IBM to build fire safety system for New York City

New York City firefighters will have real-time information on buildings to help protect them and other first responders when they fight fires once IBM Corp. installs a new data-sharing system.

The New York City Fire Department has hired IBM to construct a system that will use an array of business intelligence technologies to put key information in the hands of fire fighters, company officials said in a news release today. The contract is worth $22.8 million, department officials said.

The Coordinated Building Inspection and Data Analysis System will include such business intelligence technologies as predictive modeling and data analytics to anticipate fire exposures, analyze possible outcomes and improve processes that can reduce risks. Among the processes the system will help strengthen are building inspections, permits and violations reporting.

The new system will combine disparate databases and provide a link to other agencies overseeing buildings and the urban environment, company officials said. It will facilitate communications and information sharing of fire inspection and structural information among the Fire Department’s bureaus and other municipal agencies such as the Buildings, City Planning and Environmental Protection departments and contractors.

IBM Corp., of Armonk, N.Y., ranks No. 16 on Washington Technology’s 2008 Top 100 list of the largest federal government prime contractors.