APRIL 2012
VOLUME 13 | 2
ᔡ News: police forces consider closer working with the private sector ᔡ Capita awarded deals with Met Police and London Fire Brigade ᔡ Olympics: resilience plans while providing ‘business as usual’ ᔡ Comms & IT: a new callout system for rescue team despatch plus the One Box System wins praise at BAPCO ᔡ Medical: London’s Air Ambulance becomes first in the UK to carry blood on board ᔡ Profile: SERV charity delivers medical supplies out of hours to the NHS ᔡ Interoperability: the future of blue light multi-agency working ᔡ Water Rescue: new lifejackets and lifeboats for the RNLI ᔡ Vehicles: how do you identify emergency vehicles at night?
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ᔡ A guide to some of the latest products and services available including Kronenburg’s new Light Rescue Pump ISSN 1472-1090
CONTENTS | 1
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Regular features First Words CFO Roy Wilsher, Operations Response Director for Chief Fire Officers’ Association discusses the future of blue light interoperability
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News Multi-agency exercises test the UK’s emergency services, a regional fleet initiative on target to save millions, police forces consider closer working with the private sector while the Government announces plans to sell the Fire Service College to the private sector
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Events A new look for The Emergency Services Show 2012, details of the Emergency Services National Triathlon, plus a round up of forthcoming events
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Contracts & People W H Bence celebrates conversion successes, Capita awarded Met Police Airwave framework agreement, Dame Helen Mirren announces her support for the London Ambulance Voluntary Responder Group, plus all the latest moves at the top
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Page 32 – A profile of SERV (Service by Emergency Rider Volunteers).
Inside this issue Comms & IT
Interoperability
Changing times for London Fire Brigade’s fire control, the One Box Concept offers a glimpse at the future of emergency vehicles and a web-based system enables easier callout options of mountain rescue teams
Chief Fire Officers’ Association host the Association of Chief Police Officers, the Association of Ambulance Chief Executives, government departments and other partners to discuss the future of blue light interoperability
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Medical London’s Air Ambulance to carry blood on board, ZOLL’s next generation defibrillator/monitor plus raising awareness to first responders of cyanide poisoning at house fires
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Water Rescue The RNLI takes advantage of the latest technology and engineering when developing its new lifejackets and lifeboats, plus a look at SARbot UK, the underwater rescue charity
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Profile A closer look at SERV (Service by Emergency Rider Volunteers), the charity that transports patient-related medical supplies to hospitals, out of hours and free to the NHS
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Product Information Niton999 named as Fat Ivan distributor, an illuminated clothing system, battery-powered bolt cutters and more
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Last Words How do you identify emergency vehicles at night? Emergency services are applying lessons from the military and making remote identification and surveillance of vehicles effective in all weathers with advanced vehicle discrimination technology
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Page 48 – Willingness among the emergency services to further develop blue light interoperability has never been greater. Photo: Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service
Emergency Services Times April 2012
2 | A-Z
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Companies Company Name
Page No
1st Response Medical Services Ltd ..................................................13 ACPO Intelligent Transportation Systems......................................18 Airwave Solutions ....................................................................6, 17, 28 Aligned Assets.....................................................................................17 Association of Ambulance Chief Executives...............................3, 47 Association of Chief Police Officers.......................................3, 30, 47 AST Ambulance Services ..................................................................30 Avon and Somerset Police .................................................................26 Birmingham Resilience Team...........................................................20 Blue3.......................................................................................................4 BMW......................................................................................................5 British Heart Foundation..................................................................38 British Red Cross................................................................................24 Cabinet Office .................................................................................3, 40 Capita .............................................................................................23, 28 Cassidian..............................................................................................17 Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service ....................................................54 Chief Fire and Rescue Adviser .........................................................47 Chief Fire Officers' Association..........................................3, 8, 44, 47 Chirange Technologies Limited .......................................................27 Civil Contingencies Secretariat.........................................................40 Communities and Local Government.............................3, 14, 23, 37 Crewsaver.............................................................................................51 Cumbria Constabulary.................................................................26, 31 DCRO Rescue .....................................................................................26 Decisions (D4H)...................................................................................5 Department of Health..................................................................10, 31 Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service ................................................14 Devon and Cornwall Police...............................................................31 Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service ...........................6, 54 Dorset Fire and Rescue Service..........................................................8 DS-Neptune Developments Ltd.......................................................20 Dumfries and Galloway Police..........................................................26 Dyfed Powys Police......................................................................23, 29 East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust..............................8 The Emergency Services Show 2012................................................13 Environment Agency ...........................................................................4 Essex County Fire and Rescue Service ............................................16 The Event Medicine Company.........................................................29 Excelerate Technology .......................................................................24 Fhoss TechnologyÂŽ Ltd .....................................................................62 Fife Fire and Rescue Service.............................................................54 The Fire Service College .................................................................5, 6 Fire Service National Coordination Centre ....................................23 FlamePro (UK) Ltd ...........................................................................30 GEROH GmbH ..................................................................................30 Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service.........................................26 Great Western Ambulance Service NHS Trust...............................38 Greater Manchester Police ..................................................................4 Guernsey Ambulance and Rescue Service.........................................5 Hampshire Constabulary.............................................................13, 31 Health Protection Agency ...................................................................4 Heat Food & Drink Ltd ....................................................................62 Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary..............................31, 47 Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service......................6, 14 Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service..............................................3
