Emergency Routing

Emergency Routing is the process of determining the fastest and most reliable paths for fire trucks, ambulances, and police vehicles to reach emergency scenes. Unlike standard navigation that optimizes for the shortest or fastest typical route, emergency routing accounts for vehicle size restrictions, traffic signal preemption capabilities, real-time congestion, road closures, and the ability of emergency vehicles to use shoulders and opposing lanes. GISGISGeographic Information Systems (GIS) enable users to analyze and visualize spatial data to uncover patterns, relation...-based emergency routing integrates real-time traffic data, road network attributes, and vehicle-specific constraints to calculate response paths. Station location analysis uses network service area modeling to ensure emergency facilities provide adequate coverage, identifying gaps where response times exceed targets. Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL) systems track emergency fleet positions to dispatch the closest available unit. Applications include 911 dispatch optimization, fire station siting studies, and mutual aid coordination between jurisdictions. Response time mapping reveals areas with inadequate coverage that may need new stations or relocated units. Post-incident analysis compares actual routes to optimal paths to identify improvement opportunities. Emergency routing is also critical for disaster response, where damaged infrastructure requires dynamic rerouting around impassable roads and bridges.