Map of fires, water sources, and pipe stands (picture courtesy of County of Grande Prairie Regional Fire Service)

By Liam Verster

Interactive water supply map

Data is being collected to create water sources map for rural firefighting efforts

Dec 11, 2019 | 1:29 PM

A new interactive map will help firefighters in the county locate nearby water sources.

The County of Grande Prairie Regional Fire Service has spent the past two months collecting data on high-risk fire areas, and water resources that could be used when responding to an emergency in those rural areas.

The map mainly focuses on stand pipes, which are the easiest to use for providing water in fire fighting efforts. While having access to stand pipes are ideal, Fire Chief Dan Verdun says they aren’t absolutely necessary.

“We do supplement all of this. So the stand pipes are great, and they identify water sources that are static in the ground. We have equipment capabilities through tender shuttles and those things that allow us to take water, even to those areas that are currently identified as a little bit more remote, and we have a vast amount of resources that allow us to do that.”

He says while they can transport water, it is better to be able to access more when on the scene, and the new interactive map will be able to show where water sources are while en route to a call. The fire trucks will be equipped with computers that can use the map, and find the nearest water source.

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Verdun says they are still developing the map and collecting and analyzing the data, and at time only have the pipe stands listed, but they plan to partner with industries, businesses, and private residents to find other water resources that could be listed on the map.

Verdun says they will approach the County Council in the spring to ask for more stand pipes to be built in locations that have been identified through their data collection that are at high risk, and in need of more accessible water sources.