High Praise from Lawrence County, South Dakota!

Lawrence County, SD…on a mission through the mountains

Tucked away in western South Dakota is Lawrence County, an 800-square mile area dominated by tourists visiting historic gold rush towns in the summer and skiing down the majestic slopes of the Black Hills in the winter. In the midst of a national forest, the roads here are more apt to meander around mountains and streams than follow the state’s north-south grid system. For area visitors, the peaks and ridges offer a striking sight, but for Lawrence County’s 911 dispatch center, the geography poses a challenge in responding to emergencies. This obstacle, combined with a recently revised rural addressing system, which not all residents have begun to adhere to, prompted the dispatch center to purchase and install mapping software.

Though there were many applications from which to choose, Lawrence County picked BullBerry Systems to install its R3GIS suite. The product’s functionality and features coupled with the company’s level of service weighed heavily in the decision.

“The software allows dispatchers to visualize the incident location, both in the zoom view and in an overall view of the county. Its compatible with our other equipment, and the staff is professional and friendly. They exhibit knowledge not only in their own software, but they also know how it will interact with other software. They also understand the data process and the background of our data sets,” says Tom Sandvick, Lawrence County’s 911 Coordinator.

Another benefit is its userfriendliness. According to Sandvick, “the learning curve is short and sweet.”

In fact, on the dispatch center’s second day of using R3GIS, a call came in for response to a wildland fire, an emergency that requires coordination between many entities. Besides traditional fire, law enforcement, and medical services, state and federal agencies may also be involved. As was the case with this fire, where response was expedited with the help of R3GIS.

Sandvick says, “We were able to fax the appropriate map, with information, to another dispatch center. This saved valuable time at both centers, as it took much less explanation from our dispatch to theirs.”

July 2004