North Carolina Emergency Medical Services

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Frequently-anticipated questions:

What does this data set describe?

Title: North Carolina Emergency Medical Services
Abstract:
EMS Locations in North Carolina
The EMS stations dataset consists of any location where emergency medical services (EMS) personnel are stationed or based out of, or where equipment that such personnel use in carrying out their jobs is stored for ready use. Ambulance services are included even if they only provide transportation services, but not if they are located at, and operated by, a hospital. If an independent ambulance service or EMS provider happens to be collocated with a hospital, it will be included in this dataset. The dataset includes both private and governmental entities.
This dataset is comprised completely of license free data.
The Fire Station dataset and the EMS dataset were merged into one working file. TGS processed as one file and then separated for delivery purposes.
Records with "-DOD" appended to the end of the [NAME] value are located on a military base, as defined by the Defense Installation Spatial Data Infrastructure (DISDI) military installations and military range boundaries.
Text fields in this dataset have been set to all upper case to facilitate consistent database engine search results.
All diacritics (e.g., the German umlaut or the Spanish tilde) have been replaced with their closest equivalent English character to facilitate use with database systems that may not support diacritics.
The currentness of this dataset is indicated by the [CONTDATE] field. Based upon this field, the oldest record dates from 01/05/2005 and the newest record dates from 08/15/2008
  1. How should this data set be cited?

    TechniGraphics, Inc., 20080919, North Carolina Emergency Medical Services.

    Online Links:

    • \\DBADMIN\C$\CGIA\NCOneMap\database\ems\current\ems

  2. What geographic area does the data set cover?

    West_Bounding_Coordinate: -84.312103
    East_Bounding_Coordinate: -75.424460
    North_Bounding_Coordinate: 36.579997
    South_Bounding_Coordinate: 33.751698

  3. What does it look like?

  4. Does the data set describe conditions during a particular time period?

    Beginning_Date: 05-Jan-2005
    Ending_Date: 15-Aug-2008
    Currentness_Reference: ground condition

  5. What is the general form of this data set?

    Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: vector digital data

  6. How does the data set represent geographic features?

    1. How are geographic features stored in the data set?

      This is a Vector data set. It contains the following vector data types (SDTS terminology):

      • Entity point (1767)

    2. What coordinate system is used to represent geographic features?

      Grid_Coordinate_System_Name: State Plane Coordinate System 1983
      State_Plane_Coordinate_System:
      SPCS_Zone_Identifier: 3200
      Lambert_Conformal_Conic:
      Standard_Parallel: 34.333333
      Standard_Parallel: 36.166667
      Longitude_of_Central_Meridian: -79.000000
      Latitude_of_Projection_Origin: 33.750000
      False_Easting: 609601.220000
      False_Northing: 0.000000

      Planar coordinates are encoded using coordinate pair
      Abscissae (x-coordinates) are specified to the nearest 1.000000
      Ordinates (y-coordinates) are specified to the nearest 1.000000
      Planar coordinates are specified in meters

      The horizontal datum used is North American Datum of 1983.
      The ellipsoid used is Geodetic Reference System 80.
      The semi-major axis of the ellipsoid used is 6378137.000000.
      The flattening of the ellipsoid used is 1/298.257222.

  7. How does the data set describe geographic features?

    EMS Locations in North Carolina
    The EMS stations dataset consists of any location where emergency medical services (EMS) personnel are stationed or based out of, or where equipment that such personnel use in carrying out their jobs is stored for ready use. Ambulance services are included even if they only provide transportation services, but not if they are located at, and operated by, a hospital. If an independent ambulance service or EMS provider happens to be collocated with a hospital, it will be included in this dataset. The dataset includes both private and governmental entities. (Source: TGS)

    FID
    Internal feature number. (Source: ESRI)

    Sequential unique whole numbers that are automatically generated.

    SHAPE
    Feature geometry. (Source: ESRI)

    Coordinates defining the features.

    ID
    Unique identifier for feature. (Source: TGS)

    Text

    SECCLASS
    Security classification of feature. (Source: TGS)

    ValueDefinition
    UNCLASSIFIEDEntity is unclassified.

