigade provides fire, rescue and emergency ambulance services, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, throughout the four Dublin local authority areas.  Founded over 160 years ago, it is constantly adapting to improve the services that it provides and recently established a new Organisational Intelligence Unit to drive digital transformation projects.

A key goal of this new unit was to optimise the use of location-based information to deliver insights at both a strategic and operational level.  From delivering fire safety campaigns for specific vulnerable groups to notifying firefighters about high-risk buildings, the fire brigade was convinced that it could make better use of geospatial data to help save lives. 

More targeted fire prevention activities 
Through the use of ArcGIS, Dublin Fire Brigade now has the insight it needs to focus its community activities on the right people, in the most high-risk locations.  It can, for example, see clusters of dwelling fires over the last three years and plan educational campaigns for these specific residential areas.  “ArcGIS gives us the ability to target our fire prevention strategies within the city,” explains Howell.  “We can deliver campaigns in the right locations to reach the most vulnerable people and have the biggest impact in terms of community fire prevention.”

Improved firefighter safety 
While the ArcGIS-based Building Risk app is new, Dublin Fire Brigade anticipates that it will improve safety for firefighters by making them more aware of Dublin’s high-risk buildings.  They can then put effective response plans in place that take known issues into account.  “We have to consider firefighters’ health and safety as well as that of the general public,” asserts Howell.  “By being better informed, we can improve our responses to incidents and also keep our responders safe in fires and other emergency situations.”   

Well-informed strategic planning 
Undoubtedly, ArcGIS is providing Dublin Fire Brigade with the insight it needs to help it make better, faster, data-driven decisions about how to evolve the fire service to meet the needs of Dublin’s residents, businesses, institutions and visitors.  It can plan the allocation of resources more effectively by, for example, making plans to ensure aerial fire appliances are based closest to the tallest high-risk buildings and considering the optimal locations for new fire stations, as Dublin expands. 

Huge potential for the future
Recognising that the use of ArcGIS is increasing rapidly within Dublin Fire Brigade, the Organisational Intelligence Unit now plans to organise its ArcGIS apps and geospatial data resources in a web portal, built with ArcGIS Experience Builder.  This will enable operational staff and senior officers to access the solutions and data they need more quickly and make wider use of GIS for strategic and operational decision-making.  “The potential for GIS in the fire service is absolutely huge,” claims Howell.  “ArcGIS has a big role to play in our future.”