Farm mapping to assist, protect and prepare emergency responders: The farm mapper project

Responders such as firefighters and emergency medical technicians who respond to farm emergencies often face complex and unknown environments. They may encounter hazards such as fuels, solvents, pesticides, caustics and exploding gas storage cylinders. Location of water sources and power cutoffs often vary between farms. Responders may also be unaware of dirt roads on the farm that can expedite their arrival at critical sites or covered manure pits that act as hidden hazards. A response to a farm, unless guided by someone familiar with the operation, may present a risk to responders and pose a challenge in locating the victim. This project explored the use of a web-based farm mapping application optimized for tablets and accessible via on-site matrix barcodes to provide emergency responders with hazard and resource information to agricultural operations. Secured portals were developed for both farmers and responders to populate and customize farm maps with icons. Mock responses were conducted to farm sites to test the usability of the system for first responders. Findings from the usability testing by both user types showed ease of use, clarity and accuracy of data as well as security limitations. Placing the application access points on-site lessened the burden of distributing data beyond the fire department. The results also pointed to a significant need for emergency extrication procedures for farm equipment presenting entanglement or entrapment hazards that would be easily accessible for emergency responders.