Cografi Bilgi Sistemleri

Updated aerial maps will speed emergency response March 12, 2011

Google Maps has nothing on the digital mapping systems used by the state’s emergency communications centers.

Counties across North Carolina have been implementing systems to better locate emergencies when a 911 call comes in, and thanks to a $12.3 million grant awarded to the city of Durham, all 100 counties will benefit from the same group of updated images this year.

The grant, funded by the N.C. 911 Board, allows counties with pre-existing mapping systems to update them with new digital images, and gives those counties without the systems the same technology the rest of the state is using for emergency calls. The grant was paid for by the added 60-cent emergency call surcharge to residents’ telephone bills.

The purpose of the digital mapping system is to piece together images of the state by county, and provide individual counties with images of their — and surrounding — counties. That way, when a 911 call is received, call centers are quickly able to pinpoint the site of the emergency and respond accordingly.

Dexter Brower, director of Alamance County Central Communications, said the grant came at the perfect time for Alamance County. Thanks to the funding, the county won’t have to take money out of its general budget to pay for the updates, which needed to be completed this year.
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