Susan Benedicto, Frisco’s assistant director of IT for geospatial solutions, told Industry Insider — Texas in an interview that SAFER has grown from an effort focused on school floor plans into a platform connecting more than 30 systems used by police, fire, dispatchers and emergency management personnel.
The city uses Esri’s geographic information system (GIS) technology, including ArcGIS software, as the geospatial foundation for SAFER. Frisco has also been moving its indoor mapping data to the ArcGIS Indoors data model as it works to expand coverage and prepare the information for additional uses.
Benedicto described SAFER as a “public safety digital twin,” bringing together indoor maps, cameras, traffic information, fire safety data and other operational systems in a common geospatial environment.
Benedicto said the effort dates to 2008, when the Frisco Independent School District approached the city about making school floor plans available to first responders. City officials decided against creating a system that responders would use only during school emergencies and instead sought to incorporate that information into their everyday workflow.
“We didn't want to build something that they only used when there was an incident at a school,” Benedicto said.
Courtesy of the city of Frisco
Frisco’s website says SAFER gives firefighters, emergency medical personnel and police officers access to floor plans, interior and exterior photos, aerial imagery, hazardous chemical information, building contacts and live video. Responders can access the information while traveling to an incident, allowing them to review a location before they arrive.
Indoor mapping has become a larger part of that environment.
Benedicto said Frisco originally created its own data structure for representing building interiors. After Esri developed its ArcGIS Indoors model, the city decided to begin migrating its indoor information to that structure.
Part of the reason for the change was to prepare the city’s data for future interoperability, including Next-Generation 911.
Frisco now has indoor GIS information for more than 200 buildings, Benedicto said, and the city is working to expand that coverage to commercial properties.
Courtesy of the city of Frisco
The system can combine those plans with other information about a site, including fire records, pre-plans and fire watch information.
Esri reported in a case study about Frisco’s indoor mapping program that, as of 2025, the city had mapped more than 140 schools and administrative buildings and nearly 60 other facilities, representing more than 20 million square feet.
Frisco is also using personnel in the field to help maintain some of the underlying information.
Benedicto demonstrated an application that allows firefighters to identify missing or incorrect fire safety features at a property. Those features can include fire department connections, riser rooms, lock boxes, roof access points and standpipes.
Proposed changes do not immediately alter the city’s authoritative GIS data. Benedicto said the updates go through a review process before approved changes are incorporated into the system.
School resource officers perform a similar data-checking role for cameras. Benedicto said officers conduct annual reviews to verify camera locations and identify equipment that is missing, malfunctioning or newly installed.
Video has become one of SAFER’s larger data sources.
Benedicto said the platform now provides access to more than 7,000 cameras, including cameras associated with schools, city facilities and traffic systems. Users can select floors within mapped buildings and view cameras associated with those locations.
Frisco is also developing a camera gallery intended to make that process more automatic. During the interview, Benedicto demonstrated a version that presents cameras near an incident rather than requiring responders to locate each feed individually.
Courtesy of the city of Frisco
Benedicto said SAFER incorporates current traffic conditions into routing and can direct emergency units around congestion or road closures. Responders can also see other units assigned to the same incident and information about their status.
The platform is designed to give public safety personnel a common view of both an incident and the surrounding environment.
Fire watch information is another example of how Frisco has continued adding operational functions to the platform.
When a building’s fire suppression system is impaired, the property may be placed on fire watch. Benedicto said SAFER visually identifies those properties so responders can see the condition and access additional information about the impairment.
Courtesy of the city of Frisco
Frisco has also continued moving SAFER development in-house.
The city’s website says commercial products were part of the platform’s original software foundation before Frisco transitioned to applications developed by its own IT staff. Benedicto said two developers now support the applications and integrations behind the platform.
She said the size of that team creates a continuity concern.
“I would love to have another developer because having two is ... very, very risky,” Benedicto said. “If one left, you lost half your staff.”
Additional GIS employees would also help Frisco continue expanding its indoor mapping data, she said.
Benedicto said succession planning is another consideration as the city looks ahead. She plans to retire in November after 35 years and said some of the challenge is preserving the institutional knowledge accumulated as SAFER and Frisco’s broader geospatial environment have developed.
The city is also working on new versions of SAFER for mobile and Windows users as it continues adding information and functionality to the platform.