    NAME
    Name of entity. (Source: TGS)

    Text

    TELEPHONE
    Ten (10) digit telephone number for entity formatted as nnn-nnn-nnnn. (Source: TGS)

    Phone numbers formatted as nnn-nnn-nnnn. Only numeric digits are used. The area code and exchange must form a valid combination. A list of valid area code and exchange combinations can be obtained from <http://www.nanpa.com>.

    ADDRESS
    Physical street address for entity. "PO Box", "General Delivery", "Rural Route", and "Highway Contract" addresses are not considered physical addresses and should not appear in this field. Some areas do not have regular city style addressing, so entities in those areas may not have a street number. In such cases, the name of the road on which they are located is listed in this field. Some rural areas may not have named roads. In these rare cases, this field will be blank. (Source: TGS)

    Text

    ADDRESS2
    Location within physical address, e.g., floor, suite, building. (Source: TGS)

    Text

    CITY
    The name of the city associated with the entity's physical address. For physical addresses that the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) delivers to, this should be a "city" acceptable to the USPS as defined in their Address Information System (AIS). Sometimes the USPS does not deliver mail to a physical address but recognizes the location (i.e., they list the location as "undeliverable"). The cities associated with these locations are acceptable. In some cases, the USPS does not recognize individual physical addresses in a city, rather, they list the city as having "General Delivery". In these cases, the city and associated zip code are acceptable (the entity's [ADDRESS] field will contain a street address, not "general delivery"). The entity may not actually be located within the city limits of the "city" specified in its [CITY] field. Instead, it may actually be located within the city limits of another city. In some cases, the "city" that appears in this field may not even be a city in an administrative sense, but it is still an acceptable "city" to the USPS. An example of this is "Notre Dame, IN". There is no city in Indiana called "Notre Dame", but this is considered an acceptable city by the USPS for any delivery going to the University of Notre Dame which is actually located in the city of South Bend. "Notre Dame", like most USPS cities, is an easily recognized place, and it gives the user of the data a good general idea of where the entity is located (if the entity is located in a small municipality, the USPS "city" may be more recognizable than the name of the municipality), and it would be part of the address one would use to send a shipment to the entity's location. Using the USPS acceptable "city" also allows someone to do a logical consistency check between the zip code and the city by using the USPS AIS.
    Sometimes an entity may report a city that is not accepted by the USPS, and although TGS has tried to replace those cities with an acceptable alternative, some of them may remain in this dataset. (Source: TGS)

    Text

    STATE
    Two (2) character abbreviation for state associated with the entity's physical address. In almost all cases, this is the same as the state where the entity has been depicted geospatially. However, there are cases, particularly where an entity is part of a larger facility that cuts across state lines, where the entity's location may be depicted in a state other than the one indicated in this field. Also, the state in which an entity appears to be located may change depending on the scale of the state boundary theme being used. (Source: TGS)

    Formal codeset
    Codeset Name:Official USPS Abbreviations - State Abbreviations
    Codeset Source:United States Postal Service <http://www.usps.com/ncsc/lookups/usps_abbreviations.html>

    ZIP
    Five (5) digit USPS zip code for entity's physical location. (Source: TGS)

    Formal codeset
    Codeset Name:USPS Address Information System - Domain is further restricted by only allowing physical (non PO Box) zip codes.
    Codeset Source:United States Postal Service

    ZIPP4
    Four (4) digit USPS zip code extension. These values are automatically assigned using the entity's physical address and USPS address information system (AIS) data. (Source: TGS)

    Formal codeset
    Codeset Name:USPS Address Information System (AIS) - ZIP9
    Codeset Source:United States Postal Service

    COUNTY
    County name where entity is located. (Source: TGS)

    Formal codeset
    Codeset Name:Geographic Names Information System (GNIS)
    Codeset Source:US Department of the Interior - US Geologic Survey

    FIPS
    Five (5) digit FIPS (Federal Information Processing Standards) Code for the County where entity is located. The first two (2) digits represent the state and the last three (3) digits identify the county within the state. (Source: TGS)

    Formal codeset
    Codeset Name:Federal Information Processing Standards Publications - Counties and Equivalent Entities of the U.S., Its Possessions, and Associated Areas
    Codeset Source:National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) <http://www.itl.nist.gov/fipspubs/co-codes/states.txt>

    DIRECTIONS
    Directions to entity location, or description of the entity's location. (Source: TGS)

    Text

    EMERGTITLE
    Title of person or name of office for emergency point of contact. (Source: TGS)

