Fire Locator From Pitney Bowes and Microsoft
FireLocator is an application developed by Pitney Bowes MapInfo in collaboration with the Pitney Bowes Advanced Concepts and Technologies team. Currently released in Beta, this is a hosted site that disseminates critical wildfire data and information to the public.
FireLocator integrates data from multiple sources to provide users with comprehensive views of both current and past wildfires.
By entering a target address in the address bar, users are able to mark a location of interest on the map using Pitney Bowes MapInfo's geocoding technology. This allows users to track fires around a specific address, neighborhood, or area of interest. FireLocator integrates layers of data, via various data sources, to reveal a complete view of the wildfire status. These data sources include:
--NASA Modis Data https://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/
--NASA's Modis satellite captures imagery that reveals geothermal differences on the earth's surface. This use of geothermal imaging shows hotspots that are likely to be wildfires.
--United States Department of Agriculture https://www.fireimaging.com/homepage.html
--USDA's Pacific Southwest Research Station provides imagery of wildfires collected by flying over the target fire regions. Wildfires are detected in the imagery by measuring the emitted thermal infrared radiance.
--Incident Information System https://www.inciweb.org/
--InciWeb is an interagency information site that provides point information regarding the location of wildfires.
--InciWeb is a combination of data and information gathered from multiple government agencies. The data provided is accurate and updated frequently.
--GeoMac Multi Agency Coordination https://www.geomac.gov/
--GeoMac is an interagency website that provides fire perimeter data from various incident intelligence sources (e.g. GPS data, Infrared Imagery).
--GeoMac data is often updated on a daily basis, ensuring accuracy.
Population Density Mapping
--FireLocator creates a thematic map to show population density. This data, layered with the wildfire data, indicates whether a fire is endangering an area of high population.
Underlying Technology
--The FireLocator user interface utilizes Microsoft Virtual Earth https://www.microsoft.com/VIRTUALEARTH/ and Microsoft Silverlight https://www.microsoft.com/SILVERLIGHT/
--Rich Internet Application (RIA) technology. The geocoding and integration of data layering and thematic mapping is provided directly by Pitney Bowes MapInfo https://www.mapinfo.com/products/developer-tools/enterprise-software/envinsa>
--FireLocator combines public data and mapping information with key location intelligence tools to provide accurate, up-to-the-minute data enabling users to make quick and informed decisions during the most critical times.