Fire Trucks to Utilize Satellites and Computers
Here is an interesting article about locating the fire and hydrants (from the Bellevue Leader via FireFightingNews.com).
Thanks to Geographical Information Systems, the BVFD is just a couple months away from using computers linked to satellites to quickly find the address of a burning house and the nearest fire hydrant within seconds....
Betts said a fire truck would have a mobile data computer. The computer would refresh every 30 seconds to show the location of a fire, the location of the truck and all possible hydrants in the vicinity.
Small towns will probably never utilize this technology because of two reasons. First, the cost is probably too high for small department budgets. Second, it isn't difficult to locate the fire or hydrants when the firefighters know pretty much where everyone lives and where all the hydrants are.
However, in places with larger populations, this technology would be very useful, especially in fast growing areas with new developments being built.
