Riverside County Fire GIS is a GIS community leader in providing full service, professional, geographic information services to support and enhance the effectiveness of department decision making. Maps, data, and analysis produced by Fire GIS allow department decision makers to consider and visualize important factors about emergency and non-emergency situations via products that are simple to understand and easy to communicate with others. The Fire GIS Manager, Fire GIS Analyst, and Fire GIS Specialist work together to maintain and assemble these products and services to meet the growing and changing needs of the Department.

Fire GIS has developed and maintains the most accurate digital model of theRiverside County road system. This model helps dispatchers to identify and assign the closest available resources to any emergency. The Riverside County Fire Department in cooperation with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection works closely with State, County, Cities, and Local agencies to ensure the accurate and timely maintenance of this essential road system model.   One way current information about roads is collected is by the use of an internet map server (IMS). Stations and field personnel can “mark up” an online map from their station computer and submit any address or road changes to Fire GIS at headquarters. The roads model is then changed by the GIS staff, in response to these requests via the IMS system, resulting in better service to the department and the community that we serve.

GIS staff can be assigned to any emergency incident that requires the tracking, communication, or display of geographically significant information. Natural disasters such as fire, flood, earthquake or other disasters such as weapons of mass destruction or nuclear/biological terrorism require the collection, analysis, and display of the geophysical and human factors involved. Information processed by Fire GIS helps to discover data trends/relationships and bring information together in a way that helps emergency managers make better informed decisions based on the best available data.