The very first map probably was scratched out with a stick in the dust. Primitive hunters chasing large mammals or warriors on a warpath probably made these primitive scribblings to describe where they were and where the enemy or the game was.

Over the years, map production has become more sophisticated. Yet, fire officers often have very limited maps to help them do a better job. Sometimes, the amount of information on the printed map is not much better than the lines etched on the ground. The maps often are very difficult to see under some emergency conditions and almost always out of date.

That's too bad, because technology can significantly improve that scenario.

The idea behind Geographical Information Systems and how it applies to emergency response is not new. About 100 years ago, the Sanborn Company made one of first efforts to create maps for the fire service. These Sanborn maps were detailed, hand-drawn maps that helped identify a community's fire problem. These maps are like a work of art. They were state of the art at the turn of the century.

The state of the art in today's mapping is vastly superior to turn-of-the-century technology. Yet it is troubling that so few departments have access to it. There are many fire agencies that could benefit tremendously from GIS, but they have not moved to acquire it.

The need for a universal, professionally validated means of sharing data and resources across a nationwide landscape is why this condition must be fixed. We need a mapping system that helps the fire service deal with disasters that range from community-based, low-frequency and high-consequence events through catastrophic events that are multi-jurisdictional, multi-county and even multi-state.

This is a daunting task that will not happen right away, even if we wanted it to. But, it may happen without fire service interests in mind if another branch of public safety takes the leadership role in establishing that system.

There are five critical categories of fire departments:

• Those that do not know about GIS or understand how it can assist them in being more effective.
• Those that know about GIS and are interested in it, but lack staff and funds to become engaged.
• Those that are in the process of justifying and advocating that they obtain the necessary capacity to perform GIS at the local level.
• Those that have the capacity to perform GIS and are training internal staff to execute basic usage.
• Those that have gone beyond their departments to prepare the entire community.

I will be the first to admit I'm not sure of those numbers. Intuition tells me that those categories be placed on a bar chart This chart would show that more people fall into the categories of low levels of knowledge and acceptance than any other. If the knowledge level increases and the level of acceptance increases, this group will be smaller.

This parallels the innovation, adoption and adaptation curve model of change. Almost all new technology in our industry has gone through the same process — residential sprinklers, incident command systems in the 1970s, fire-prevention programs, and so forth. The terms early adopter, mainstream and late adopter can fit right into this model.

Have you seen an advertisement for a GPS device? Have you seen anyone driving a car that has one built in? Have you ever gone to MapQuest for directions? Have you ever purchased or rented a GPS unit? In each case, you were moving in the model from being unaware to a level of acceptance.

Every department fits into one of the five categories. Where is your department in that profile right now? Over the next five years, what can you do to become more engaged in the process to change your position on the chart? Or, a better question might be, where will your organization be if it doesn't assume a role in establishing GIS?

Both the military and law enforcement have a generally higher level of acceptance than the fire service when it comes to GIS.

The fire service needs to become more engaged if it is to be a viable part of the decision-making process in the future. Furthermore, the fire service should be in the leadership role in the arena because it is one of the most closely connected services with what's on the ground. Fire stations are the most readily available, broadly distributed public safety infrastructure asset.

Many fire officers have received their basic orientation to GIS through the concept of Standards of Cover. Initially, GIS was used to evaluate fire stations. GIS is now used in a much broader context. In one sense, GIS is becoming the “spreadsheet” of emergency services.

The challenge for the fire service over the next five years is to become more heavily engaged in developing a system that serves its needs and the interests of its communities and allied agencies.

Those who were early adopters of GIS already have paid the price of knocking the rough edges off the adaptation process. This does not mean that there will be no issues associated with the next generation of users. But it does mean that we have the possibility of becoming a powerful influence over the process of decision-making when more fire agencies become involved.

The state of the art is out there and awaits your participation.

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With more than 40 years in the fire service, Ronny J. Coleman has served as fire chief in Fullerton and San Clemente, Calif., and was the fire marshal of the State of California from 1992 to 1999. He is a certified fire chief and a master instructor in the California Fire Service Training and Education System. A Fellow of the Institution of Fire Engineers, he has an associate's degree in fire science, a bachelor's degree in political science and a master's degree in vocational education.