Planning for emergency services using GIS-based geographic accessibility analysis

Municipalities and metropolitan structures are required by law to provide sufficient response to emergency situations. In order to respond efficiently to disasters such as fire and flooding, it is necessary to place facilities optimally. This case study presents and applies a methodology to determine the locations of additional fire stations, using accessibility analysis rather than incident data which is often incomplete or unavailable. The required response time is based on the SANS 10090:2003 standard for various risks. The case study recommends that in the longer term seven additional fire stations are needed in conjunction with the existing 19 fire stations in the eThekwini Metro in South Africa to offer a response to fire incidents as required by the standard.