[Fwd: Standard Emergency Map Symbols are Available for Review]

["R. Allen Wyke" <emtc@nc.rr.com>]

Just realized that I did not forward this...something for the GIS SC to
look into...

Allen

-----Forwarded Message-----

> From: Scott McAfee <scott.mcafee@dhs.gov>
> To: emtc@nc.rr.com
> Subject: Standard Emergency Map Symbols are Available for Review
> Date: 15 Dec 2003 04:29:11 -0500
> 
> 
> The OASIS Emergency Management Technical Committee and affiliates are
> invited to review a standard set of map symbols.  The symbols are intended
> for use by the emergency management and first responder communities at
> the National, State, Local, and Incident Levels.
> 
> These symbols were developed through the cooperation of a number of Federal
> government agencies and the National States Geographic Information Council
> under the auspices of the Federal Geographic Data Committee's Homeland
> Security Working Group.  An eventual goal of this project is to have the
> symbols become an official standard through an accredited standards'
> organization.
> 
> The draft set of symbols are available for review by the community of
> intended users: emergency managers, first responders, and others involved in
> disaster, hazard, or incident mapping.
> 
> The review period will conclude on January 31, 2004.  After the review
> period, the comments will be compiled in a report and appropriate changes
> will be made to the symbols.  We expect the report to be available in the
> early summer of 2004.  There will likely be another period of public review
> as part of a formal standardization process.
> 
> Please provide comments using the web-based form at:
> 
> http://www.fgdc.gov/HSWG (case sensitive).
> 
> The review takes about an hour to complete.
> 
> - Background -
> 
> The Federal Emergency Management Agency, now part of the Department of
> Homeland Security, began an initiative in 2001 to develop standard map
> symbols for use in emergency management mapping. The standard is intended
> primarily to help first responders and emergency managers at the incident
> and local levels. The resulting symbol set, when completed and endorsed as a
> standard, will support disaster response and homeland security efforts by
> reducing the confusion that can arise from unintuitive, ambiguous, and/or
> inconsistent use of map symbols.
> 
> Since mid-2002 the initiative has been developed collaboratively within the
> Federal Geographic Data Committee's Homeland Security Working Group. A
> Symbology Subgroup has been very active in defining the symbol set and
> developing related products. The U.S. Census Bureau has coordinated digital
> symbol production. Other active members of the group include representatives
> from the Defense Information Systems Agency, the Department of Energy, the
> National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (formerly the National Imagery and
> Mapping Agency), the National States Geographic Information Council, the
> National Weather Service, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
> 
> The symbology subgroup activities include:
> 
>       -  Defining and refining a list of map features relevant to emergency
> and homeland security incident managers;
> 
>       -  Developing a symbol set for these features;
> 
>       -  Soliciting feedback from the user community (emergency managers and
> others);
> 
>       -  Evaluating the best collaborative path for accreditation as a
> standard;
> 
>       -  Developing interoperability specifications and a prototype for
> graphical display through the Open GIS Consortium;
> 
>       -  Designing the standard so as to ensure scalability and
> cross-disciplinary/cross-cultural flexibility.
> 
> Additional information about the activities of the Homeland Security Working
> Group is available at http://www.fgdc.gov/fgdc/homeland/index.html.
> 
> For more information, please contact:
> Scott McAfee (202) 646-3317; scott.mcafee@dhs.gov  or
> Jeff Booth (703) 317-3056; JBooth@mbakercorp.com
> 
> Scott McAfee
> Department of Homeland Security
> EP&R/FEMA - Risk Identification Office
> 500 C Street SW
> Washington, DC 20472
> (202) 646-3317
> fax: (202) 646-2577
> scott.mcafee@dhs.gov
> 
> 
-- 
R. Allen Wyke
Chair, OASIS Emergency Management Technical Committee
http://www.oasis-open.org/committees/emergency