    Text

    EMERGTEL
    Ten (10) digit telephone number of emergency point of contact formatted as nnn-nnn-nnnn. All alphabetic characters have been translated to the corresponding numeric digit. (Source: TGS)

    Phone numbers, including area code, formatted as nnn-nnn-nnnn. A list of valid area code and exchange combinations can be found at <http://www.nanpa.com>

    EMERGEXT
    Telephone extension for emergency point of contact. (Source: TGS)

    Text

    CONTDATE
    Date entity was contacted by TGS. (Source: TGS)

    Date

    CONTHOW
    Method by which entity was contacted. (Source: TGS)

    ValueDefinition
    PHONEEntity was contacted by phone.
    FAXEntity was contacted by fax.
    MAILEntity was contacted by mail.
    EMAILEntity was contacted by email.
    WEBEntity information was gathered and/or verified by official entity website as a last resort.
    ALT REFGeospatial reference information obtained from local authorities, e.g., downloadable parcel maps, 911 streets, and shape files.
    <BLANK>Entity has not been contacted by TGS.

    GEODATE
    Date entity was geocoded by TGS. (Source: TGS)

    Date

    GEOHOW
    Method by which entity was geocoded. (Source: TGS)

    ValueDefinition
    AUTOEntity was automatically geocoded.
    MANUALEntity was manually geocoded.
    ADJUSTEDEntity was shifted by TGS to an updated set of NAVTEQ streets. This only applies if the entity was manually geocoded by TGS to a previous version of NAVTEQ streets.
    PROVIDEDEntity was geocoded using coordinates provided by the original source.

    NAICSCODE
    NAICS (North American Industry Classification System) Code for entity. NAICS Codes (and NAICS Descriptions) have been assigned based upon the entity's primary function, regardless of if that is the function that qualified it to be included in this dataset. (Source: TGS)

    Formal codeset
    Codeset Name:North American Industry Classification System (NAICS 2007)
    Codeset Source:US Census Bureau - <http://www.census.gov/epcd/www/naics.html>

    NAICSDESCR
    NAICS (North American Industry Classification System) Description for entity. The "Index Entries" that appear on the NAICS webpage (<http://www.census.gov/epcd/www/naics.html>) are being used to populate this field, as opposed to the "NAICS Title". While there is a one to one correspondence between NAICS Codes and "NAICS Titles", there is a one to many relationship between NAICS Codes and the "Index Entries". By using the "Index Entries", we have placed the entities that make up this layer into more specific categories; however, the user of this data should be aware that this was not the intended purpose of these "Index Entries". The "Index Entries" were intended as a way to search the NAICS database and as a way of enumerating ways in which establishments falling under the given NAICS Code may be named. Thus, there are often two or more "Index Entries" that are synonyms, for example: "Prisons" and "Penitentiaries". In cases like this, we have standardized on one "Index Entry".
    NAICS Descriptions (and NAICS Codes) have been assigned based upon the entity's primary function, regardless of if that is the function that qualified it to be included in this dataset. (Source: TGS)

    ValueDefinition
    AIR AMBULANCE SERVICESAIR AMBULANCE SERVICES - [NAICS Code 621910]: Entities that are primarily engaged in providing transportation of patients by air that have medical care capabilities are classified under this description.
    AMBULANCE AND FIRE SERVICE COMBINEDAMBULANCE AND FIRE SERVICE COMBINED - [NAICS Code 922160]: Entities providing ambulance services with fire protection service are classified under this description.
    AMBULANCE SERVICES, AIR OR GROUNDAMBULANCE SERVICES, AIR OR GROUND - [NAICS Code 621910]: Entities that are primarily engaged in providing transportation of patients by ground or air that have medical care capabilities are classified under this description.
    FIRE AND RESCUE SERVICEFIRE AND RESCUE SERVICE - [NAICS Code 922160]: Entities that are involved in fire fighting and rescue service are classified under this description, unless they are privately owned or primarily involved in forest fire fighting.
    FIREFIGHTING, FORESTFIREFIGHTING, FOREST - [NAICS Code 115310]: Entities that are primarily involved in forest fire fighting are classified under this description.
    FIRE FIGHTER TRAINING SCHOOLSFIRE FIGHTER TRAINING SCHOOLS - [NAICS Code 611519]: Entities that are primarily involved in training fire fighters are classified under this description.
    FIRE FIGHTING SERVICES AS A COMMERCIAL ACTIVITYFIRE FIGHTING SERVICES AS A COMMERCIAL ACTIVITY - [NAICS Code 561990]: Entities providing fire protection for a commercial facility are classified under this description.
    POLICE AND FIRE DEPARTMENTS, COMBINEDPOLICE AND FIRE DEPARTMENTS, COMBINED - [NAICS Code 922120]: Entities providing combined police and fire protection service are classified under this description.
    RESCUE SERVICES, AIRRESCUE SERVICES, AIR - [NAICS Code 621910]: Entities that have medical care capabilities and are primarily engaged in the rescue of patients by air are classified under this description.
    RESCUE SERVICES, MEDICALRESCUE SERVICES, MEDICAL - [NAICS Code 621910]: Entities that have medical care capabilities and are primarily engaged in the rescue of patients by ground are classified under this description.

