For new visitors that are not familiar with the Hiperwall system, Hiperwall is a powerful software system where you can easily display and control information, data, and videos on a video wall comprised of multiple monitors or TVs. Read on to learn about how Hiperwall can help your law enforcement agency in the fight against wildfires.
2020 was a historical year and one filled with more unexpected challenges than any person could have reasonably predicted. And although many professions have faced the brunt of the challenges this year, one profession has stepped up to the plate on numerous occasions to help keep people safe: public safety. In this blog post we want to dive into the role that law enforcement, fire departments and other organizations have played in combating wildfires that plagued Southern California in particular, and based on our experiences with our law enforcement clients, share some of the ways that Hiperwall can act as a force multiplier when fighting wildfires.
One of the most critical first steps in fighting a wildfire is to ascertain what kind of threat you are facing, and how the threat is changing literally by the minute. When fires erupt, law enforcement and fire departments usually find out about the initial outbreak from a concerned private citizen that notices the fire and calls 911 to report the blaze. After law enforcement agencies and fire departments hear about the fire, the next step is to immediately gather more information on the fire. This can involve aerial footage and surveillance from helicopters and airplanes, on the ground visual confirmation from local police units, satellite footage, as well as combining anecdotal evidence from citizens and professionals near the fire.
In short, law enforcement and fire departments receive a massive influx of information about the fire. From there they need to determine how much of the information is valid, and what is not. This is where a Hiperwall video wall system provides immediate and demonstrable value; with a Hiperwall system, law enforcement agencies can present multiple sources of information on their video wall system and systematically begin to evaluate the wildfire threat they are facing.
Imagine you have a 3x4 video wall system, so a total of 12 monitors. On two of the monitors you can display footage from a helicopter circling the fire, to gather a precise location. On a single monitor you can have a call history from dispatch that lays out when the fire was reported and how it might have started, in order to estimate the growth of the fire. On another monitor you can display weather data that would tell you how dry the area is, when the last rainfall was, as well as the wind velocity and direction for the day so you know which way the fire will shift. On another two monitors you can present a list of all police units in service, as well as fire units from your own city that are in service. You might use another monitor to list units from mutual aid agencies that are prepared to deploy and help you fight the fire as well. And finally, you can use two of the monitors to display GIS information about the surrounding area from the fire so that you can begin to prepare residential and commercial evacuations. A single computer, even with multiple monitors attached, simply is not capable of displaying that much information.
When it comes to fighting fires, law enforcement and fire departments need every resource available and they need to capitalize on every second. Hiperwall provides the advantage that law enforcement and fire departments need to keep people safe and we suggest you reach out to one of our design consultants at Hiperwall that can walk you through how our clients have used Hiperwall to help their organization succeed and help you design a similar solution.
