Fire Hydrant Analysis and Distribution

Chayse Jackson and Robert Crigger

Purpose• The purpose of our community project was to analyze the

spatial distribution of fire hydrants in an area of Tower Park, Chesley. The project was created around the spatial distribution of fire hydrants in the area. The analysis looked at the current distribution of fire hydrants best suited to the needs of the area and what areas were not being adequately covered. The data collected from the analysis will be used to propose new fire hydrant locations based on detected insufficient coverage. The analysis also will look at what structures in the study are well served and are not well served based on a grading system. The grading system ranged from 1 to 3; 1 being pristine condition, 2 being minor neglect, and 3 being in need of service and maybe replacement.

Grade 1 Grade 2

Grade 3

Geographic Inquiry Process

• The project was around the spatial distribution of fire hydrants in the area. Looking at the existing distribution of fire hydrants to determine if the current distribution best suited the needs of the area and residential buildings. The study determined which structures in the study area are well served and which are not well served. The study will also look at the current condition of existing fire hydrants to determine if they are well serviced and if they need to be serviced or replaced. There are two methods to solve the insufficient coverage area problems. The first is to add more fire hydrants and the second is to determine how much additional equipment is needed to over come a deficiency in service. This equipment would be added to the fire trucks as needed. Insufficient access to fire hydrants can cause problems for fire fighter's. Therefore it is crucial to identify and act on these types of deficiencies in the distribution and servicing of fire hydrants. To do so the Geographic Inquiry Process was utilized and used as follows:

Step 1 Ask Geographic Questions• There are four main categories of questions; social, environmental, economic, political. These questions allowed us to develop our project and

propose new fire hydrant locations. The questions below outline the focus of our study and show the direction it took.

• Social:

- Does the current distribution of fire hydrants provide adequate fire protection to Tower Park residents?

- Do the new proposed locations cause problems for residents ?

• Environmental:

- Do the new proposed locations cause any problem to the existing environment?

- Will there need to be excavating, grading, or clearing done to input the proposed fire hydrants?

- Is there any natural environment that will not allow easy access to proposed fire hydrants?

• Economic:

- What are the advantages of new fire hydrants?

- Does the town have the water resources for more fire hydrants in the area of tower park?

• Political:

•

- Will this affect the residents of locations?

- How will the town deal with these newly proposed developments?

- What are the benefits to the town?

Step 2 Acquire Geographic

Resources• The data required for this project was

collected in the north end of Chesley

following a map of the current location of

fire hydrants. We followed the map

outlining the existing fire hydrant locations

to assess most if not all the fire hydrants in

the northern region in Chesley. This allowed

for the assesment of each fire hydrent

based on their current condition. This was

done at the same time as collecting spatial

point in order to produce needed location

data for the spatial analysis of the fire

hydrants. All fire hydrants in the northern

area of Chesley were located and assesed.

The data was collected over a to day period

during the class time of CGO4M. The

spatial location of the fire hydrants was

needed towoassess the current coverage of

fire hydrants in respect to the 300 feet of

fire hose kept on the fire trucks. The

location data was used to create a buffer in

order to show the 300 foot coverage radius

of a fire hydrant.

Step 3 Explore Geographic Data

• For the purpose of the community project we stated that a fire truck would have 300 feet of fire hose. In Arcmap the spatial analyst tool was used to define the service area. The buffer command was utilized to determine the service area. The result of this operation showed the distance from the fire hydrants extending out to 300 feet. All the distances were grouped using the default classification in Arcmap and were represented by one colour (Green) {Figure 1}. The next step was to overlay the service areas with the building structures. This created a coverage map showing which homes are well served and which ones were not. The first map shows gaps where some of the structures are not well served by the fire hydrants.

Step 4 Analyze Geographic

Information• The main goal of the project was identifying which homes could be a problem and

allow the fire department/ town know of potential problems. Adding a database of areas which are potential problems could allow them to be more effective. The project defined the service areas for the fire hydrants and determined which structures were not being well served. The goal was to find ways to solve this problem. One possible solution would be to add additional fire hydrants in the area (Yellow).

Conclusion• In conclusion the Arcmap format provided a clear and concise graphical

representation of the existing hydrant distribution and their protection radius, as well as clearly defining those areas which were adequately protected in terms of fire hose length and the areas which were marginally or ill-protected. By combining data spatially consultants are able to identify restrictions in the fire hydrant network. The coverage led to new proposed sights of fire hydrants and an assessment of the current condition of fire hydrants in the north end of Chesley, Ontario. This in and of itself was a major accomplishment of the project.