The SIGEM GIS software consists in a geographic interface able to view in a easy and intuitive way the outcomes of simulations of explosions, fires, hazardous materials behaviours, gas releases and so forth, allowing to define safe areas and areas to be evacuated.

SIGEM GIS has been realised so that the output data (numeric data within tables) of SIGEM SIMMA, a tool used by the Department of Firefighters to perform the simulations of emergency scenarios and represent them on GIS-based cartographic base, using colours to indicate the intensity of the releases or the pressure wave.

SIGEM GIS is a software through which the Department of Firefighters can assess the effects of events viewing the outcome on a map, allowing so to estimate, during an emergency, the areas that should be evacuated and the danger zones.

The software interface allows to:

• Select the simulation to be represented in geographic format
• Specify the event coordinates. Selecting a spot on the map the event is zoomed to its maximum dimension.
• Visualise on the online Microsoft service LiveMaps the geographic areas of the simulation. This allows to have high-resolution satellite images.
• Make addresses researches through the input of information. It is possible to select one of the indicated destinations included in a list and view it on the map.
• Keep track o all the simulations imported from SIGEM SIMMA and represented in SIGEM GIS.
• Represent on the same map data from several simulations.
• Use different dataset in native Teleatlas Multinet format.

The information related to explosions, fires and hazmat releases become relevant, in operational context, only when these are easily available and understandable. It is difficult to estimate, during an emergency, the areas that, e.g., should be evacuated.

The use of a geographic map for the view of the effects of an event is quite useful both during personnel training phase and during the management of the event, when a quick assessment of the consequences of the release or the explosions is essential.

The assessment of the areas to be evacuated or bordered is immediate, allowing also to evaluate in a intuitive way the details of the event.

The application has been developed using the Microsoft .NET 2.0 platform and Visual Basic as programming language. The data are saved through a local database in a Microsoft Access format. The cartographies on which the application is based are the standard TeleAtlas ones.