*** 9529706 Sorensen This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project from ISERA Group, Inc. involves the research and development of a prototype decision support system (DSS) for fire protection and emergency medical services (EMS). Currently, most fire and EMS agencies resort to manual planning techniques in the development of deployment strategies, leading to the probability of inefficient resource deployment. To address this situation, the DSS will support optimization routines for the design of efficient deployment strategies, including station/vehicle location models, crew scheduling models, and dynamic vehicle move-up models. In addition, the DSS will provide a simulation model to allow for the evaluation of altemative deployment strategies prior to actual implementation. To insure the accuracy of the optimization and simulation routines, the DSS will include a sophisticated point-to-point travel time estimation model that incorporates a variety of geographic, temporal, and response-specific factors. Each of the models will be based on the specific planning needs encountered at various fire and EMS agencies visited during the Phase I research study. The models will be constructed in a generalized format and equipped with a variety of customizable elements in order that they may be tailored to the individual needs of different agencies. The DSS will also include data communication protocols for transferring planning-related data from existing sources, including computer-aided dispatching (CAD) systems and geographical information systems (GIS), along with a sophisticated, intuitive graphical user interface. Use of the DSS will result in efficient resource deployment strategies, leading to significant cost savings and/or improved levels of service. The principal commercial application of this research will be an Emergency Services DSS for use in medium- and large-sized fire departments and EMS agencies/companies facing planning problems of significant scope and complexity. Within the United States alone there are more than 4,600 fire departments and more than 1,800 EMS agencies serving populations in excess of 25,000. ***
