Virtual USA Emergency Response Prototype

Virtual USA is the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) effort to coordinate development and integration of geospatial tools at all levels of government. DHS selected Multnomah County to prototype a “Common Operating Picture” emergency response platform for Oregon and the Pacific Northwest.
The Gartrell Group has partnered with the County in the design and development of the “Bridge” platform, which integrates a real-time view of incidents and resources with an extensive suite of specialized tools and data to equip users to better plan, coordinate, and execute their response to everyday incidents and major crises alike.  Version 1 of Bridge has recently migrated to production status at the County and is now being rolled out to stakeholders across the region.

Key features of the Bridge platform include:

• Mobile capabilities which allow first responders and field personnel to increase the situational awareness of other Bridge users by submitting updates directly from the field.
• Capabilities to dynamically integrate diverse forms of data, including a variety of data services and AVL and vehicle routing data.
• Role-based access to data and system capabilities.
• Collaboration tools which allow users in different locations to mutually develop and share a response plan or map, drawing and adding data and features and witnessing one another’s gestures and updates in real-time

We will start work with the County shortly on Version 2.

Disaster Recovery in New Orleans, LA

The Gartrell Group provided ongoing GIS support services to the Mayor’s Office of Technology in New Orleans, Louisiana following the devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina.
We had staff on-site shortly after the hurricane passed, and our initial involvement was focused largely on urgent disaster recovery needs.  Task work included:

• Developing mobile solutions for building and infrastructure assessment
• Collaborating with the disaster recovery team to streamline a re-permitting process for commercial buildings
• Integrating remote sensing data and derivative products to develop inundation measurements in support of FEMA funding and insurance claim processes
• Providing support to improve coordination with the independent City of New Orleans Emergency Response Center.

In post-recovery, our team continued to provide planning support, and system design and implementation services to the City.  This resulted in a far more capable GIS platform and a service oriented architecture enabling broader internal and external access to GIS capabilities and information.