Equipment Distribution for Structural Stabilization and Civilian Rescue

The efficiency of Urban Search and Rescue operations depends on the supply of appropriate equipment and resources, and an efficient damage assessment facilitates deployment of these resources. This paper presents an Information Technology (IT) supported system for on-site data collection to communicate structural condition, track search and rescue status, and request and allocate appropriate resources. The system provides a unified interface for efficient gathering, storing, and sharing of building assessment information. Visualization and access of such information enable rescuers to respond to the disaster more efficiently with better situational awareness. The IT system also provides an interface for electronic resource requests to a geospatial resource repository service that enables a spatial disaster management environment for resource allocation. Request and deployment of critical resources through this system enables lifesaving efforts, with the appropriate equipment, operator, and materials, to become more efficient and effective. System development at the Illinois Fire Service Institute has shown promising results. man power is not sufficient to perform Urban Search and Rescue (US&R) operations. The performance of search and rescue depends on the delivery of these critical resources. As US&R operations involve the location, rescue, and initial medical stabilization of victims DOI: 10.4018/jiscrm.2011010102 20 International Journal of Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management, 3(1), 19-31, January-March 2011 Copyright © 2011, IGI Global. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited. trapped in confined spaces, inefficient equipment delivery could delay civilian rescue. At the same time, safety of the rescuers is one of the most important responsibilities of US&R and structural stability of damaged infrastructures is a key component of rescuers’ safety. FEMA US&R Structural triage is the process of evaluating structurally compromised buildings to determine operational priority (US Army Corps of Engineers, 2008). The priority is set based on factors such as occupancy, known victims, probability of live victims, collapse mechanism and structural condition. To keep track of search and rescue information at structurally compromised buildings, building marking systems (BMS) are used in the current practice. As technical rescue operations for major disasters tend to be in the order of hours/days, these marking systems are imperative for effective communication and allocation of rescue forces. In a lifesaving scenario, standardized information for building identification, conditions assessment, hazards and victim status is of great importance. However, challenges in the current practice have been identified. This paper presents an Information Technology (IT) supported system that addresses the challenges for on-site data collection to communicate structural condition, status of US&R operations, and to request resources for stabilization of those structures for search and rescue within those structures.