Company Name
Page No
Company Name
Page No
Highlands and Islands Fire and Rescue Service ............................30 Home Office................................................................................3, 5, 31 Home Office CAST ............................................................................18 HTK.....................................................................................................20 Humberside Fire and Rescue Service ..............................................23 Humberside Police ...............................................................................5 Hunter Apparel Solutions Ltd..........................................................29 Incident Live 2012 .............................................................................12 Isle of Man Fire and Rescue Service................................................10 Kent Fire and Rescue Service.............................................................4 Kent Resilience Forum........................................................................4 Kronenburg.........................................................................................42 L-3 WESCAM.....................................................................................29 Lancashire Constabulary...................................................................26 Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service ............................................6, 27 Land Rover..........................................................................................25 Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service ...........................................14 Leicestershire Police ..........................................................................31 Lincolnshire Police ............................................................................29 Local Government Association ........................................................48 London Ambulance Service........................................................30, 31 London Ambulance Voluntary Responder Group .........................30 London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority.....................8, 23 London Fire Brigade...................................................4, 16, 23, 44, 49 London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games........49, 52 London's Air Ambulance ..................................................................36 Lothian and Borders Fire and Rescue Service ...............................28 Maritime and Coastguard Agency......................................................8 Mercedes-Benz..............................................................................25, 30 Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service ................................................31 Metropolitan Police Service ........................................................28, 31 Midlands Air Ambulance ....................................................................8 National Ambulance Resilience Unit ..............................................31 National Association of Blood Bikes................................................33 National College of Police Leadership...............................................5 National Crime Agency .......................................................................5 National Olympic Coordination Centre....................................48, 49 National Police Air Service .................................................................5 National Policing Improvement Agency...........................................5 Niton999 ..............................................................................................61 North Wales Fire and Rescue Service................................................8 North Wales Police .............................................................................26 North Yorkshire Police ........................................................................5 Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service ...................................15 Northern Ireland Ambulance Service..............................................29 Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service......................................14 Nottinghamshire Police.....................................................................30 Office of Security and Counter Terrorism.........................................5 Ogwen Mountain Rescue Team ........................................................26 Olympic Delivery Authority .............................................................49 Ordnance Survey ................................................................................17 Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service...............................................15 Panasonic.............................................................................................23 Pierre Audoin Consulting .................................................................10 Plastisol................................................................................................42 Policing 2012.......................................................................................12
Poole Habour Commissioners.............................................................8 Port of Dover.........................................................................................4 QinetiQ ................................................................................................64 RAM Mount UK ................................................................................62 RNLI........................................................................................17, 51, 56 Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service .......................4, 15, 16, 29 SARbot UK ............................................................................................56 SARCALL...........................................................................................26 SARDA ................................................................................................26 SCA Cool Logistics ............................................................................36 Scotmid ..................................................................................................4 Scottish Ambulance Service................................................................4 SERV (Service by Emergency Rider Volunteers) ...........................32 Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service...........................................14, 30 South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust......6, 37 South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust.......4 South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust...........6 South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue .....................................................15 South Yorkshire Police.........................................................................5 St John Ambulance ..............................................................................5 Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service .............................................15 Stone.....................................................................................................23 Supacat Ltd .........................................................................................52 Surrey Police .........................................................................................4 Survitec Service & Distribution .......................................................58 TenCate Protective Fabrics................................................................30 Thames Valley Police .........................................................................31 Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service....................................10, 29 UK Border Agency...............................................................................4 Unisto...................................................................................................62 University Hospitals Bristol..............................................................38 University of Salford ............................................................................4 University of the West of England ...................................................38 University of Wolverhampton...........................................................10 Vauxhall ...........................................................................................5, 18 VectorCommand .................................................................................16 