PSAP boundary gaps can route 911 calls to the wrong center

— COMMAND & COORDINATION

By Tracy “Mac” McElvaney, Chief Product & Innovation Officer, GeoComm 

Drone as First Responder (DFR) programs are changing how public safety agencies assess emergencies. Drones can reach incident locations before ground personnel, transmit live video, identify visible hazards, and provide dispatchers with an early view of conditions. However, as agencies expand their programs, the growing volume of information presents an operational challenge. Responders need ways to interpret drone observations alongside other incident data and use that information to make timely decisions.

The next stage of DFR development will focus on decision intelligence, which involves combining information from drones, computer-aided dispatch (CAD), geographic information systems (GIS), indoor maps, sensors, and artificial intelligence. The objective is to help emergency personnel understand what is happening, where resources are needed, and how conditions are changing.

Consider a drone responding to a reported building fire. A live video feed may reveal smoke or visible damage, but responders also need to understand the building's layout, nearby access routes, potential hazards, and available resources. Integrating drone observations with GIS and indoor mapping information can provide a more complete picture of the incident. Dispatchers and incident commanders can then use that information to assess response priorities.

Artificial intelligence could help process information from multiple sources. AI-assisted systems may identify smoke, unusual movement, blocked entrances, or changing conditions and direct operators to observations that require attention. This could reduce the time personnel spend reviewing video feeds and help them identify relevant developments. Human verification remains important, particularly when automated observations influence emergency response decisions.

Decision intelligence also creates opportunities to coordinate information from different technologies. Aerial drones, ground robots, fixed cameras, connected vehicles, and building sensors can contribute observations to a shared operational picture. When an incident moves indoors, location information and observations gathered outside can help personnel navigate complex facilities.

For public safety agencies, interoperability will be an important requirement. Drone platforms must communicate effectively with existing dispatch systems, mapping applications, and emergency response workflows. Without these connections, additional sensors and video feeds may increase the information operators must manage without improving response coordination.

Agencies will also need to evaluate system reliability, false alerts, data accuracy, operator workload, and how quickly observations reach decision-makers. These measures can help determine whether new capabilities deliver operational benefits.

As DFR programs mature, their effectiveness will increasingly depend on how well agencies connect aerial observations with accurate location information and existing response systems. The goal is to give emergency personnel timely, reliable information that supports better decisions throughout an incident.

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FROM THE FIELD

PERIMETER MAP

San Juan County, New Mexico, declared a state of emergency after historic flooding on the San Juan and Animas rivers. About 1,500 residences were evacuated, and crews carried out an estimated 60 rescues. The county Office of Emergency Management directed residents to Perimeter Map, an online GIS tool that shows evacuation updates in real time and sandbag pickup locations.

AI TOOLS

Versaterm introduced two new tools ahead of the IACP 2026 conference in Orlando. ECC Assist brings AI support to emergency and non-emergency call handling, with intelligent call routing, real-time guidance, language translation, and structured information that connects call intake to CAD. Vantage is a vendor-agnostic data integration and AI analysis platform for law enforcement, fire, and EMS. Personnel can ask questions in natural language and get answers in seconds. Both tools run on the company's cloud-first VersatermOS platform.

ArcGIS HUB

Esri has launched a dedicated documentation site to help developers build applications using ArcGIS Hub. The site provides guidance for four APIs covering content search, events, geospatial discussions, and data feeds. More than 28,000 public Hub sites are available, allowing developers to access datasets shared by government agencies, utilities, and other organizations. Esri also plans to add documentation for newsletter and telemetry APIs, Model Context Protocol (MCP) services, and AI connectors. For GIS and public safety teams, these capabilities could simplify access to authoritative location data across agencies.

SPONSORED BRIEFING

Esri has outlined how its ArcGIS Maps SDKs for Native Apps enable developers to build mapping applications for iOS, Android, Windows, Linux, and macOS using .NET, Swift, Kotlin, Qt, and Flutter. The SDKs support offline mapping, location searches, routing, 3D visualization, and real-time asset tracking. Applications can also integrate GPS, high-accuracy GNSS receivers, and other device sensors for field data collection. For public safety and emergency response agencies, these capabilities can support situational awareness, location data collection, and navigation when network connectivity is limited or unavailable.

REGULATION & OVERSIGHT

INSIGHT OF THE WEEK

NG9-1-1 call routing depends on three essential GIS datasets: PSAP boundaries, road centerlines, and site/structure address points. Agencies should prioritize resolving boundary gaps, overlaps, and jurisdictional mismatches that could direct emergency calls to the wrong communications center. Agencies can follow a documented schedule for other GIS data improvements based on their impact on routing accuracy. This approach helps agencies establish minimum viable data readiness while continuing to improve the completeness and quality of their GIS databases.

The South Dakota 9-1-1 Coordination Boardʼs fiscal year 2026 report to the Governor and Legislature, signed September 15, tracks the first year under the permanent $2.00 per line 9-1-1 surcharge. The surcharge generated about $20.97 million in revenue, and counties received $14.68 million directly. The 28 PSAPs on the statewide NextGen 9-1-1 system answered 308,796 emergency calls in 2025, and most have moved to i3 geospatial call routing using a statewide GIS dataset. The Board has approved $1.52 million in grants, with $630,235 set aside for PSAP consolidations. It has also funded a statewide backup call data system through RapidSOS.