FROM STATIC TO DYNAMIC: DEVELOPING AN INTERACTIVE COMMUNITY RISK ASSESSMENT FRAMEWORK TO SUSTAIN FIRE SERVICE ACCREDITATION IN DENTON, TX

Abstract

Traditional Community Risk Assessments (CRAs) and Standards of Cover (SOCs) enable fire departments to evaluate hazards, allocate resources, and support accreditation and strategic planning, but as static reports, they limit spatial analysis, obscure localized risk variations, and quickly become outdated as community conditions change; potentially hindering timely responses and equitable resource distribution. This project develops an interactive, web-based CRA framework for the Denton Fire Department in Denton, Texas, transforming static reporting into a dynamic geospatial decision-support tool. Leveraging Geographic Information Systems (GIS), it integrates historical fire incident data, Esri Business Analyst-derived demographic and socioeconomic indicators (including population density, housing characteristics, and vulnerability factors), land use data, and building information to map spatial risk patterns. Employing spatial analysis techniques such as density mapping, overlay analysis, and exploratory spatial data analysis, the framework identifies geographic concentrations of risk and potential service gaps. Results are delivered through an interactive web GIS application that allows users to visualize risk layers, explore community characteristics, query data, and support real-time, data-driven planning decisions. By evolving a conventional planning document into a living geospatial platform, this approach enhances transparency, promotes proactive community risk reduction, improves resource targeting, and strengthens overall fire service planning and accreditation efforts.