VIKING Life-Saving Equipment ....................................................62 Virgin Trains .......................................................................................10 Volvo.....................................................................................................18 VUE Emergency Services National Triathlon ................................12 W H Bence (Coachworks) Ltd..........................................................28 W L Gore & Associates ...............................................................10, 29 Warwickshire County Council............................................................8 Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service............................................15 Warwickshire Police ...........................................................................31 West Mercia Police .............................................................................31 West Midlands Ambulance Service........................................8, 10, 38 West Midlands Fire Service ..................................................10, 15, 28 West Midlands Police...........................................................................4 West Midlands Regional Trauma Network .......................................8 West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service .........................................15 West Yorkshire Police...........................................................................5 Westhouse Medical Services Plc.......................................................30 The WILL BURT Company ............................................................30 Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust.......................................31 ZOLL...................................................................................................34
Company Name
Company Name
Advertisers Company Name
Page No
Amputees in Action..........................................................................22 Audi.................................................................................................IFC Avon Inflatables Ltd ........................................................................50 Babcock International......................................................................46 The BMH Group ..............................................................................11 CELL TRADE..................................................................................22 DS-Neptune Developments Ltd.....................................................50 Excelerate Technology Ltd........................................................24, 25 Incident Live 2012 ...........................................................................63 Land Rover ...........................................................................39, 41, 43 Life Connections 2012 ..................................................................IBC
Page No
Lyon Equipment Limited ...........................................................7, 35 NHS Transport 2012.........................................................................46 Niton 999 Equipment.......................................................................59 North Fire PLC ................................................................................11 Peli Products (UK) Ltd ...................................................................53 Pickup Systems Ltd .........................................................................57 Plastisol..............................................................................................45 Primetech ..........................................................................................21 Qinetiq ...............................................................................................39 Red Box Recorders Limited............................................................21 RSG Engineering Limited...............................................................22
Page No
Ruth Lee Limited.............................................................................61 RVG....................................................................................................55 SP Services (UK) Ltd ..................................................................OBC Strongs Plastic Products ..................................................................53 Survitec ..............................................................................................50 Tracker ...............................................................................................60 University of Leicester.....................................................................41 Vauxhall .............................................................................................19 W H Bence................................................................................OFC, 9 WILL-BURT ....................................................................................59
Emergency Services Times April 2012
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Date:
April 2012
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FIRST WORDS | 3
National resilience and interoperability People, in terms of training and exercising; and Organisation, linked mainly to Strategic Coordination Groups (SCGs). CFOA has been fully involved every step of the way and agree with police and ambulance colleagues that the blue The emergency services light services are not working together at incidents interchangeable, nor should they has been in place, discussed be. Interoperability is about and planned for as long as working effectively together and there have been emergency being familiar with each other’s responders. But in recent command structures and months even greater capabilities. CFOA was very emphasis has been placed on quick to point out that blue light responders interoperability is far from being working together during broken. The three services work large-scale or complex every day together with incidents by central successful outcomes and our Government. response to major incidents This emphasis has been stands comparison across the Roy Wilsher, Director of Community Protection & Chief Fire increased following several Officer, Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service world. But we are not Operations Response Director, Chief Fire Officers’ Association high profile incidents, complacent, we know that things including the Derrick Bird shootings, the Coroner’s can always improve and excellent joint working on report on the 7 July London bombings and the CBRN and emerging terrorist threats shows what firearms attacks in Norway. can be achieved through close blue light working. In the autumn and early winter of 2011 meetings In support of this work CFOA is pleased to see to discuss interoperability were held between the importance of national resilience in the draft professionals from fire and rescue, ambulance and National Framework for Fire. This can only assist in police, supported by officials from the Home moving forward on interoperability. Although it was Office, Cabinet Office and DCLG (Communities probably unlikely, the ultimate outcome of localism and Local Government). In addition, and most could be no national response to a significant importantly, a high level cross Government meeting incident. The fire and rescue service arrangements supported by professionals was also held. This now available through the government-funded New meeting involved the Home Secretary, Dimensions programme saw the introduction of hiTheresa May, Cabinet Secretary Francis Maude, volume pumps, urban search and rescue and other Andrew Lansley from Department of Health and capabilities. These now sit within fire and rescue Bob Neil from DCLG. This unprecedented services but can be coordinated into a national gathering showed the importance of response through the National Coordination and interoperability and the Chief Fire Officers’ Advisory Framework (NCAF). These are important Association (CFOA) has been pleased to take a full aspects of national resilience and interoperability and active part in this work. Working alongside and that CFOA is confident the Government will with colleagues from the Association of Chief Police continue to support. Officers (ACPO) and the Association of Ambulance Roy Wilsher Chief Executives (AACE) we are developing plans Director of Community Protection & for the future. Chief Fire Officer, The early meetings concentrated on four main Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service areas: Doctrine, including guidance and concepts of Operations Response Director, operations; Equipment, mainly communications; Chief Fire Officers’ Association There is word doing the rounds at the moment, it is not new but it is certainly a high priority and is top of the ‘buzz’ word list – interoperability, particularly blue light interoperability.
