Title of Article: The Incident Map Symbology Story
Original Article Written by: Lt, Chris Rogers, Kirkland Fire Department
Summary Written by: Catherine Bronson
Date Posted: June 21, 2012
We all know that certain symbols are universal in a particular community or society. We all know that a red sign at the end of the street means stop, a green light means go and a yellow triangle means caution. Maps are the same way for those who need to use them. We all know that N means north on a map. First responders of all types need maps to negotiate where they are, where they are going and to make quick analysis of dangerous situations. In order to do this, the maps they use need to have symbols that are easily recognizable. These maps come in many forms, from paper to computer, some hand drawn and some computer generated. Many of these first responders are now using GIS for construction of their maps and integrating their data. The problem arises when different types of first responders use different symbols and different map forms but need to work together. A specific incident may involve local organizations such as town police or fire, state organizations such as spill response units, state police and health and natural resources officials along with federal organizations like FEMA and the Red Cross. They may all be using different forms of maps such as:
Street Maps
Emergency or building pre-plans
Incident command and control applications
Damage assessment applications
Crisis management systems
And many others
Different responders have different terminology, priorities and data needed. However, they all have the same goals of protection, fast response and mitigation and need to work together as a group to achieve these goals and therefore need consistent data. According to Lt. Rogers, this is often called a Common Operating Picture.
A common symbol known by various responders makes critical and timely decision making easier and clearer. The problem arises that different organizations have different needs and different terminology. An example of a success story for standardization of symbols is the National Wildfire Coordination Group. This standardization of map symbology makes maps clearer and easier to understand. However, this symbology does not work for other groups. Another group under the US Department of Homeland Security attempted to create symbols included into four categories: Incident, Infrastructure, Sensors and Command Features. There were issues with this set of symbols such as they were too graphical and hard to hand draw, some symbols were vague in their purpose due to a variety of definitions in various agencies and although over 200 symbols were created, there were still a lot missing.
As a solution to this problem was the creation of a group with the help of the NAPSG Foundation. This group consists of people representing various first responder organization and requiring that the members have practical hands on experience as emergency responders and practical knowledge of mapping and GIS. This group of responders were first presented with a challenge to create a map that showed the features: Hazards on an incident, Features that can help mitigate and incident and Mapping where command functions are located. They then presented the map to the group. At the in-person meeting they discussed each map and looked for common features. What was decided at the meeting was the following requirements:
A set of guidelines instead of standards
Symbols that can be hand drawn
Symbology that does not require a lot of training to understand
Symbology must be usable in routine business of public safety agencies
Along with the acknowledgement that two types of maps are needed, a Tactical Map with a single problem emergency and a Strategic Map for a multiple problem emergency. Below is an example of these types of symbols on a Strategic Map.
This group that came together made a good start identifying the problem and the broad solutions to this problem. They decided from the beginning that they did not wish to “re-invent the wheel” and to keep in mind that what they came up with needed to be flexible, scalable and consider all the hazards first responders may encounter from the smallest incident to a multi organizational large event. I found this article very informative particularly with my involvement as support for some of these first responders and having taken FEMA courses. I can see where there will be a broad benefit to the many organizations that need to come together to solve issues at hand and I see where there will need to be flexibility as different uses are and different priorities are met.
