The ambulance facility location problem - a survey of methods and a simple application

Abstract

A number of service facility location problems are concerned with providing urban emergency services such as ambulances, fire and police. These problems differ from other service location problems such as the location of personnel (e.g. farm advisers) in that the time and location of demand for the service is uncertain. Accordingly methods of solution are more complex. The purpose of this study is to review various techniques which have been used for locating ambulance systems, to comment on their effectiveness, to suggest improvements and to work through a simple problem for Christchurch city.