Critical Response Group Introduces Facilities Focused Map Builder, Transforming Verified Life-Safety Data Into an Everyday Operational Resource for Schools and Facilities

The new capability allows administrators, faculty, and facilities personnel to generate customized maps from their CRG data for a wide range of operational applications, while the common operating picture used by first responders remains fully protected.

HAMILTON, N.J., April 22, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Critical Response Group (CRG), the nation's leader in indoor mapping data, today announced the launch of Map Builder, a new feature that allows schools and facilities to create customized maps directly from their verified Collaborative Response Graphics® (CRGs) for everyday operational use. The feature is available immediately to all CRG customers at no additional cost.

The announcement marks a significant expansion in how CRG's verified mapping data can be applied, reaching beyond emergency dispatch and first responder operations into the daily safety, preparedness, and administrative functions of the facilities CRG serves.

Data Built for This Moment

What sets CRG's Map Builder apart begins with the quality of the data underneath it. CRG maps are not digitized reproductions of CAD files or scanned floor plans that may not reflect how a facility actually exists today. Every CRG is built through on-site field verification, with CRG teams physically walking each facility to confirm and document accurate room labels, door numbers, access points, utility locations, and other critical elements. That verified, granular detail is the foundation Map Builder is built on.

Through the platform, users can toggle individual data layers on or off depending on the intended audience or application. A user preparing a first responder drill guide might display door numbers, for example, while suppressing them on a general staff orientation map. Users can further personalize their maps by adding text, callouts, labels, shapes, and routes or paths, tailoring each output to a specific user or audience. Completed maps can be saved, printed, and shared internally across an organization's team, all without affecting the underlying CRG used by public safety in any way.

"When we build a CRG, we are creating the most accurate, most detailed indoor representation of that facility available anywhere, verified in the field and not assumed from a blueprint," said Michael Rodgers, Founder and CEO of Critical Response Group. "Map Builder puts that foundation to work in a new way. Anyone responsible for how a building operates, from principals to facilities directors to administrative staff, can now generate maps built on that same verified data, customized for exactly what they need, without ever touching what first responders see. That is a meaningful shift in how life-safety data creates value."

One Common Operating Picture. Unlimited Applications.

Map Builder supports map creation across a broad range of institutional applications, including fire evacuation and shelter-in-place planning, staff and faculty orientation, parent and guardian reunification coordination, facilities and maintenance operations, emergency drill planning, campus wayfinding, and multi-building complex management.

"Using the CRG Map Builder has significantly improved how we build and manage our safety plans," said Athan Schindler, Director of Safety & Security, Bastrop ISD. "Before implementing it, our evacuation maps varied widely across campuses in both detail and quality. Now we have standardized, high-quality egress maps embedded in every campus EOP. Beyond that, the tool has strengthened our ability to plan and coordinate for special events. We can quickly create and share clear, detailed maps that identify activity locations and support effective safety planning. The CRG Map Builder has made all of our mapping needs more consistent, more effective, and far more efficient to produce."

Available Immediately to All CRG Customers

Map Builder is included for every active CRG customer without any additional licensing fees or per-user charges. CRG made the deliberate decision to release Map Builder as a standard feature — not a premium add-on — reflecting its belief that the full value of verified life-safety data should be accessible to every organization it serves.

CRG has produced more than 85,000 maps across 46 states, serving K–12 school districts, institutions of higher education, hospitals, municipal governments, and corporate campuses.

About Critical Response Group

Critical Response Group (CRG) produces the Collaborative Response Graphics® used by law enforcement, fire, EMS, and emergency communications centers across the country to coordinate response during critical incidents. Field-verified and built to national public safety standards, CRG maps serve as the common operating picture for first responders at schools, hospitals, government facilities, corporate campuses, and other critical sites.

For more information, visit www.crgplans.com or contact [email protected].

SOURCE Critical Response Group