Map app for iap

An Incident Action Plan (IAP) is a component of the Incident Command System (ICS), which in turn is a component of the National Incident Management System (NIMS). How's that for an alphabet soup? Trust me, that's a tiny glimpse into the world of acronyms surrounding NIMS. Essentially, an IAP is a written plan describing the objectives and tactics to be employed during a specific operational period of an incident.

This is the way public safety incidents of note are managed these days. This week, one of those incidents is Lincoln's municipal fireworks display, and it's associated sideshows, the Uncle Sam Jam. This is a big event, attracting upwards of 100,000 people during the course of the day. LF&R Battalion Chief Eric Jones and LPD sergeant Valerie Kinghorn have been doing the heavy lifting planning the public safety operations: schedules, assignments, equipment, contingencies, logistics, etc.--and the IAP.

Chief Jones did something interesting late last week, creating a mapping application that depicts the geographic components of the IAP. He used FireView Dashboard as the platform for the map. Maps are a common component of incicent planning, but this one is not on paper: it's interactive. You can zoom in and out, pan around, turn various layers on or off, and click here and there for more information. The purple polygon is the operational area, where the events will take place in and around Oak Lake Park. Click on any of these images for a larger view of the screenshot.

There are several subareas within the overall area, and a click on any of those purple notes icons to bring up a description of the area or the point associated with it. You can also turn on the aerial imagery, or activate a sub-window with the oblique view from Pictometry. Links within the application take a user to even more resources. It is a nice job of using GIS tools to help visualize an IAP.