— COMMAND & COORDINATION
The Invisible Foundation Behind Modern Emergency Response
When people think about faster emergency response, they picture the visible moments: a 9-1-1 call is answered, units are dispatched, a drone is launched, and responders arrive.
But behind every one of those moments is a layer of infrastructure that determines how quickly and accurately the system can act.
GIS data quality, address accuracy, road centerlines, indoor mapping, routing logic, standards, interoperability, and location intelligence may not be visible during an emergency. Yet they help determine whether every system involved is working from the same operational picture.
The next phase of emergency response will not be defined only by the tools agencies can see. It will be defined by the strength of the infrastructure that allows those tools to work together with speed, accuracy, and operational relevance. In that environment, the invisible foundation behind response may prove to be one of the most important differentiators of all.
01
Get the data right
Maintain accurate GIS data, address points, road networks, and other foundational location information that response systems depend on.
02
Connect the operational picture
Make sure mapping, routing, indoor information, responder applications, and dispatch systems can work from consistent, trusted data.
03
Turn technology into action
A new capability matters when it can support an active incident, move information across workflows, and help responders make better decisions.
04
Build the infrastructure beneath the tools
The next generation of emergency response will depend not only on the technology agencies deploy, but on the foundation that allows those technologies to work together with speed, accuracy, and operational relevance.
FROM THE FIELD
Technical signals
NG9-1-1
Phased Migration to Next Generation 9-1-1 Network
E-Comm has begun migrating British Columbia to NG9-1-1. Vancouver Island communities went live first, and staggered migrations continue through the end of November 2026. E-Comm is the first point of contact for 99% of 9-1-1 callers in the province. It is leading Canada's largest NG9-1-1 implementation on behalf of 25 regional districts and 71 police and fire agencies.
ADDRESS-POINT SERVICE
Statewide Address Points Service for New Jersey
New Jersey’s Office of GIS has updated its statewide NG9-1-1 address-point service, but its metadata still identifies duplicate addresses, street-name mismatches, and missing apartment and suite information. Approximately 83% of postal addresses have been validated, while 83% of address points have been linked to road centerlines.
URBAN FLOOD-FREQUENCY ESTIMATES
Urban Flood Estimates
USGS has released new urban flood-frequency estimates based on 64 streamgages in Alabama and Mississippi, using peak-flow records through 2024. Researchers developed equations from 42 gauges to estimate flood flows on urban streams without monitoring stations, identifying drainage area and developed land cover as significant predictors.
SPONSORED BRIEFING
Esri Adds Three NOAA Flood Inundation Layers to ArcGIS Living Atlas
Esri has added three NOAA flood inundation layers to ArcGIS Living Atlas, giving public safety GIS teams access to modeled current flooding and five-day forecasts. The current conditions and River Forecast Center layers update hourly, while the nationwide five-day maximum forecast updates every six hours. Esri recommends using the River Forecast Center forecast where available and the nationwide layer elsewhere. Teams can combine these layers with building, bridge, and population data to identify potential impacts.
REGULATION & OVERSIGHT
Public safety & GIS updates
Funding from USGS
The U.S. Geological Survey awarded $1 million this month to 16 state, local, and tribal governments for landslide inventories, hazard mapping, and risk reduction. Recipients include Pennsylvania, Nevada, North Dakota, and Alaska.
Oregon is Replacing Aging Radio Communications
Oregon's congressional delegation announced $1 million in federal funding for Lane County's Emergency Communications Resiliency and Interoperability Project. The funding supports the replacement of aging radio communications infrastructure at the Bear Mountain site, a key part of the county's emergency communications network.
NENA is Recruiting Volunteers
NENA is recruiting volunteers to develop an informational document covering best practices for data literacy, management, governance, and security across the 9-1-1 industry. The group seeks data analysts, managers, operations leaders, IT security professionals, and governance specialists to help centers use their data more effectively.
INSIGHT OF THE WEEK
NYC 911 Outage Prompts Calls for Emergency Comms Overhaul
A New York City Council member is drafting legislation that would require the city to notify the public during 9-1-1 outages. The bill follows an August disruption at the Bronx 9-1-1 center that affected about 1,700 calls.
Resources & events
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Public Safety Conference
Winter School Facilities & Safety Congress
December 6-8 · Palm Desert, California
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Exposition and Summit
Technology Summit International 2026
December 7-9 · Denver, Colorado
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INDUSTRY INTEL
Improving Indoor Location Accuracy With Incomplete Wi-Fi Data
This report examines how indoor positioning can work without surveyed Wi-Fi access-point coordinates. The model learns an effective access-point geometry from signal-strength measurements and labeled user locations.
