A team from York University’s Advanced Disaster, Emergency & Rapid Response Simulation (ADERSIM), led by Professors Adriano O. Solis and Ali Asgary from the School of Administrative Studies, has made a lasting impact on the City of Vaughan’s Fire & Rescue Service (VFRS) and future city planning.
After receiving a grant from the Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs in 2017, the ADERSIM team built local and international partnerships for a project titled “Igniting Insight: Using GIS and Analytics in the Fire Service.”
Over the past two years, the project has brought together colleagues from VFRS, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México, the University of Calabria and the University of Genoa to develop a modelling and simulation tool used to examine performances of fire and rescue services and provide solutions for optimum use of resources. Results from the simulation have led VFRS to better evaluate community risks and consider improvements in its operations. Using predictive analysis of, as well as simulating responses to, more than 10,000 emergency incidents annually, the results that are generated and assessed will help determine the placement and allocation of fire stations and resources.
For implementing these operational innovations, VFRS Fire Chief Deryn Rizzi was presented the Bronze Innovative Management Award at the 2019 Institute of Public Administration of Canada’s 71st annual conference, Public Sector Transformation: Action and Meaningful Change, in Winnipeg.
Pictured from left to right: Beth Bell (IBM Canada, vice-president, enterprise and commercial Canada), Chief Deryn Rizzi (Vaughan Fire & Rescue Service), Professor Adriano O. Solis (York University) and Scott Thompson (CEO, Institute of Public Administration of Canada)
Rizzi expressed gratitude for the vital contributions that professors Solis and Asgary have made through the partnership.
“The entire team deserves kudos for their professionalism and innovation in the pursuit of better outcomes. We are thankful for their efforts and look forward to their continued participation in future endeavours,” Rizzi said.
Solis was invited to join Rizzi in accepting the award on Aug. 20.
“Our active collaboration in this project exemplifies community engagement of York professors by way of relevant, applied research," Solis said. "It has been truly delightful for both Professor Asgary and I to be able to apply our expertise in modelling and simulation in an effective and truly meaningful way.”
Watch this YouTube video to learn more about the Igniting Insight project.