Help For Our Heroes: Supporting Victoria's Emergency Services

Disclaimer: Spatial Vision recognises that the support provided on our behalf can not in any way replace the importance of critical donations and efforts of fundraisers, volunteers and other organisations at the helm of the recovery effort. To donate to the Victorian Bushfire Appeal, click here.

Help for Our Heroes

Supporting Victoria’s Emergency Services

Image Sources: L, R

Prior to the pandemic, the Australian bushfire season made headlines around the world. Three months on and the devastation can still be felt as bushfire recovery efforts and financial assistance have slowed amid the health crisis. However, as Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews reassures those affected, “we have not forgotten you”, nor have we forgotten the incredible sacrifices and tireless efforts our emergency services have made and continue to make in protecting communities and lives. Below are some of the small ways Spatial Vision supported our emergency services throughout the last fire season.

At the peak of the crisis, the Spatial Vision Maps team were inundated with urgent orders from emergency services statewide requesting Vicmap Book products.

Over the next month, our team worked closely with our warehouse to swiftly despatch and deliver mapbooks to a number of response teams, including:

Emergency Services Victoria (EMV) State Control Centre
DELWP Incident Control Rooms
Ambulance Victoria Emergency Management
Firefighters and International Resources assisting the CFA

The team also launched Vicmap Book digital map sheets on Avenza Maps for quick accessibility on the front lines.

Additionally, extended support was provided through free access to our Mapscape app and datapack download for emergency service personnel throughout the season.

Developed in partnership with the Victorian Department of Environment, Land, Water & Planning (DELWP) and Country Fire Authority (CFA), the Vicmap Book suite provides Emergency Services with access to the latest, authoritative topographic mapping across Victoria. The initiative began over 15 years ago to make state-wide topographic mapping more widely available throughout Victoria, with six editions released to date.

Trusted digital solutions

As the crisis unfolded, discussion around the need for authoritative information sources increased, as organisations and individuals attempted to make sense of the changing situation.

The Victorian Government took the lead in utilising their own rich, reliable Vicmap data to communicate threats to the community via the VicEmergency app and website. This data also forms the basis of the Vicmap Viewer application, which proved critical to emergency response services during the bushfire season.

Since launching in January 2019, the app has received a record number of map downloads, including:

113,000 downloads across the CFA during Nov/Dec
7,000 downloads from DELWP users
6,000 downloads by emergency services outside of Emergency Services Organisations (ESOs).
5,000 downloads by the State Emergency Services (SES)

Developed by Spatial Vision for DELWP, the Vicmap Viewer allows ESOs and other users to access over 10,000 of the latest state-wide authoritative Vicmap Topographic Maps from portable mobile devices including smartphones and tablets.

Next steps for Vicmap Viewer

On behalf of DELWP, Spatial Vision are now working on enhancements to the app including the addition of a number of special digital maps at 25K, 50K and 100K scales. Stay tuned for updates and access the app via the following App Stores.

iOS
Android

For information on how you can help or to donate to the Victorian Bushfire Appeal, click here.