Fact Sheet
Wireless Information System for Emergency Responders (WISER^®)

WISER (Wireless Information System for Emergency Responders) is a system designed to assist emergency responders in hazardous material incidents. WISER provides a wide range of information on hazardous substances, including substance identification support, physical characteristics, human health information, and containment and suppression advice. Standalone versions are currently available for the Microsoft Windows™, iOS, and Android platforms. A web-based version (WebWISER) supports web browsers for PCs and mobile devices.

Developed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM), WISER provides a wide range of information on hazardous substances, including chemical identification support, physical characteristics, and human health, containment, and suppression information. In addition to chemicals, WISER also includes radioisotopes and biological agents.

First responders in general, and HAZMAT units in particular, must make many decisions quickly in handling hazardous-materials incidents. They need accurate information about the hazardous substances, the emergency resources available, and the surrounding environmental conditions to save lives and minimize the impact on the environment and physical property.

Features of WISER

• Rapid access to the most important information about a hazardous substance
• Intuitive, simple, logical user interface developed by working with experienced first responders
• Comprehensive decision support, including assistance in identification of an unknown chemical or chemical syndrome and guidance on the immediate actions necessary to save lives and protect the environment
• GIS support provides for isolation/protective distance overlays on a map of the incident
• Access to NLM’s Hazardous Substances Data Bank (HSDB®) and Chemical Hazards Emergency Medical Management (CHEMM) content, which contains a wealth of detailed, peer-reviewed information on hazardous substances
• User Profiles enable users to specify the role they are currently playing at the scene of an incident: first responder, HAZMAT specialist, EMS specialist, hospital provider, or preparedness planner.  The application interface is customized so that so that the information most relevant to the respective job can be quickly accessed
• Tools and reference materials, including triage tools, radiological incident support, WMD response guidelines, and an electronic version of the ERG 2016
• Mobile support, providing first responders critical information where they need it, when they need it

WISER is a project of the Specialized Information Services Division (SIS) of the NLM. WISER is available for download at https://wiser.nlm.nih.gov.

For more information, please use the Contact Us page of the WISER web site, or contact:

Specialized Information Services
National Library of Medicine
Two Democracy Plaza, Suite 510
6707 Democracy Boulevard, MSC 5467
Bethesda, MD 20892-5467
Telephone: (301) 496-1131
FAX: (301) 480-3537
E-mail: tehip@teh.nlm.nih.gov
URL: https://sis.nlm.nih.gov

For general information on NLM services, contact:

National Library of Medicine
Customer Service
8600 Rockville Pike
Bethesda, MD 20894
Telephone: 1-888-FINDNLM (1-888-346-3656)
e-mail: https://www.nlm.nih.gov/contacts/contact.html
NLM Customer Service Form at Contact NLM

A complete list of NLM Fact Sheets is available at:
(alphabetical list) https://www.nlm.nih.gov/pubs/factsheets/factsheets.html
(subject list): https://www.nlm.nih.gov/pubs/factsheets/factsubj.html

Or write to:

FACT SHEETS
Office of Communications and Public Liaison
National Library of Medicine
8600 Rockville Pike
Bethesda, Maryland 20894

Phone: (301) 496-6308
Fax: (301) 496-4450
email: publicinfo@nlm.nih.gov