— COMMAND & COORDINATION
Why Indoor Mapping Will Matter More as Emergency Response Becomes More Automated
AI-assisted call handling, drone-as-first-responder programs, NG9-1-1, and connected responder applications are changing how agencies gather information and coordinate action. These capabilities can help reduce delays and give teams a clearer picture of an incident.
But when an emergency moves indoors, automation needs more than an address or an exterior view. Responders may need to know which floor is involved, where to enter, which stairwell to use, and how to reach the exact location.
Automation can accelerate the response. Indoor context helps guide it to the right place.
01
Give automation spatial context
Connect AI-assisted workflows and response systems to accurate indoor maps, floor-level information, and building layouts.
02
Make every entrance count
Provide clear information about access points, corridors, stairwells, and routes that can help responders reach the incident location efficiently.
03
Connect awareness to action
Ensure information from call handling, drones, mapping platforms, and mobile responder tools contributes to a coherent operational picture, including what happens inside a structure.
04
Prepare the location data foundation
Maintain accurate, usable indoor location intelligence that can support increasingly automated workflows as public safety technology evolves.
FROM THE FIELD
Technical signals
PRIORITY DISPATCH SYSTEM
Volusia County Approves the Priority Dispatch System
Volusia County, Florida, approved the Priority Dispatch System for the Volusia Sheriffʼs Office on October 6. The system guides call takers through structured questions to decide whether an incident needs a medical, fire, or law enforcement response, or a combination. It also sets the response level for each call. Its protocols come from the International Academies of Emergency Dispatch, and it is used in more than 4,000 emergency communications centers. Live calls are expected in the coming months.
CYBERSECURITY SERVICES
Intrado and Mission Critical Partners Join Hands
Intrado and Mission Critical Partners announced a collaboration to give Intrado’s public safety customers access to independent cybersecurity services. Services include managed detection and response, vulnerability scanning, penetration testing, security awareness training, tabletop exercises, and incident response planning. MCP can also assess alignment with the FBI CJIS Security Policy, the NENA Security for NG9-1-1 standard, and the NIST Cybersecurity Framework.
TEXT-TO-911
Jeff Davis County Sheriffʼs Office Launches text-to-911
The Jeff Davis County Sheriffʼs Office in Georgia launched text-to-911 through a partnership with Axon911. Texts go directly to the sheriffʼs communications center, and a dispatcher keeps the conversation open until the caller has the help they need. The service supports two-way messaging in more than 240 languages. It handles plain text only, so photos, video, and audio cannot be sent. It serves residents who are deaf or hard of hearing, as well as anyone for whom speaking aloud is unsafe.
SPONSORED BRIEFING
Hurricane Mapping Guide
Esri updated its hurricane-mapping guide showing how emergency management teams can build an ArcGIS Online map using live feeds from ArcGIS Living Atlas. The hurricane layer displays observed paths, forecast tracks, and storm intensity from the National Hurricane Center and Joint Typhoon Warning Center, with sources checked every 15 minutes. Users can display forecast cones and predicted hurricane-force winds. The ready-to-use Hurricane Aware app combines storm information with local weather forecasts and Census demographics to help agencies understand potentially affected communities.
REGULATION & OVERSIGHT
Public safety & GIS updates
NG9-1-1 Interoperability Oversight Commission
The NG9-1-1 Interoperability Oversight Commission released a revised Certificate Policy for the NG9-1-1 Public Key Infrastructure. The policy was developed with the NENA Core Services Committee. It defines the requirements for issuing and managing the digital certificates NG9-1-1 systems use to verify each other’s identities across ESInets and jurisdictions. It also clarifies the roles of Certification Authorities and other participants, with the PCA Root Certification Authority as the common source of trust.
NENA is Recruiting Volunteers
NENA is recruiting volunteers to revise the NENA Standard for the Non-Conventional Means of Communicating with E911, NENA-STA-030.1-2025. The revision will address gaps in guidance and requirements for initiating and processing these calls in an NG9-1-1 environment. NENA is seeking input from PSAP/ECC personnel, originating service providers, NG9-1-1 specialists, and application providers, while welcoming anyone interested in these areas.
An Interoperability Test
An interoperability field test in Washington linked land-mobile radios with cellular and satellite broadband, extending communications into areas without terrestrial radio coverage. Responders used a simplex channel to reach an EF Johnson VM8000 vehicle radio with Viking Connect gateway functionality and embedded ESChat push-to-talk. A Dejero router was selected as the broadband backhaul path, while return traffic reached field radios through the gateway. The setup supported different portable-radio brands through a shared direct channel, offering a potential alternative to P25 Inter-RF Subsystem Interface (ISSI) connections for voice and limited metadata.
INSIGHT OF THE WEEK
Multi-Task Geospatial Reasoning with Vision-Language Models and Crowdsourced Imagery for Disaster Mapping
Crowdsourced disaster photos can show damage at street level, but missing or unreliable location data makes them difficult to use in emergency mapping. GRDisaster addresses this challenge with vision-language models that match photos to georeferenced street-view and remote-sensing imagery. The framework uses structural and environmental cues to validate locations and assess visible damage against expert-verified annotations. The framework was developed using a benchmark of 26,340 disaster images from 2018 to 2024.
Resources & events
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Public Safety Conference
Minnesota GIS/LIS Consortium Annual Conference
October 28-30 · Duluth, Minnesota
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Exposition and Summit
IASB BoardCon
November 18-20 · Des Moines, Iowa
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Discover What’s Next at the APCO Public Safety Innovation Summit featuring 5x5
What’s next for public safety communications, and how can your agency be ready? At the Public Safety Innovation Summit Featuring 5x5, see how emerging technologies and broadband solutions are enhancing emergency response and public safety operations. Attend dynamic sessions and connect with others committed to equipping responders with the best tools. Whether you’re on the front lines or shaping what comes next, join us December 1-2 in Orlando to be part of the conversation.
INDUSTRY INTEL
Next Generation 911 Services Follow-Up
The New York State Comptroller’s October 2026 follow-up audit found that the state’s agencies have implemented all three recommendations from a 2025 audit of New York’s NG9-1-1 transition. The updated Statewide 9-1-1 Plan adds NG9-1-1 grant guidance, ESInet and Next Generation Core Services governance, and deployment cost planning. A PSAP assessment covering GIS, operations, and security went to 57 counties and New York City, and all but two have responded. The state also strengthened technical controls over the street and address point database used for 9-1-1 dispatch.
