A GIS-based spatial decision support system for emergency services: London's King's Cross St. Pancras underground station

Abstract

The fire at London's King's Cross St. Pancras underground station on November 18, 1987, resulted in 31 fatalities, more than 60 severe injuries, and major structural damage to the station. Disasters such as this not only affect lives, as well as physical structures, but they also impact upon the immediate street level environment in ways that considerably reduce the speed of emergency response. The complex internal structures of the buildings and the restricted number of access points at the street level also render speedy escape and rescue particularly difficult in any emergency. When disasters occur within complex multi-level structures, a short period of time (e.g. 5 minutes) may lead to significant changes in the disaster environment within which trapped people need to escape and emergency services personnel have to operate (Kwan and Lee, in press). In this respect, the efficiency and effectiveness of the emergency services is critical, and directly related to their disaster and emergency management. Preparedness is a key component of disaster and emergency management, and can play a significant factor in the event that emergency response efforts become necessary. Unfortunately, information from comparable incidents is usually unavailable and the way that some emergency scenarios evolve is unknown. Cova (1999) describes how Spatial Decision Support Systems (SDSS) can provide an effective tool for emergency services to monitor, identify, and mitigate vulnerabilities, ultimately improving and enhancing an organisation's level of preparedness for incidents. London's King's Cross is going through a period of major change that will help to transform the area into a distinctive part of a world city. By 2015, approximately £4 billion will be invested into the area, developing it into the largest integrated transport hub in Europe. In addition, the area will benefit from the creation of 1,800 new homes, 30,000 jobs, and major business opportunities. This paper introduces a prototype SDSS designed to evaluate, revise, and contribute to emergency services preparedness of a major disaster within the London King's Cross redevelopment. Specifically, the framework of an evacuation model incorporating current social systems, and network and infrastructure systems, as well as initial evacuation scenarios will be discussed. These will be coupled via an integration link interface to a GIS, controlled and implemented through a Graphical User Interface (GUI) which displays the current state of the evacuation process, allowing the user to request information or run the simulation. Results from this study will facilitate the coordination, implementation, and allocation of health and emergency resources during future emergencies or disasters. It is anticipated that the SDSS will be of use to emergency medical service administrators, medical and public health professionals, and other community policy makers and planners who must prepare for future mass trauma events. © 2005 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.