Public Safety Indoor Mapping and Location Tracking Stakeholder Roundtable Lessons Learned
On February 9th 2026, Map I.T. had the opportunity to attend and present at the Public Safety Indoor Mapping and Location Tracking Stakeholder Roundtable in Washington, D.C., hosted by DC Fire & EMS. Huge kudos to Esri and Brooks Shannon for bringing together such a strong and diverse group of professionals working at the intersection of public safety and indoor location technology. During this event there were GIS and mapping professionals, communication service providers, the FCC, real time tracking hardware/software, first responders, dispatchers, policy makers, and more, all in the same room. The good news? The technology exists. The expertise exists. And the end goal is the same: make our schools safer. The conversations were candid, practical, and at times, heavy, in the most necessary way. We wanted to share a few key takeaways from an event that truly underscored the importance of this work: Location. Location. Location. It matters. In an emergency, seconds are not just numbers on a clock but can truly make the difference between life and death. To kick off the half-day discussion, three stories were shared that drove this point home.
Example 1
A Fire Chief from the Northeast spoke about a devastating pattern: over a ten-year span, ten firefighters lost their lives after becoming separated from their hose line and unable to find their way out of a structure. Fellow firefighters couldn’t locate them in time. Firefighters typically have about 19 minutes of air. A study showed it can take 20 minutes to rescue a lost firefighter. Seconds matter.
Example 2
The founder of CRG, a veteran who served in the Middle East, shared a story from deployment. He was given a 15-minute notice before a mission and handed a folded paper map to tuck into his pocket. Upon arrival, he was immediately under enemy fire and shot multiple times. When wounded, he radioed just two words: “Building 14.” His teammates had the same maps. They knew exactly where that was. They reached him in time and saved his life. Location matters.
Example 3
At a high school in the Midwest, a student was overdosing. The school had accurate, up-to-date floor plans that included AED locations. Because first responders and staff could quickly identify where to go and where the equipment was located, the student received medical treatment faster, and survived. Accuracy matters.
All three stories point to the same conclusion: accurate maps and floor plans are not optional, especially in
That said, this work does require a financial investment to ensure that you have the accurate floor plans required. Indoor mapping and safety initiatives must be funded and sustained. One way to strengthen the case is to extend the value of indoor mapping beyond emergency response through collaboration with various departments like facilities management, space planning, asset management, maintenance operations, and more. When multiple departments rely on the same accurate indoor data for their workflows, the impact compounds. There is still work to be done. We need stronger data standards, better cross-department collaboration, and tighter coordination across agencies and organizations.
Organizations like Make Our Schools Safe are helping lead the charge, particularly through advocacy around Alyssa’s Act, This legislation requiring K–12 schools to install silent panic alarm systems that connect directly to law enforcement and maintain accurate, up-to-date floor plans. Named after Alyssa Alhadeff, a victim of the 2018 Parkland school shooting, the law aims to reduce emergency response times and improve situational awareness when every second counts. “We need all the co-sponsors we can for this landmark bipartisan bill, and we ask to contact your local representatives in the House to encourage them to co-sponsor what is a very sensible way to ensure the safety of our students, our teachers, our school staff, and the public at large.” – Brooks Shannon, Director, Emergency Communications Solutions. And he is absolutely right.
NENA (a non-profit focused on 911 operations, technology education, and policies) is currently spearheading the development of a GIS data standard for indoor mapping. The Indoor Mapping Working Group encourages collaboration and contributions from all stakeholders involved in the creation, use, or application of indoor mapping data. You can learn more about the working group here.
This roundtable reinforced something we already knew: indoor mapping is no longer a “nice to have.” It is critical infrastructure. And the conversations happening right now will shape how we protect people and our kids tomorrow.
About Map I.T.?
Map I.T. is a geospatial consulting firm that helps organizations create accurate maps and actionable data to support safer, more efficient, and better-connected facilities. As a leading national campus and indoor mapping firm, we bridge the gap between technology, data, and people—making critical information accessible when and where it’s needed most. As an Esri Business Partner and ArcGIS Indoors Specialty Partner, we specialize in implementing GIS solutions designed specifically for school safety, security, and emergency response.
Visit our website at: www.map-it-llc.com
Email us at: zjaffe@map-it-llc.com