FireDOC Search

Author
Larson, R. C.
Title
Response of Emergency Units: The Effects of Barriers, Discrete Streets, and One-Way Streets.
Coporate
Rand Institute, New York City, NY
Report
R-675/HUD
April 1971
37 p.
Keywords
fire fighting vehicles | emergencies | highways
Identifiers
discrete grid of streets; one-way streets
Abstract
In realistic urban environments, emergency response vehicles (units) may encounter barriers (e.g., rivers) and one-way streets which impede rapid response. In this report we derive formulas for the increase in mean travel distance associated with such impediments. We consider vehicles whose locations at time of dispatch may vary over some region. Such a model is most appropriate for police patrol cars. Calls for service are assumed to be uniformly and independently distributed over the region. The techniques illustrated are applicable to systems in which the response unit is dispatched from fixed locations and to systems with more complicated spatial descriptions.