Emergency Services Times April 2012
4 | NEWS
In brief . . . London Fire Brigade (LFB) has announced that Blue3 will be its PFI partner for a construction programme that will see nine of its ageing fire stations rebuilt to provide facilities fit for the 21st Century. The selection marks the beginning of the final stage of the procurement of a major private finance initiative (PFI) contract. Construction work is now expected to begin in June 2013 once detailed plans have been approved. The PFI project will see LFB receive £57.4m to replace and make major improvements to Dagenham, Dockhead, Leytonstone, Mitcham, Old Kent Road, Orpington, Plaistow, Purley and Shadwell fire stations. Eight of the stations are being completely re-built on their existing sites and one station, Mitcham, will be built on a new site.
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Mock chemical incident tests Kent agencies Emergency services and key agencies from across Kent have been tested in a major chemical scenario at the Port of Dover. Around 150 staff and specialist equipment could be seen in action at the site on 22 March dealing with the aftermath of a mock incident that had supposedly caused casualties. The Port of Dover remained open throughout the exercise, which was organised by the Kent Resilience Forum, as one of a number of countrywide exercises required by the Government to examine multi-agency planning and preparedness at key UK sites.
www.london-fire.org.uk
Royal Berkshire Fire Authority is one step nearer to moving the Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service (RBFRS) headquarters site to a new location in Theale. The authority has approved detailed proposals to move from the current site at Dee Road in Tilehurst, Reading, to a more spacious site at Theale, five miles away. The proposals were agreed in principle by the fire authority in 2011 when officers were given permission to develop options for a move. www.rbfrs.co.uk
Dr Jane Mooney, a hospital doctor studying for a PhD at the University of Salford, has been using technology to help Greater Manchester Police prepare for major incidents. Dr Mooney has developed computerised training systems for the police, which help them simulate a crisis situation and practice their responses. Over 100 officers have now used Jane’s software and are finding it to be a major improvement on the previous PowerPoint methods. www.salford.ac.uk Follow @SalfordUni
As part of a unique partnership with the Scottish Ambulance Service, Scotmid has taken delivery of 30 public access defibrillators to help save the lives of people experiencing cardiac arrest. From Avoch to Dumfries, Edinburgh to Ayr, the defibrillators will be placed in 30 Scotmid and Semichem stores where trained staff can go to the help of customers or other shoppers in the area. The defibrillator roll out to stores began at the end of March. www.scottishambulance.com
Bob Goldfield, Chief Executive, Port of Dover, said, “As one of the world’s busiest ferry ports we were pleased to facilitate this exercise and work together with our partners in Kent. We take the safety and security of the port very seriously and such exercises are a valuable way of preparing for potential major incidents at a key UK gateway.” Kent Police’s Head of Tactical Oper-
ations Command, Chief Superintendent Alasdair Hope, said, “Kent Police resources and expertise are constantly put to the test during every day policing, special operations and multiagency exercises like this one. The multi-agency exercises are a valuable tool in our policing armoury because they hone our skills and highlight our strengths and any weaknesses – both as individual organisations and as a team.” Based on the scenario of a chemical leak from a lorry that has unloaded from a ferry, Kent Fire and Rescue Service’s Incident Response Unit was used at the scene. The unit has the capability to decontaminate or shower large numbers of people who may have been involved in a release of harmful substances. KFRS Director of Operations, Steve Demetriou, said, “This was a highly visual event
but we hope that it has reassured residents that Kent’s agencies are regularly working together to prepare for major incidents and we believe those plans have responded well to testing and scrutiny in Dover.” Working alongside KFRS, the responsibility for decontaminating people lies with the South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Trust (SECAmb). Meanwhile, the William Harvey Hospital at Ashford received a number of the mock casualties and Dover District Council organised a Survivor Reception Centre in a nearby leisure centre. Other agencies playing a key role in the event included the UK Border Agency, Kent County Council, the Health Protection Agency, the military, ferry operators DFDS and P&O, and the Environment Agency. www.kent.fire-uk.org
Police conference considers closer working with the private sector West Midlands and Surrey Police together with their respective local police authorities held a conference on 13 March to consider working with the private sector in some areas of work. Held at the Congress Centre in London, the Bidders’ Conference provided an opportunity for the private sector to find out more about the possibility of working with both forces. Surrey and West Midlands Chief Constables took the opportunity to outline to potential suppliers what they hoped to achieve from such partnerships and how the procurement process will work. The procurement process is intended to establish whether combining with the business sector could result in an improvement to the quality of the service provided to the public. By making better use of resources, both forces have the potential to make savings, which would help them to protect frontline policing in
