How Fenstermaker Uses Handheld Lidar to Map Schools for 911 Safety and Response
Fenstermaker, NEI, and Lafayette Parish 911 use the TrueView GO to Create Digital School Maps that Give First Responders a Head Start When Seconds Count
Huntsville, AL, Dec. 08, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- GeoCue announces the premiere of a new three-part edition of its award-winning reality series Down to Earth: Mapped Safe for 911. The latest episodes follow Fenstermaker, NEI, and the Lafayette Parish School System as they work with Lafayette Parish 911 to map every public and private school, inside and out, using the TrueView GO handheld LiDAR scanner and LP360 software. Get started with the first episode here: https://lp.geocue.com/down-to-earth-how-to-map-schools-for-911/?utm=meltwaternr
Building on previous Down to Earth stories that showcase how surveyors use LiDAR and LP360 to tackle complex real-world challenges, the Mapped Safe for 911 series focuses on one critical mission: using digital mapping to help first responders save lives.
In partnership with Lafayette Parish 911, Fenstermaker set out to give police, fire, and EMS crews accurate 3D maps and digital floor plans they can access instantly during an emergency. Using the TrueView GO, Fenstermaker captured complete interior and exterior scans of schools across the parish, then transformed that data into detailed floor plans that feed directly into the 911 Computer Aided Dispatch
“Everyone recognized that a mapping system was needed for schools,” said Craig Stansbury, Director at Lafayette Parish 911. “Schools and children are some of our most vulnerable populations. Being able to see accurate digital maps in our units before we arrive means first responders can plan their route, know exactly where to go, and get there as quickly as possible to render aid.”
In Episode 1, viewers are introduced to Fenstermaker, a third-generation, family-owned engineering and surveying firm operating in Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, and Texas. When the Lafayette Parish School System approached Fenstermaker about an asset management and security initiative, the project quickly evolved into something bigger: a complete digital mapping program for every school in the parish.
Working closely with NEI, Fenstermaker turned to the TrueView GO handheld LiDAR to collect as much data as possible, as accurately as possible, in a way that could be delivered directly into 911 systems.
“Data is king, but it has to be usable,” said Coy LeBlanc, a Remote Sensing Scientist at Fenstermaker. “With the TrueView GO, we can walk a classroom once and know it’s fully captured. We’re scanning schools in record time and turning that data into floor plans that 911 can trust when the call comes in.”
Episode 2 focuses on field operations at Westminster Christian Academy and other schools throughout Lafayette Parish. Viewers see how quickly the Fenstermaker team can deploy the TrueView GO, strap on the chest rig, connect to the tablet, and start scanning.
NEI played a key role in getting the system up and running.
“As soon as we heard what Fenstermaker was doing, our sales team realized the TrueView GO was the perfect match,” said Mark Forsyth, Director of Sales at NEI. “We delivered the system, completed training the same day, and within three days they were in schools capturing data and importing it into their internal systems. The speed and efficiency were exactly what this project demanded.”
In Episode 3, the action moves from the hallways to the office, where raw data from the TrueView GO is processed and transformed into 911-ready deliverables.
Fenstermaker’s team organizes each school’s scans into project folders, imports the cycles into LP360, and uses ground control points collected in the field to tighten accuracy. Multiple scans are stitched into a single, clean point cloud in LAS format with one comprehensive dataset for each school.
From there, the data flows into tools like Autodesk Recap, Revit, and ArcGIS Pro to create 2D floor plans and GIS layers that Lafayette Parish 911 can load into an indoor viewer for first responders.
For Lafayette Parish 911, the payoff is clear.
“From a 911 perspective, our main goal was to get these school maps into our CAD and onto the computers in our vehicles,” said Stansbury. “Now responders can see the layout on their tablets before they even arrive, plan their route to a problem area, and make better decisions under pressure. Fenstermaker and their technology partners made that possible.”
Down to Earth: Mapped Safe for 911 demonstrates how combining handheld LiDAR, LP360, and GIS can create a scalable blueprint for school safety. One that other parishes, counties, and agencies can follow.
By using TrueView GO to capture detailed interior and exterior spaces and LP360 to manage and process large volumes of data, Fenstermaker and NEI helped Lafayette Parish 911 move beyond outdated or incomplete school maps to a living, digital representation that can be updated as buildings change.
Whether you’re a surveyor, an engineering firm, or a public safety agency, these latest Down to Earth episodes show how modern LiDAR workflows can be applied far beyond traditional surveying and directly to community safety.
Get started by watching Episode 1 now: WATCH Down to Earth – Mapped Safe for 911.
About Fenstermaker
Founded as a family-owned business and now in its third generation of leadership, C.H. Fenstermaker & Associates is a multidisciplinary firm providing engineering, surveying, environmental, and GIS services across Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, and Texas. Fenstermaker combines advanced technology with deep local expertise to solve complex infrastructure, energy, and public sector challenges. The firm is committed to innovation, community impact, and delivering high-quality results for clients across the Gulf Coast and beyond.
To learn more about Fenstermaker, visit www.fenstermaker.com
About NEI
Navigation Electronics, Inc. (NEI) is a leading provider of geospatial and positioning solutions, offering GNSS, LiDAR, and mapping technologies, along with training and support for professionals throughout the Gulf South and beyond. NEI partners with firms like Fenstermaker to match the right tools to the right applications, helping customers deploy advanced technology quickly and effectively in the field.
To learn more about NEI, visit www.neigps.com
About GeoCue
GeoCue brings geospatial experts the very best in drone, mobile, and land surveying equipment, geospatial point cloud software, workflow, training, and support for high-accuracy LiDAR and imagery mapping to help civil engineering and surveying professionals achieve successful data collection, processing, and management.
With TrueView LiDAR/Imaging sensors and LP360 point cloud data processing software, GeoCue is a leader in LiDAR mapping and processing in North America, able to meet customers where they are in terms of technology adoption, budget, and resources.
To learn more about GeoCue, visit www.geocue.com
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Bret Burghdurf GeoCue 1-256-461-8289 bret.burghdurf@group-md.com
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