What is the best GPS system for ambulance/ fire?

[Loshi]

I use google but I was wondering if there's an app that populates the shortest miles (for code 3s)
What GPS apps do ya'll prefer?

 

[PotatoMedic]

waze maybe?

 

[TransportJockey]

Honestly, knowing your district beats any GPS hands down

 

[EpiEMS]

@TransportJockey is right. That being said, Google maps is just fine, most of the time.

Caveat 1: Your apparatus may be too tall to use Google maps.
Caveat 2: Google maps may give you road guidance that is dangerous - like roads that tend to have a lot of parked cars or are very curvy.

@Loshi, just remember: response times don't matter, generally speaking. Responder safety does matter, 100% of the time.

 

[DesertMedic66]

I only use google maps.

A normal GPS System would not be enough for me.

I like routing around major traffic areas to save on time. I am able to see exactly what house the call is at, I can do a street view to figure out where the best access is going to be, and I can use the satellite view to look for parking lots, guest houses, etc.

Edit: I should also add I don't use the actual guidance feature. I just type in the address and then map myself/EMT based on knowing the roads and traffic patterns.

 

[NomadicMedic]

Our dispatch software in the trucks uses Google Maps. Surprisingly accurate.

 

[hometownmedic5]

No gadget will ever beat first hand knowledge of your first due. Area knowledge tests should be mandatory. I'm not saying you need to know every street, alley, and house in the district; but the main roads, neighborhoods and landmarks are key.

Get out their and drive your district, preferably on the company nickel, but if that's not an option then do it on your own.

 

[DesertMedic66]

No gadget will ever beat first hand knowledge of your first due. Area knowledge tests should be mandatory. I'm not saying you need to know every street, alley, and house in the district; but the main roads, neighborhoods and landmarks are key.

Get out their and drive your district, preferably on the company nickel, but if that's not an option then do it on your own.

Going to depend on how big your first due is. My first due is about 5,000 square miles...

 

[NysEms2117]

my brain . jk google maps

 

[johnrsemt]

Just remember even Google Maps will send you on roads that are impassable due to snow or mud so take the directions with a grain of salt

 

[Underoath87]

I'll tell you what isn't the best GPS program: Bing.

 

[NysEms2117]

Just remember even Google Maps will send you on roads that are impassable due to snow or mud so take the directions with a grain of salt

Bless working in a city

 

[MMiz]

When I actively worked in EMS my GPS, a Garmin iQue 3600, had an "Emergency Vehicle" routing option.

These days I'd use Google Maps for emergency response and Waze for transfers.

I'm a huge fan of Waze, but it often takes me on side streets. Great for saving time, not so impressive or speedy with lights and siren in the middle of the night.

 

[DrParasite]

Honestly, knowing your district beats any GPS hands down

That's great when you have a tiny district. My first EMS job's coverage area was a little more than 6 square miles, in an all urban city. my second EMS job has a primary coverage that was a little under 6 square miles, in another urban city. Of course, many of the streets changed names every city block, but in general, given the cross streets from dispatched, I was able to get to almost every area without a GPS.

When I went part time at the second job, I was put in the system, so my primary "district" increased from 6 square miles to about 122 square miles; we provided 911 services for half the county. How easy is it for you to learn 122 square miles of mostly suburban areas?

When I moved to NC, my primary area was about 15 square miles, but it was a county wide system, so we could get sent anywhere in the 850 square mile coverage area, in a primarily suburban area, some urban, and a lot of rural on the outskirts. My part time job ended up having a coverage area of 400 square miles, with 9 units covering the entire county. My unit covered the top 3rd of the county, mostly rural, but we could get pulled into the city too depending on need. It's really hard to learn every part of your coverage area, when it's over a hundred miles.

City firefighters have it made, because they only need to know the area about 2 miles around their station as their "district." Beyond that it's their second and third due, which they are expected to know, but most don't know it nearly as well a their first due. When you start going towards townwide/citywide EMS system, and county wide EMS systems, it becomes much harder to known every part of your coverage area.

Honestly, Google maps is a great backup, and can help with traffic or those obscure/new streets, and I recommend using it on every call. But know your major routes of travel, know your coverage area's major arteries, and know how to read a map.

 

[NomadicMedic]

It can be difficult when you have the same road name in close, but very different locations. In the photos above, there is a 1st Street in two separate locations, not connecting, within a mile of each other. Think that's caused confusion? This area is mostly dirt roads, not signed well, lots of trees and no house numbers.

I agree that it's vital to know the basics. For example, in my district there is a large subdivision that's mostly military housing. All the streets have "military" names like "Howitzer Lane" and it's a rats nest of small streets, courts, terraces and drives. While I don't know specifically where each street is, I can quickly get us in the general area and then narrow it down with google maps from our active 911 on the tablet.

It's important to know the main arteries, the shortcuts to get from one side of town to the other and the names of the major sub divisions of your area. If you can get close, the GPS will narrow it down. And if you've got small, congested areas that my be confusing, get in there and drive around to learn it.

 

[Bullets]

I use google maps outside my job 1 primary. job 1 is a 8 sq mile municipality that i know in my sleep. But in job 2 as director its a 42 sqm town that i still havent learned. and job 3 is a regional ALS and forget knowing all that

 

[johnrsemt]

my response area is approx. 100 miles X 80 miles, 90% dirt roads; GPS is great; gives you roads that don't exist
and GPS pinging phones is wonderful. We looked for an overturned car from a 911 call that turned out to be over 150 miles away in another state. Took 4 911 calls from them before they got an accurate ping