the long-term. The Bidders’ Conference followed an advertisement in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) asking for expressions of interest from suitably qualified external organisations to work with both forces. Not privatisation Both Chief Constables are clear that working with the private sector is not about privatisation and that they will retain full control and accountability of all services delivered. West Midlands Police Chief Constable Chris Sims said, “This is not about taking the core responsibility for policing away from officers. I want to be clear that where a police power is needed a police officer will carry out that duty. “The back bone of the service will remain unchanged but we are committed to finding a long-term transformational solution that is more cost effective and efficient and improves
Emergency Services Times April 2012
on the service we deliver. Our values remain at the heart of the service and our priority is to put the public first in everything we do.” Surrey Police Chief Constable Lynne Owens said, “Any suggestion that a private sector company will patrol the streets of Surrey is simply nonsense. Roles such as response officers, neighbourhood beat officers, firearms officers and crime investigators will continue to be undertaken by officers under the direct command of the Chief Constable. “This is not just change for change’s sake. We hope that potential suppliers will rise to the challenge and bring really creative solutions to the table. These solutions will be carefully evaluated and both forces will only enter a partnership which promises to deliver significantly more than we could on our own.” www.surrey.police.uk www.west-midlands.police.uk
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Home Office announces its plans for NPIA functions The Home Secretary has issued a Written Ministerial Statement to Parliament on the transfer of NPIA functions to successor bodies. The statement includes the announcement that a number of NPIA functions will transfer into the Home Office in autumn 2012. Airwave system In addition to those previously announced, the following services will transfer into the Home Office in autumn 2012: responsibility for the NPIA’s Police Science and Forensics services; policy for Police Special Constables; the NPIA’s Automotive Equipment Section; management of the contract for the Airwave radio system and its replacement (including associated staff); some policy responsibility for Police Workforce Strategy (though some will also sit with the PPB); the secretariat for the Reducing Bureaucracy programme; and the National Police Air Service project team (which will continue to report to Chief Constable Alex Marshall). The following NPIA functions, among others, are envisaged as transferring to the Professional Policing Body (PPB): learning, development, strategy and curriculum; authorised professional practice; exams and assessments; the International Academy; the National College of Police Leadership; uniformed operational support; key aspects of the Research, Analysis and Information Unit; and the Criminal Justice and Local Policing Unit. In addition, Hendon Data Centre Services (HDS) will transfer to the Home Office, as an interim measure, in autumn 2012. The NPIA’s Proceeds of Crime Centre will transfer to the National Crime Agency when it is established in 2013 – with the centre’s important work preserved until the NCA is fully operational. The PPB will continue the NPIA’s existing relationship with the Office for Security and Counter Terrorism and the Police National Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear (CBRN) Centre – the Office of Security and Counter Terrorism will continue to provide management support and oversee the CBRN Centre budget after the creation of the new body. www.homeoffice.gov.uk
Police fleet regional link-up on target to save £7m A money-saving regional fleet programme is on target to save police forces in Yorkshire and the Humber more than £7m. Heads of Transport at North Yorkshire Police, West Yorkshire Police, South Yorkshire Police and Humberside Police joined forces to establish a more collaborative way of working, which has helped to keep vehicle maintenance, vehicle conversions and training costs in house. A number of cost-cutting initiatives have been introduced after the four forces were set a savings target of £10m over five years. Further collaboration There is also an agreement in place to collaborate with other north east region police forces when purchasing vehicles. This follows a vehicle procurement exercise, which resulted in manufacturers Vauxhall and BMW being selected to supply patrol cars, cell vans and specialist roads policing vehicles. Vauxhall will supply Astras and Corsas for use as patrol cars and Vivaros as cell vans. BMW will supply traffic cars and 4x4s. As well as the regional purchasing agreement fleet bosses have negotiated regional contracts for emergency warning equipment, livery for police vehicles and have agreed to standardise all vehicles across the forces. In addition, all the region’s forces are now using West Yorkshire Police’s vehicle commissioning department in Bradford, which means that money which would previously have been given to outside agencies can now be
