On-site information sharing for emergency response management

Lili Yang, PhD, MSc, BSc, MBCS, CITP

doi:10.5055/jem.2007.0025

Authors

Lili Yang, PhD, MSc, BSc, MBCS, CITP

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5055/jem.2007.0025

Keywords:

emergency response, information sharing, wireless sensor network, RFID, Internet

Abstract

Emergency response to any man-made or natural disasters involves different organizations—such as fire and rescue service, emergency medical services, law enforcement (police forces), and responders from other governmental and nongovernmental organizations. Information sharing and management among these responding organizations is essential for the success of the emergency responses, not only during a disaster but also before and after the disaster. Information sharing among different organizations cannot occur overnight and must be in place before a disaster occurs, be able to be easily used during the disaster, and be maintained after the disaster. In this article, information sharing requirements and features for emergency response are discussed before an information sharing infrastructure is proposed. It is particularly expected to enable the response organizations to efficiently communicate with each other in the charged and high-pressure atmosphere of an on-going disaster response. On-site information collection is suggested to be carried out through wireless sensor networks (WSN) and radio frequency identification (RFID). The key technologies for securing information sharing in emergency response management are identified. Our ongoing project SafetyNET is described to illustrate the implementation of the information sharing system.

Author Biography

Lili Yang, PhD, MSc, BSc, MBCS, CITP

Business School, Loughborough University, Loughborough, Leicestershire, United Kingdom.

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