In the aftermath of the World Trade Center disaster, emergency response teams faced the immense task of collecting and cataloging critical evidence at Ground Zero under dangerous and time-sensitive conditions. The existing manual, paper-based process was slow, cumbersome, and required firefighters to remain in hazardous environments for extended periods.
The Challenge: Replace a labor-intensive system for gathering and tracking evidence at the WTC site—where every additional minute increased risk and reduced operational efficiency.
The Solution: Through a partnership with LinksPoint, a specialized 911 application was developed for use by the FDNY, deploying ruggedized handheld computers equipped with integrated GPS and custom field software. The solution combined automated GPS location capture with barcode scanning to enable rapid, precise documentation of recovered items in real time—even in extreme conditions.
The Impact: The application reduced evidence acquisition time from 5–10 minutes per item to less than one minute. This dramatic improvement:
By transforming a manual, high-risk process into a streamlined digital workflow, LinksPoint delivered a mission-critical solution for the FDNY at a moment when speed, accuracy, and safety were paramount.