recirculated within the forces. Other cost saving measures, which are taking place include the setting up a regional technical group, regional training of staff and the consideration of introducing one computerised fleet system to streamline administration processes across all the regional forces. North Yorkshire Police’s Head of Transport, Richard Flint, collected the Fleet News Fleet of the Year Award at the Grosvenor House Hotel in Mayfair, London, on 21 March. Richard, also the Regional Lead for Fleet, said, “The regional link-up has been very positive so far and the changes we have made have resulted in some substantial cost savings. The way we are working now is much more viable for the future; we are sharing contracts, keeping costs in house and redistributing the money within our forces. Further savings “We have discovered that by standardising our vehicles across the region a great deal of money can be saved and we are currently looking at all potential opportunities for collaboration. The regional heads of fleet meet regularly to identify further saving opportunities and monitor the progress of the initiatives we currently have in place.” www.southyorks.police.uk www.northyorkshire.police.uk www.westyorkshire.police.uk www.humberside.police.uk
Fire Service College set to be sold to private sector Fire and Rescue Minister Bob Neill has announced the next steps in securing the future of the Fire Service College. Following a successful premarket engagement exercise, the college will be sold to a private sector company to continue operating as a training centre. To ensure best value for money for taxpayers and enable the college to continue in its role a number of conditions will be imposed on the proposed sale. These include commitments that not only will the college be preserved as a national training college for the fire and rescue service but that it will continue to offer wider national resilience and emergency services
training and exercises. Bob Neill said, “The Fire Service College is an asset of national importance, with a world-class reputation and it is vital that we secure its future. My decision means that the private sector will be able to bring innovation and investment to the college, benefiting taxpayers, local residents, the fire and rescue service and, ultimately, strengthening national resilience. “I know there is real excitement about this opportunity out there in the market and I look forward to seeing some strong bids when the process opens.” www.communities.gov.uk Follow @CommunitiesUK
Emergency Services Times April 2012
In brief . . . Guernsey’s Chief Ambulance Officer has announced that on the 60th anniversary of the Marine Ambulance Service, the Flying Christine III will be taking part in the Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant, which celebrates Her Majesty The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. On 3 June 2012, up to 1000 boats will muster on the River Thames in London in preparation for Her Majesty The Queen to take part in the Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant. It will be one of the largest flotillas ever assembled on the river with many boats that have travelled from far and wide to represent UK port cities, the Commonwealth countries and other international interests. The marine ambulance will represent the Guernsey Ambulance and Rescue Service, the Island of Guernsey, St John Ambulance, and the ambulance services nationally. www.ambulance.org.gg
Decisions (D4H) is a collaborative emergency response team management tool that helps record and analyse operations, members, equipment and training. The company has picked up the coveted Shephard ‘Search & Rescue Innovation of Exceptional Benefit’ at SAR Europe 2012, held for the first time in Ireland. Company Founder and CEO, Robin Blandford, who accepted the award, said, “We’ve won many awards for our technical and business achievements over the years, but it is fantastic to be so highly recognised by the very industry we serve.” www.decisionsforheroes.com
West Yorkshire Police Authority and West Yorkshire Police have appointed a consortium led by Interserve and Equitix as Preferred Bidder to design, build, finance and service two new divisional headquarters (DHQs), custody suites and a specialist operational training facility. The new divisional headquarters and custody facilities will be located at Elland Road in Leeds and Havertop Lane at Normanton. The new Specialist Operational training centre will be located next to the force’s Operational Support Division at Carr Gate in Wakefield and will include firearms training ranges, public order and driver training facilities. Preferred Bidder status means the Interserve/Equitix consortium has formally signed up to a number of commitments to work together with West Yorkshire Police to reach financial close (the point at which the contract is signed) in May 2012. www.westyorkshire.police.uk
6 | NEWS
In brief . . . South Central Ambulance Service NHS Trust achieved Foundation Trust status on 1 March 2012 and will now be known as South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SCAS). As a Foundation Trust SCAS will have greater freedom from central Government control, but remain part of the NHS and subject to NHS standards, performance ratings and inspections. SCAS is accountable to the independent regulator Monitor, who oversees and monitors the trust against their terms of authorisation and has powers to intervene. The process of becoming a Foundation Trust has included recruiting 8000 public members, a three-month public consultation ending February 2011, and holding elections for a council of Governors in autumn 2011.