    GEOLINKID
    Link ID for the street segment to which the entity was geocoded. Refer to the [ST_VENDOR] and [ST_VERSION] fields for the street vendor and version that was used to geocode the entity. (Source: TGS)

    Text

    X
    Longitude in WGS 84 Decimal Degrees. (Source: TGS)

    Range of values
    Minimum:-180
    Maximum:180
    Units:WGS 84 Decimal Degrees

    Y
    Latitude in WGS 84 Decimal Degrees. (Source: TGS)

    Range of values
    Minimum:-90
    Maximum:90
    Units:WGS 84 Decimal Degrees

    ST_VENDOR
    Indicates name of vendor providing original street data used for geocoding. (Source: TGS)

    ValueDefinition
    NAVTEQNAVTEQ streets were used for geocoding.
    TGSTGS drew in a new street segment that does not exist in the file supplied by NAVTEQ.
    TIGERTIGER/Line streets were used for geocoding.

    ST_VERSION
    Indicates the year and quarter of streets used for geocoding. (Source: TGS)

    ValueDefinition
    2007Q22nd Quarter 2007 NAVTEQ street data was used for geocoding.
    2006FE2006fe version of TIGER/Line streets were used for geocoding in areas where NAVTEQ does not have coverage.

    GEOPREC
    Geocoding precision. (Source: TGS)

    ValueDefinition
    BLOCKFACEEntity is geocoded to correct block and correct side of street per street data indicated by [ST_VENDOR] and [ST_VERSION].
    ONENTITYEntity is geocoded on entity rooftop per aerial imagery (in most cases USGS DOQQs).

    PHONELOC
    Indicates whether the phone number in the [TELEPHONE] field rings to the actual location of the entity. (Source: TGS)

    ValueDefinition
    YESPhone number rings to the actual entity location.
    NOPhone number does not ring to the actual entity location. It may ring to an administrative office or central location.
    <BLANK>Unknown - It is not known if the entity's phone number rings to the entity's location.

    QC_QA
    Organization that performed Quality Control/Quality Assurance on the record. (Source: TGS)

    ValueDefinition
    TGSTGS has performed Quality Control/Quality Assurance on all TGS added records and all records contacted since 01/01/2005.
    <BLANK>The record is not TGS added or has not had Quality Control/Quality Assurance performed by TGS, or Quality Control/Quality Assurance was performed prior to 01/01/2005.

    STATE_ID
    State Emergency Medical Services Data ID. For states that contributed data, this field is populated with the unique ID used by the state to track EMS locations. (Source: TGS)

    Text

    FDID
    A unique five-character identifier assigned by the state to identify a particular fire department within the state. The first two characters designate the county and the last three designate the department within the county. This identifier is only unique within each state, not nationwide. (Source: TGS)

    Text

    FRST_MBRS
    Total number of fire fighter members associated with the DEPARTMENT.
    The values that this field is populated with came from individual states and have not been validated or checked by TGS. (Source: TGS)

    Number

    EMS_MBRS
    Total number of EMS members associated with the DEPARTMENT.
    The values that this field is populated with came from individual states and have not been validated or checked by TGS. (Source: TGS)

    Number

    TOTALPERS
    Total number of members associated with the DEPARTMENT.
    The values that this field is populated with came from individual states and have not been validated or checked by TGS. (Source: TGS)

