World model: what your team knows about its ground

A world model is less a single map than everything you would want to know before an operation, kept in one place and tied to locations. For a fire service or a council emergency team it typically includes:

• Base maps, orthophotos and your own drone surveys.
• Sites and buildings with floor plans, entrances, stairwells, shutoffs and hydrants.
• Known hazards, access restrictions and routes that work.
• Cameras, gauges and other sensors, with their history.
• People with their qualifications and how long they are valid.
• Equipment and vehicles, where they belong and whether they work.

An operation map is drawn for one event or response and closes with it. The world model outlasts every operation. When you start a new one, you copy the part of the world model you need into it; when the operation ends, its findings are what update the world model.

Keeping the two apart stops temporary marks, like a cordon from last Tuesday, from turning into permanent ones, while still letting real lessons, like a gate that jams, become part of what everyone knows.