Case Study: Canada Task Force 1 accelerates rapid damage assessments with D4H

How CAN-TF1 Performs Rapid Damage Assessments During Wildfires

Canada Task Force 1 (CAN-TF1), an urban search and rescue team, faced challenges with inefficient, paper-based data collection and a lack of real-time customization during disaster responses. Their existing systems were too rigid to adapt quickly to different jurisdictions and scenarios, hindering their ability to perform rapid damage assessments and share information with emergency operations centers. To solve this, they implemented D4H Incident Management.

Using the D4H platform, the team gained the ability to customize data collection forms and status boards in real-time from the field. This allowed them to complete approximately 1,500 rapid damage assessments during the 2023 British Columbia wildfires. D4H enabled the team to perform these assessments in record time, with one crew completing 500 in a single day—a task that previously took weeks. The real-time data collection and mapping features provided critical situational awareness, allowing officials to make swift decisions and lift evacuation orders for unaffected areas.

Canada Task Force 1

Eric Grootendorst

Captain of Operations