    Number

    NUMTRKS
    Total number of fire trucks associated with the DEPARTMENT.
    The values that this field is populated with came from individual states and have not been validated or checked by TGS. (Source: TGS)

    Number

    NUMABUL
    Total number of ambulances associated with the DEPARTMENT.
    The values that this field is populated with came from individual states and have not been validated or checked by TGS. (Source: TGS)

    Number

    TOTAL_VEHI
    Total number of vehicles associated with the DEPARTMENT.
    The values that this field is populated with came from individual states and have not been validated or checked by TGS. (Source: TGS)

    Number

    NBR_STA
    The total number of stations associated with the DEPARTMENT.
    The values that this field is populated with came from individual states and have not been validated or checked by TGS. (Source: TGS)

    Number

    OWNER
    The type of ownership for the entity.
    The values that this field is populated with came from individual states and have not been validated or checked by TGS. (Source: TGS)

    Text

    LEVEL
    Indicates the level of medical services provided.
    The values that this field is populated with came from individual states and have not been validated or checked by TGS. (Source: TGS)

    Text

    TYPE
    Type of employees.
    The values that this field is populated with came from individual states and have not been validated or checked by TGS. (Source: TGS)

    Text

    SPECIALTY
    Indicates any type of specialty unit available at the facility.
    The values that this field is populated with came from individual states and have not been validated or checked by TGS. (Source: TGS)

    Text

    EMSLICENSE
    License number for EMS agency provided by the state.
    The values that this field is populated with came from individual states and have not been validated or checked by TGS. (Source: TGS)

    Text

    EMERPHONE
    Emergency Contact Number as provided by individual states. Some values also include telephone extensions and/or alternate telephone numbers. All alphabetic characters have been translated to the corresponding numeric digit.
    The values in this field have not been verified by TGS. (Source: TGS)

    Phone numbers, including area code, formatted as nnn-nnn-nnnn. A list of valid area code and exchange combinations can be found at <http://www.nanpa.com>

    FRST
    Indicates if the entity also has fire fighting capabilities. (Source: TGS)

    ValueDefinition
    YIndicates the entity has fire fighting capabilities.
    NIndicates the entity does not have fire fighting capabilities.
    <BLANK>Unable to determine if entity has fire fighting capabilities.

    PERM_ID
    The unique permanent identifier of The National Structures Dataset.
    The values in this field have not been verified by TGS. (Source: TGS)

    Text

    GNIS_ID
    The unique permanent identifier of the Geographic Names Information System that is up to eight (8) digits in length and unique within the nation.
    The values in this field have not been verified by TGS. (Source: TGS)

    Text

Who produced the data set?

  1. Who are the originators of the data set? (may include formal authors, digital compilers, and editors)

  2. Who also contributed to the data set?

  3. To whom should users address questions about the data?

    Mike Thompson
    TechniGraphics, Inc.
    Director of Geospatial Datasets
    3351 Eastbrook Drive
    Fort Collins, CO 80525
    USA

    970-224-4996 (voice)
    970-224-3001 (FAX)
    mthompson@tgstech.com

    Hours_of_Service: Monday - Friday, 0800 - 1700 MST

Why was the data set created?

Homeland Security
Use Cases: Use cases describe how the data may be used and help to define and clarify requirements.
1. An assessment of whether or not the total emergency medical services capability in a given area is adequate.
2. A list of resources to draw upon by surrounding areas when local resources have temporarily been overwhelmed by a disaster - route analysis can determine those entities that are able to respond the quickest.
3. A resource for Emergency Management planning purposes.
4. A resource for catastrophe response to aid in the retrieval of equipment by outside responders in order to deal with the disaster.
5. A resource for situational awareness planning and response for Federal Government events.

How was the data set created?

  1. From what previous works were the data drawn?

    EMS_2008_Q2 (source 1 of 6)
    TechniGraphics, Inc., 20080513, Emergency Medical Services 2008 Q2.

    Type_of_Source_Media: Digital Database File
    Source_Contribution:
    The basic attribution (name, address, city, state, zip code, and telephone number) came from this dataset, unless the entity was updated by TGS during Q408 processing.

    NC_EMS_1 (source 2 of 6)
    North Carolina State Center for Health Statistics (NCSCHS), 20040301, NCEMS.

