Computer Aided Dispatch and MASAS
Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) incident data for fires and motor vehicle accidents can provide
first responders, public safety officials, non-government organizations, and critical infrastructure
managers in Canada with critical information for day-to-day and crisis operations, as well as loss
mitigation. Sharing situational awareness information from CAD to Multi-Agency Situational
Awareness System (MASAS) allows an organization to leverage an efficient and automated
operational solution without the addition of personnel costs.
Fires, motor vehicle
incidents, …
CAD System
MASAS
Road closures, power
outages, …
Benefits of MASAS CAD integrations
There are numerous benefits to sharing CAD incident data via MASAS:
 Additional incident knowledge – for many municipalities the interface from CAD to first
responder is voice over radio – with no immediate visibility into a situation other than
where it is and a call code. Automatically sharing some of the key information logged by the
dispatcher (e.g. incident type, units dispatched, units on scene) through MASAS can result
in more informed responders arriving on scene once they have been dispatched and
reviewed the available information in MASAS.
 Advanced location awareness – most MASAS interfaces, including the common MASAS
toolset, offer satellite and topographic base map support that can provide proximity
information for such things as buildings, waterways, railways, power lines, etc.
 Reduced travel times – in many municipalities, responders receive an incident address by
audio only. Sharing incidents through MASAS puts the location on a map, removing any
uncertainty of the actual location, and as a result reducing the number of trips to incorrect
locations. Where local road closures and other incidents are also shared through MASAS,
obstacles along the route can be avoided.
 Big picture comprehension – in many municipalities, dispatchers and response officials
are only aware of what their agency is responding to. Sharing through MASAS gives all
responding agencies, including dispatchers where allowed for, the opportunity to see how
their incident may be impacted by or impact another.
 Opportunity to mitigate loss – critical infrastructure operators have made clear that the
earlier they know the more then can do. As an example, notice of a fire in proximity of
hazardous material infrastructure could result in remote shut down of valves and pumps.
Drinking water systems can be shut down to prevent contamination. Air intakes can be
closed at hospitals.
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Opportunity to lean forward – NGO’s and the Canadian Armed Forces have raised the
issue of being able to lean forward in anticipation of being called to support, if they are
aware. Sharing a multi-residential fire incident through MASAS may result in an NGO taking
steps that could save minutes to hours later. Awareness of a major winter multi-vehicle
incident could have reduced response times by hours.
Reduced calls, reduced call times – MASAS participants highlight the need to reduce the
overwhelming number of calls, and the duration of those calls, during major events.
Sharing once to all through an automated CAD to MASAS interface, with or without
automated updates, can significantly reduce the number of calls for information.
What is Needed?
In order to successfully integrate CAD with MASAS there are two key ingredients that need to be
considered: Governance and Technology.
Governance
Getting the policies, procedures, and agreements in place for sharing CAD information is critical.
Making sure that all of the parties from the city administration, the service chiefs, the deputies and
first responders, and the dispatch team is critical. Starting out by sharing a small amount of
information can quickly build the confidence of all parties involved in a CAD solution. E.g. Share
fire locations only.
Technology
The technology for sharing information between CAD and MASAS already exists. Most CAD
systems provide export capabilities that can be used to create small services to push information
into MASAS quite readily. The MASAS API (https://api.masas-sics.ca/explorer/) allows CAD
providers and/or customers to take information from MASAS and push it into the CAD system.
The MASAS National Implementation Team is available to assist where needed.
Lessons Learned
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Avoid the identification of addresses associated with health related calls. The simplest
approach is to not publish them at all. Another approach is to use the block as the location.
Identify policy barriers early. In one province ministry approval was required to make a
CAD to MASAS connection, because the CAD for fire was owned by police.
About MASAS
The Multi-Agency Situational Awareness System (MASAS) is a national interoperability priority,
with governance and direction provided by federal, provincial and territorial emergency
management agencies, representatives of the police, fire and paramedic chiefs organizations, the
national search and rescue secretariat and others. Funding comes from the Centre for Security
Science (CSS) of the Defence Research and Development Canada (DRDC).
For more information about MASAS, please visit www.MASAS-X.ca, or send an email to
info@masas-x.ca
Technical information can be found at www.MASAS.ca