Technology from $540K grant to improve response times in Calif. city

By Jesse Dungan
The San Jose Mercury News

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. — Uncle Sam has given the Port of Redwood City $540,000 to spend on technology to improve response times to disasters and other emergencies at the facility.

The funding from the Department of Homeland Security will be used to build "geographic information" and "tactical survey information" databases, said project manager Eric Napralla, the port's manager of development and compliance. Every aspect of the port, from its streets to its buildings, will be digitized.

"Any information you can compile and have in advance has a huge impact on your overall response time," said Napralla, adding that both databases will be joined into one.

For example, if a building is on fire at the port, firefighters would be able to use the database to quickly learn the structure's layout, where all the doors are and whether they're fire-resistant. The information would be accessible to other public safety agencies, too.

The port currently relies on hard copy diagrams in such situations.

Redwood City is already using a geographic information system but it doesn't include many details about the port. The port has given the city $84,000 of the grant money to expand its system and include more detailed information about the facility.

The remainder is being paid to Tactical Survey Group to do 360-degree, real-life imaging of the interior and exterior of the port's structures.

"It's like Google Earth on steroids," Napralla said.

The port won the federal grant through the San Francisco Bay Marine Exchange in January. It signed contracts with Redwood City and Tactical Survey Group in April and the project is expected to be finished by October, Napralla said.

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