    Type_of_Source_Media: Electronic Mail System
    Source_Contribution:
    This was used as a source for emergency medical services in North Carolina.

    NC_EMS_2 (source 3 of 6)
    North Carolina Office of State Fire Marshal (NCOSFM), 20080305, Directory of Fire Departments and Rescue Squads.

    Online Links:

    Type_of_Source_Media: Online
    Source_Contribution:
    This was used as a source for emergency medical services in North Carolina.

    NFDC_1 (source 4 of 6)
    United States Fire Administration (USFA), 20061201, USFA National Fire Department Census Database.

    Type_of_Source_Media: CD-ROM
    Source_Contribution:
    This was used as a source for emergency medical services in the United States.

    NFDC_2 (source 5 of 6)
    United States Fire Administration (USFA), 20071128, USFA National Fire Department Census Database.

    Type_of_Source_Media: CD-ROM
    Source_Contribution:
    This was used as a source for emergency medical services in the United States.

    NAVTEQ_Streets_2007_Q2 (source 6 of 6)
    NAVTEQ, 2007, NAVSTREETS.

    Type_of_Source_Media: CD-ROM
    Source_Contribution:
    This version of NAVTEQ streets was used as a reference for automatic shifting of entities that were previously manually geocoded and for the automatic geocoding and manual geolocating of entities.

  2. How were the data generated, processed, and modified?

    Date: 19-Sep-2008 (process 1 of 1)
    1) The Fire Station dataset and the EMS dataset were merged into one working file. TGS processed as one file and then separated for delivery purposes.
    2) Entities were processed to determine or verify their name, physical address, city, state, five (5) digit zip code, phone number, and geospatial location. Entities that were contacted were also asked if they provided fire protection services, EMS services, or both. Entities not located on military bases were contacted and asked to describe their location relative to landmarks in reference data (mainly streets) and features visible in ortho imagery. A phone number was not available for some entities, so their information was verified using other verbal contacts made through a telephone call.
    3) Due to a request made by the Department of Defense, TGS made every effort to not contact military bases starting 03/27/2007 and ending 05/28/2008. During this time, entities located on military bases were verified through alternate resources, such as maps and ortho imagery. These records have not been contacted by TGS, and therefore, do not have directions.
    4) All text fields were set to all upper case.
    5) Leading and trailing spaces were trimmed from all text fields.
    6) Non printable and diacritic characters were removed from all text fields.

    Person who carried out this activity:

    Nicole Hackworth
    TechniGraphics, Inc.
    Project Manager
    2000 Noble Drive
    Wooster, Ohio 44691
    USA

    330-263-6222 (voice)
    nhackworth@tgstech.com

    Hours_of_Service: Monday - Friday, 0730 - 1630 EST
    Data sources used in this process:
    • EMS_2008_Q2
    • NC_EMS_1
    • NC_EMS_2
    • NFDC_1
    • NFDC_2
    • NAVTEQ_Streets_2007_Q2

    Data sources produced in this process:

    • NC_EMS_2008_Q4

  3. What similar or related data should the user be aware of?

How reliable are the data; what problems remain in the data set?

