Why do fire departments use Mapsco map books?

[bleague]

I've noticed that most of the Fire Departments I listen to often refer to the Mapsco page for the location of their call.

Those are great map books, but wouldn't a GPS device be more accurate and presumably more up to date?

[DMBFireman]

There are several reasons but the two main ones I can think of are that Mapsco maps are readily available and updated which means less work for a department to make up their own map books. As for using GPS it is still quicker to look up a street in a map book than to type an address in a GPS unit when you are having to do a whole slew of things on the way to a call. If I'm going to a fire I barely have enough time to finish getting my gear and air pack all on along with my flashlight, thermal imaging camera, and radio ready. In addition to that I'm looking at hydrant locations and if its an apartment complex I'm looking for the building in our apartment books. There's a lot going on in that fire truck when they leave the station so unless you have a system that automatically shows you a GPS route to a call its not very Feasible to use a seperate GPS unit.

Brandon

[bleague]

Wow, all kinds of things I have never thought of. Thanks for the quick response - it all makes sense now.

[ab5r]

Excellent reply Brandon. Additionally, the dispatcher receives from a caller a locating, at the very best, a street address, not a specific GPS coordinate. Mapsco coordinates are very handy getting approximate locations. No every fire is showing, not every fire call is a fire.

Hope this helps.

[Para078]

Also, you can find shortcuts in the Mapsco that a GPS wouldn't know. Comes with knowing your area better than a machine.

MedStar's mapping system will show where you are and a route to the call, but sometimes you can Mapsco yourself in.