WASHINGTON — The National Alliance for Public Safety GIS (NAPSG) Foundation Board of Directors is pleased to announce that CSX Transportation and Mr. Angelo Marino, GIS Manager for the City of Nashua, New Hampshire, are recipients of the 2016 Award for Excellence in Public Safety GIS. Awards were presented at a special reception during the NAPSG Foundation’s annual National Geospatial Preparedness Summit on September 13, 2016, in Washington, D.C.
“The NAPSG Foundation is grateful for the opportunity to recognize and showcase truly amazing leadership efforts in public safety GIS,” said Chief Rand Napoli, Board Chairman of the NAPSG Foundation. “The nominations we received for CSX Transportation and for Mr. Marino highlighted how each has made a difference for the community and is helping advance the field of GIS in public safety. Both of the award recipients this year deserve recognition for their commitment to public safety and their efforts in GIS.” NAPSG Foundation receives nominations for award recipients each year, and the Board votes on awards in three categories – local, state and national/federal.
CSX recognized for Rail Respond application (State Category)
CSX Transportation was nominated by Battalion Chief Dave Hartman of the Charlottesville (VA) Fire Department for development of the CSX Rail Respond application. CSX Rail Respond provides firefighters, police officers and other emergency responders with easy mobile access to critical information about what’s traveling on CSX rails. According to Chief Hartman, the application, “is a dream come true for incident commanders as it directly and immediately impacts the safety and effectiveness for our responders.”
“The success of CSX’s Rail Respond mobile application is thanks to a collaborative effort between CSX and our emergency first response partners that incorporated their feedback and usage needs into the development of this tool, and it’s clear that the future success of this and similar systems is founded on our ability to continue working with those partners and listening to their feedback,” said Skip Elliott, Vice President – Public Safety, Health & Environment, CSX. “We’re grateful for this recognition of Rail Respond and CSX’s commitment to transparent information-sharing, because timely and fact-based decision making can make the difference in supporting successful responses to rail-related incidents.”
Mr. Angelo Marino recognized for going the extra mile (Local Category)
Mr. Marino was nominated by Justin Kates, Director of Emergency Management in Nashua. “When the City started a GIS program, Angelo stepped up to the plate to lead the initiative. While many City Departments have adopted GIS in daily operations, Angelo has taken a special role in helping to frame useful applications of GIS for the public safety agencies within the City,” said Director Kates.
One such application developed through this partnership is Nashua’s common operating picture. “With the cooperation and assistance of the Emergency Management Department we have been able to create a common operating picture that helps all city departments increase the safety of our residents,” said Mr. Marino. Since deployed, the City’s common operating picture has been utilized in five presidentially declared disasters.
“Angelo’s work has not only had a positive impact on our office, but on others in the City as well,” said Director Kates. “He has improved the capabilities of our Fire Department’s GIS, and helped with mapping the municipal Fire Alarm system. I can’t name a better partner with the Office of Emergency Management.”
The 2nd annual National Geospatial Preparedness Summit, held September 13th and 14th, brought together more than 150 of the Nation’s public safety leaders and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) professionals to collaborate on the use of geospatial technologies to enhance preparedness. The Summit was co-hosted by the NAPSG Foundation and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in coordination with the National States Geographic Information Council (NSGIC), the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC), the Police Foundation, the International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM), and the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO).
The reception for the annual Awards for Excellence in Public Safety GIS was made possible by the generous support of several corporate sponsors, including: Esri, HERE, CSX, Ardent Management Consulting, Dewberry, and American Modern Insurance.
NAPSG Foundation is pleased to recognize these deserving recipients of the 2016 Award for Excellence in Public Safety GIS.
About NAPSG Foundation
The National Alliance for Public Safety GIS (NAPSG) Foundation is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to supporting the public safety & homeland security community in advancing the use of geospatial technology for enhanced community resiliency. The mission is achieved through nationwide regional coordination lead by local & state public safety leaders supporting all of NAPSG’s core program areas: education & training, tools & guidance, exercises, and technical assistance. To learn more, visit: www.napsgfoundation.org