  1. How well have the observations been checked?

    For entities that were contacted, the name, address, city, state, and five (5) digit zip codes were verified to be correct as of the date indicated by the [CONTDATE] field. The existence of the entity was also verified, as well as whether or not it met the criteria for inclusion in this dataset. Four (4) digit zip code extensions were derived from USPS (United States Postal Service) data and were not verified.
    ID Check: The [ID] field is not blank and each of its values is unique.
    Coordinate Check: Coordinates are not null or zero and the x and y fields match the shape.
    Basic Address Check: Physical addresses were verified to be non blank and to not be a "PO Box", "General Delivery", "Highway Contract", or "Rural Route" address.
    Highway Address without Type Check: Physical addresses containing the word "Highway" or "Route" were verified to also contain a type designator such as "State", "US", or "County", if one actually exists for the highway or route. These type designators are often missing from addresses, leading to confusion if more than one "Highway" of the given number exists in an area.
    Basic Name Check: Entity name is not blank, is not the same as entity city, and has a minimum of 2 characters. Name does not contain punctuation characters that can interfere with database operations, such as " (quote) and * (asterisk).
    City Check: Entity's [CITY] field is not blank, and entity is located within 25 miles of its tabular city as found in the NAVTEQ Named Places reference file.
    State Check: The entity is located within its tabular state.
    County FIPS to State Compare Check: The county represented by the tabular FIPS Code is actually in the state specified in the [STATE] field.
    County Name to State Compare Check: The county represented by the tabular county name is actually in the state specified in the [STATE] field.
    Basic Phone Check: All phone numbers (including the area code) are ten (10) numeric digits. Alphabetic characters have been converted to the corresponding numeric digit.
    NPA_NXX Check: Area codes (sometimes called "Number Planning Areas", or NPA's) and central office codes (sometimes known as exchanges, or NXX's) were validated against data from the North American Number Planning Administration (NANPA). In some cases, NPA-NXX combinations did not show up in the NANPA data but were verified to work.
    Area Code Distance Check: The entity's area code (NPA) is valid, and the entity is not more than 25 miles from its area code boundary, as defined by data from the North American Number Planning Administration (NANPA), unless TGS has previously verified that the phone number rings to a headquarters location or otherwise does not ring to the entity's location.
    Zip Code Check: The zip code is five (5) or nine (9) numeric digits, is listed in the postal database, is in the same state as indicated by the entity's [STATE] value, and is not a PO Box only zip code.
    Zip City Check: The entity's zip code and its city were verified to match according to the USPS Address Information System (AIS).
    Zip Code Distance Check: The entity is located within 25 miles of its zip code boundary, as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau's 1999 Zip Code file.
    NAICS Code Check: The NAICS field is not blank, the NAICS Code is one of the accepted codes for this layer, the NAICS Description is an acceptable Index Entry for the NAICS Code, and certain key words in the entity name do not conflict with the NAICS Code.
    Collocation Check: Entities with different addresses must not share the exact same geospatial location.
    Geographic Spell Check: Words that appear in the entity name were checked against a standard English word list (and Spanish word list for entities in Puerto Rico). Words not appearing in these standard word lists were then checked against names appearing in the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) of geographic features that are located within 25 miles of the entity. Proper names were manually reviewed for correct spelling.

  2. How accurate are the geographic locations?

    The geographic location of entities was verified to be correct relative to the street data and version indicated by the [ST_VENDOR] and [ST_VERSION] fields. The horizontal accuracy is indicated by the [GEOPREC] field. A value of "BLOCKFACE" indicates the entity was geocoded on the correct street segment (block) and correct side of the street. A value of "ONENTITY" indicates that the location is on the entity's facility, as determined by USGS DOQQ imagery, and that it is on the correct street segment (block) and correct side of the street. Entities that are part of a larger institution (e.g., University Campus or Military Base) with "BLOCKFACE" precision may be located at the main entrance to the larger institution.
    Records with "-DOD" appended to the end of the [NAME] value are located on a military base, as defined by the Defense Installation Spatial Data Infrastructure (DISDI) military installations and military range boundaries.
    Emergency Medical Services not having a permanent location are depicted at the city/town hall or at the center of the town or service area if a city/town hall does not exist.

  3. How accurate are the heights or depths?

  4. Where are the gaps in the data? What is missing?

    The EMS dataset only includes entities that provide transportation and does not include fixed location clinics or hospitals, as these are included in other datasets.
    Administrative Locations: Locations that serve only an administrative function (e.g., a business office) are intended to be excluded from this dataset. Locations that serve both an administrative function as well as an operational function are included in the dataset.

  5. How consistent are the relationships among the observations, including topology?

    See "Attribute_Accuracy_Report". Many of the checks described in that section check for both attribute accuracy and logical consistency.

How can someone get a copy of the data set?

Are there legal restrictions on access or use of the data?

Access_Constraints: None
Use_Constraints: None

Who wrote the metadata?

Dates:
Last modified: 19-Sep-2008
Metadata author:
Mike Thompson
TechniGraphics, Inc.
Director of Geospatial Datasets
3351 Eastbrook Drive
Fort Collins, CO 80525
USA

970-224-4996 (voice)
970-224-3001 (FAX)
mthompson@tgstech.com

Hours_of_Service: Monday - Friday, 0800 - 1700 MST
Metadata standard:
FGDC Content Standards for Digital Geospatial Metadata (FGDC-STD-001-1998)

Generated by mp version 2.9.5 on Mon Mar 30 11:23:30 2009