The provision of spatial support, especially mapping, during major emergencies has often put enormous pressure on the day to day functionality of various government departments. Examples include the Canberra fires where this support was contracted in and in the Victorian fires of 2003-4 where the Victorian Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE) called in federal support for mapping and spent many months recovering and catching up on the backlog due to lost work time. The Mapping and Planning Support (MAPS) group was created and its model developed to help alleviate these situations. MAPS was deployed to the recent Victorian fires and have now proven that the model works. This presentation will explain the history and reasoning behind MAPS, the organisational and deployment model, and where we believe the model should go from here.