FiReControl

EADS to provide England’s Fire and Rescue Services with new networked control capability

EADS Defence & Security Ltd (DS UK) has signed a contract to supply a resilient control room system that will enable England’s Fire and Rescue Services (FRS) to provide a common national response capability for the first time. The FiReControl project will create nine networked Regional Control Centres (RCCs) in England to increase national resilience, replacing the existing 46 local unlinked control rooms.

Currently, the 46 fire control rooms function under different technology and risk management systems,. The FiReControl project, run by Communities and Local Government (CLG), will create nine networked RCCs all using the same new technology, systems and processes.

The RCCs will be networked to automatically back each other up in times of increased demand or failure and able to deploy the nearest suitable appliances and provide information on site risks and handling directly to the firefighters’ vehicles.  

Modular and flexible in its design, the EADS FiReControl system’s architecture will also cope with unforeseen future demands or extreme disruption to elements of the UK’s Critical National Infrastructure.

Feeds from geographical information systems will enable Regional Control Centre teams to pinpoint at any time the availability and status of the nearest and most appropriate resources, regardless of fire service boundaries, as well as the precise location of callers and incidents.  It is the first time the Fire and Rescue Services will be able to draw on such a national view of resources and plan responses and co-ordinate mobilisation accordingly.

The system, which is scheduled to be operational before 2012, will provide unprecedented capability to respond to large-scale incidents such as industrial accidents, terrorist attacks and environmental disasters, offering greater protection to firefighters and the public.  

A key aspect of the transition is managing the training of staff from the current 46 different ways of working to a common best-practice delivery of the service.  EADS will support the Fire and Rescue services in this, as well as designing, supplying, integrating, commissioning and maintaining the communications and IT system that will be at the heart of the Regional Control Centres network.

The FiReControl Project Website

On 1 February 2008, the FiReControl website www.firecontrol.communities.gov.uk will be replaced by new and updated web pages on the Communities and Local Government website – view them at www.communities.gov.uk/firecontrol