Progress on Fire Service technology - 15 July 2009

New hi-tech digital radios have been installed in over two-thirds of England's Fire and Rescue Service vehicles and are on track to be fitted in all vehicles by spring 2010, Fire Minister Shahid Malik announced today.

Nearly 30 Fire and Rescue Services (FRS) having over 5,300 of their vehicles fitted out with Firelink radios is a major milestone in the Government's £1bn programme to provide England's FRS with modern equipment and facilities to deal with day-to-day or major incidents. This investment also includes:

• 'New Dimension' specialist training and equipment for mass decontamination, rescuing people in collapsed buildings, high volume pumps to put out major fires and reduce water levels in floods; and
• FiReControl, a new nationally linked network of control centres for handling 999 calls and mobilising Fire and Rescue Service vehicles.

Mr Malik said: "Thanks to Government investment, for the first time two-thirds of FRS vehicles are able to communicate directly with the control centres of all fire services in Great Britain.
“This is an improvement in their current ability to deal with any kind of emergency - industrial accident, severe weather or terrorist activity - as they are now able to communicate on the same digital radio network used by the Police and Ambulance command centres when dealing with major incidents.
"The Firelink project and the fact that we have managed to maintain vehicle rollout to schedule bears ample witness to the spirit of co-operation and partnership that exists between the FRS, the Department and the provider Airwave. The feedback we are receiving demonstrates that the new digital communications equipment is already benefiting firefighters with clearer voice communications."

Feedback from the staff workshops - 6 July, 2009

Five workshops for control room staff have now been successfully completed at the Regional Control Centre (RCC).

Staff from all Fire and Rescue Services visited the centre for the sessions, where they were offered a tour of the building before hearing presentations from RCC Director Kevin Robson, RCC Senior Operations Manager Sue Cameron, HR Working Group Lead John Baines and Peter Wilcox of the FBU.

Control room staff were able to ask questions throughout the sessions, and they then took part in discussions to give their opinion on areas they can influence, such as whether uniform will be worn, and cooking arrangements.

Kevin said: “We were really pleased with the response to the workshops – only a couple of people from across all of the FRSs were unable to attend.

“People were very forthright in giving their views, which is exactly what we were hoping for – it lets us know what people are genuinely thinking and feeling, which is a great help in the consultation process.”

A series of FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) with answers has been prepared following feedback from the workshops, and will soon be available  for staff to view.

Fire Minister hands over RCC

On 17 March 2008, Minister for Fire and Rescue Parmjit Dhanda handed over the new control centre building to the North East Fire Control Company Limited.

At present, the Fire and Rescue Authorities in England run 46 separate stand alone control rooms relying on differing technologies and operating procedures.  The gap between the most advanced and the rest is stark as shown by Sir Ken Knights report into the summer floods of 2007, where many calls from the public could not be connected to fire control rooms, and during which details of incidents even had to be faxed between control rooms.

Speaking at the handover event Parmjit Dhanda said:   “The Fire and Rescue Service always responds professionally and with dedication, and I praise them for that.  We saw this clearly in last summer’s floods which also affected part of the North East around Chester-le-Street. 

"The Government commissioned a report on the FRS response to the floods which is published today (17 March).  It shows the enormous volume of calls that the services had to deal with.  It shows clearly why the new nationally linked fire control centre network is vitally important.  The new fire control centres will ensure that all parts of the country have the best available service to deal with emergency calls and why I am so pleased to be able to mark this important milestone in the North East today.

"The Centre will not just have the best technological support and systems our firefighters have ever had, it will have the very best system anywhere in the world.  This will make our firefighters’ lives easier and residents’ lives much safer.”

Coun. Charles Magee, Chair of the Durham and Darlington Fire Authority, speaking on behalf of the Regional Management Board of the four North East Fire and Rescue Services said:  “The handover of the building today marks a major step in the FiReControl Project, and demonstrates the commitment of, and progress by, the Fire and Rescue Authorities in the region to deliver enhanced emergency call handling services by the end of 2009.  We are delighted that the Minster has come to the North East to mark the occasion.”

Coun. George Porter, Chair of the North East Fire Control Company Limited, the leaseholders for the Regional Control Centre said:  “The company is proud to be taking over the regional control centre.  Once operational, our aim is to provide excellent emergency call handling and mobilisation to benefit of both the public and the Fire and Rescue Services in the region."

Local news

The Minister for Fire and Rescue Parmjit Dhanda, M.P. and LACC Chair Councillor George Porter

Chief Fire Officer Brian Hessler (Northumberland Fire & Rescue Service), Coun. Charles Magee Chair of the Regional Management Board, Regional Control Centre Director Kevin Robson, Minister for Fire and Rescue Parmjit Dhanda, LACC Chair Councillor George Porter

Minister for Fire and Rescue Parmjit Dhanda, right, and Regional Control Centre Director Kevin Robson