Kitimat-Stikine (RDKS)
Self-Service Address Location Tool for Emergency Response Systems
The Regional District of Kitimat-Stikine (RDKS) serves Kitimat, Terrace, the Hazeltons from Kitwanga to Moricetown, Stewart and includes many First Nations communities, representing one of the largest 9-1-1 response areas in BC. The region covers almost 105,000 square kilometers (an area larger than some countries) with almost 39,900 residents.
Challenges
RDKS needed to provide accurate address data to 9-1-1 emergency dispatchers, meeting their data specifications. Some communities had address databases; others relied on outdated physical maps. Address databases were in various formats. Some personal telephone numbers and many rural areas lacked civic addresses. RDKS needed a distance-based addressing system to fix this. They needed to standardize address data, assign street addresses to missing properties and deliver a system for easy updating by the various communities.
Solution
“Accurate addresses are critical to reach residents facing 9-1-1 emergencies.” – Eva Kerby, Mapping/GIS, Regional District of Kitimat-Stikine.
Using Pacific Alliance’s own iVAULT Edit on MapGuide Open Source, Pacific Alliance delivered a web- based solution for address editing and a process to automatically meet three sets of address standards used by the emergency response organizations.
Results
Pacific Alliance consolidated address data sets, automatically identified problem areas, and created an online process for communities to update addresses and work with RDKS to resolve data gaps. Communities edit addresses online and reconciled data is integrated into three standards used by emergency response organizations. In February 2009, RDKS launched 9-1-1 emergency response services covering 16,700 addresses and 900 roads. “Building a complete address database to meet 9-1-1 dispatch specifications was a challenging task. Pacific Alliance resolved our many address issues, delivering an economical, easy-to-use solution. This was key to implementing 9-1-1 services,” said Eva Kerby, Map- ping/GIS, Regional District of Kitimat-Stikine.
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