Case Study: Metropolitan Area Communications Center achieves accurate hydrant mapping and faster 911 response with what3words

3 words for EMS asset management with MetCom & Esri

The Metropolitan Area Communications Center (MetCom) provides 911 fire and EMS dispatch, CAD and GIS support for 20+ fire departments across the Denver metro area—covering 44 stations, almost a million residents and 2,100 square miles—and maintains over 57,000 hydrants in its GIS. Field crews historically recorded hydrant GPS coordinates in different formats and projections, which led to frequent transcription errors, confusing communications and extra work to correct inaccurate locations.

MetCom began using what3words—a global 3 m × 3 m word‑addressing system—combined with Esri’s ArcGIS Locator so non‑technical field staff can send simple three‑word addresses instead of long coordinate strings. The change reduced location errors, saved substantial time in data processing and email exchanges, and made hydrant positions easier to communicate and verify; what3words is now integrated across Esri and other first‑responder and GIS tools.

Metropolitan Area Communications Center

Heather Hoelting

Metropolitan Area Communications Center