Anthony Veltri is taking his mobile mapping system to the New Orleans area to help rebuild the wireless communications destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.

10:03 AM EDT on Thursday, September 15, 2005

By MARK REYNOLDS
Journal Staff Writer

NORTH PROVIDENCE -- Anthony Veltri journeyed to Texas one day last year and bought himself a 27-foot mobile classroom for $32,000.

The 26-year-old then drove home to North Providence and outfitted his new toy with $90,000 worth of special emergency gear.

He and his tech-savvy grandfather installed generators, satellite communication hardware and special computers that can help emergency workers size up a major disaster and launch a wise response.

Such computers can help officials assign rescuers if terrorists scatter harmful agents into the air, or protect population centers from a massive wildfire -- or marshal emergency workers across a large coastal city ravaged by the winds and floods of a hurricane.

The Geographic Information System (GIS) computers use satellite imagery and whatever raw data might be available to produce extraordinary maps, explaining where emergency work is needed now, where it might be needed 6 or 24 hours from now, and how many people or machines will be needed. The maps can track the progress of rescuers in the field.

Veltri, a contractor who serves companies' computer needs, had concluded that rescuers would probably need mobile, self-contained GIS mapping units during a crisis. He said such equipment should be available to incident commanders, not tucked away in government buildings and vulnerable to power failures that can take out telephone and Internet connections.

"My friends would bust my chops," Veltri recalls. "'What are you building Noah's Ark?'" they asked.

So naturally, Veltri was eager to put his new equipment into action after a massive flood inundated New Orleans.

Computer mapping would be a great rescue asset, helping to identify priorities and organize rescue operations.

That idea was an extension of lessons Veltri learned in graduate school, studying satellite imagery, at the University of Rhode Island.

He developed a computer model that can assess where a wildfire is likely to burn the strongest based on the conditions.

Most states, including Louisiana and Rhode Island, have their own GIS mapping specialists and equipment. But mobile, self-contained mapping units are rare.

Veltri, a volunteer at Brown Ambulance, wasn't certain what authorities were using in New Orleans, but he knew he shouldn't rush to the scene.

Waiting was frustrating.

"Your first response is to jump in and say what can I do to help," he said.

He fought that urge. And waited.

The call finally came on Monday.

Veltri's company was called in, on a volunteer basis, to help rebuild wireless communication systems in the New Orleans area.

GIS mapping will help technicians and engineers make the best decisions, Veltri said yesterday as he and his team, including Robert Anderson, a consultant from Barrington, drove out of Rhode Island and headed south.

"It's a pretty overwhelming feeling to finally be on the road," he said.