Administrative and Political Implications of GIS Implementation within the Fire Service: A Case Study of Norfolk, VA

The advent of faster, cheaper, and more powerful computer hardware has led to the widespread integration of GIS technologies into decision making processes within local governments.

Most GIS literature has focused on the models and benefits that the technology can produce and not on the impacts that GIS has on the organization.

This research explores the political and administrative implications of utilizing a GIS to address a resource allocation problem within the Fire Service Administration of the City of Norfolk, VA.

A network model is employed to allocate rescue resources throughout the city in various configurations.

The goal of NFPS (Norfolk Fire and Paramedical Services) is to be able to cover the entire City of Norfolk within five minutes of travel time.

City and NFPS administrators evaluate various models based upon a provided questionnaire that focuses on the administrative and political viability of each of the models produced.