Clemson supplies technology to Upstate emergency responders

Published: October 7, 2010

CLEMSON — Emergency responders in five Upstate counties now have real-time mapping information thanks to an application developed by Clemson University information technology experts.

Clemson Computing and Information Technology (CCIT) developed a Google Earth application that incorporates stoplights, bridges, 911 addresses and weather data into a disaster response tool. The five participating counties make up the Western Piedmont Regional Emergency Management Task Force: Abbeville, Anderson, Greenwood, Oconee and Pickens.

The Western Piedmont Regional Management Task Force recently was recognized for its collaborative work in which it uses technology supplied by Clemson. The group received the Barrett Lawrimore Award for Regional Cooperation at the 2010 South Carolina Association of Counties conference. The award recognized the group’s Palmetto 2010 exercise held in June, during which emergency responders tested their operational and communications capabilities in real-time.

“CCIT is delighted to partner with these emergency management agencies to better protect our South Carolina communities with this award-winning application,” said Jim Bottum, chief information officer and vice provost for computing and information technology at Clemson. “Emergency management services increasingly require access to data and information which is integrated into a common operational picture, and our customized Google Earth Enterprise system enables public services to act more efficiently in emergency situations.”

Bottum, Matt Cook and David White of CCIT worked with the emergency managers to integrate geographic information systems into the exercise. The GIS capabilities allowed emergency managers and exercise officials to utilize current mapping technologies to aid in the exercise.

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