Analysis of fire services coverage in Spain

Previous analysis of the locations of fire stations in Spain and the extent of the areas they cover revealed significant deficiencies with regard to the proportion of communities who would not receive fire service intervention within a reasonable time period. This article discusses and describes the use of Geographic Information Systems and related tools to determine the areas and population covered by existing fire services within a specific response time. This response time by road, is based on a survey of fire service interventions in other European countries. The analysis compares data from a statistical study with georeferenced ones and demonstrates that the areas and communities not covered within this response time is greater than previously believed. The article then describes an analysis an alternative solution to reinforce the current fire stations network with part-time firefighters to cover the areas not covered mainly in rural and remote locations.