Lockheed Martin Software Fights Wildfires

Lockheed Martin Corp. of Bethesda, Md., has delivered a new Web-based application to the National Wildfire Coordination Group that will help federal, state and local firefighter organizations mobilize people, equipment and materials to combat major wildfires in the United States.

Lockheed Martin?s information support services unit received a $3.2 million General Services Administration task order from the U.S. Forest Service in September 1999 to tackle the problem of integrating data from various members of the National Wildfire Coordination Group. The group?s membership includes representatives of the U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; National Park Service, National Association of State Foresters, Federal Emergency Management Agency, and U.S. Fire Administration.

The goal was to create an application that would enable the group to quickly react to fires, such as those that affected the western United States last summer, which required the efforts and skills of thousands of workers from states across the country. Mobilizing the right people took agencies days of effort.

The new Java-based Resource Ordering and Status System, called ROSS, will enable managers to learn the current status of firefighting resources within member organizations and quickly place orders for those resources. ROSS was delivered to the NWCG in early February, with field testing to begin in March. Modules of the system, which was designed to handle up to 400 dispatch units nationwide, will be rolled out incrementally over the next year.

?We are excited about achieving this milestone for a program that one day will have a positive effect on saving the lives, homes and businesses of millions of Americans in potential wildfire areas,? said Linda Gooden, president of Lockheed Martin?s information support services.