Every public service or emergency service related incident occurs at a place that can be geographically referenced, whether it is a house, road junction or the middle of a forest. It is vital that emergency services can pinpoint the location of emergency situations quickly and accurately. An effective geographic information strategy should realise key benefits in terms of strategic emergency service response to help ensure the public safety of all citizens. GIS has already made a significant impact on the emergency services. It is a 'bedrock' component in the next generation command and control systems, empowering dynamic mobilising, using automatic vechile location system technology with high quality intelligence. Although careful choices still need to be made by each emergency service as to the use and deployment of GIS for their own business, it is evident that the current diluted approach to GIS technology and opportunites for data sharing is not cost effective in terms of service delivery. An intergrated GI strategy will offer the opportunity for; more efficent rescue operations that will save lives and property; better co-operation between services and agencies; cost savings through increased efficency of service and economies of scale and; better management and documentation of operations.