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Partnership working in the south west The Special Operations Team based at Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Services’ headquarters has recently been working alongside the Hazardous Area Response Team (HART) paramedics. HART went live in the south west on 15 March following completion of their training; prior to this the nearest crews were based at Avon. Colin Rockey, Head of Special Operations, and HART liaison officer, said, “This is a great piece of partnership working and it is now recognised that it is critical that ambulance staff are able to have fast access to casualties.
www.scas.nhs.uk
OHSAS 18001 and ISO 14001 are international best practice standards for how organisations manage health and safety and the environment. Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service has gained certification in both, having passed the rigorous checks of independent auditors. Julie Lamb, Head of Safety, Health and Environment for Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service, said, “This is fantastic news for the service. Achieving certification to both standards at the same time was hard work but the results have proved it was worth it. As one of the first fire and rescue services to hold certification for both standards for the full range of activities and services we provide is a remarkable accolade. The certification confirms that we have robust health and safety and environment systems in place throughout the whole service.”
A member of the SWASFT HART is put through his paces on the off road course as part of the Response Convoy Driver Training.
“The fire service rescue people in emergency situations, with the provision of specialist equipment and
protective clothing. In the past paramedics were not dressed or trained to work safely in these areas. Now we have trained HART crews with high medical skills that are enabled to work in extremely difficult situations. This means paramedic crews with the right skill sets and in the correct protective equipment. “At an incident they will always be led and directed by firefighters, so in dangerous situations they are safe and supported. Further training is to be rolled out to all of Devon and Somerset’s fire crews as well as other blue light services. The training will fully explain the supporting role
www.airwavesolutions.co.uk
www.swast.nhs.uk www.dsfire.gov.uk
Exercise Olympus hailed a success
www.lancsfirerescue.org.uk
The Airwave Network has won the award for Best Use of TETRA for Public Safety at the inaugural International TETRA Awards 2012 held at The Savoy Hotel, London. Sponsored by Motorola, the award recognises the Airwave Network, which ‘stands apart for its pioneering work in advancing the cause of TETRA’. “We are delighted to receive this award, which is the ultimate recognition of our commitment to service excellence,” said Richard Bobbett, CEO of Airwave. The International TETRA Awards 2012 recognise excellence in the field of TETRA radio communications and are a collaboration between the TETRA + Critical Communications Association (TCCA) and TETRA Today magazine.
HART plays within an incident. The bottom line is that lives will be saved by HART crews reaching causalities at an early stage.” The South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SWASFT) Hazardous Area Response Team (HART) recently became the first in the UK to receive specialist Response Convoy Driver Training. SWASFT are hopeful that other HART teams will acknowledge the benefit of this training and follow suit to provide a unified driver training programme.
A major training exercise held from 17-18 March by Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service (HWFRS) at The Fire Service College in Moreton-in-Marsh, achieved all of its objectives and also gave the firefighters and other agencies taking part an invaluable learning experience. The principal aim of the exercise was to provide an opportunity for fire crews and partners to work together as they would in the event of a major search and rescue incident, and to make every stage of the exercise as realistic and as challenging as possible to maximise the learning potential.
The exercise simulated an explosion at a university campus, involving a building collapse with a large number of casualties and many people unaccounted for, plus a series of distraction events over the course of the 36hour exercise. As in a genuine emergency, local fire crews were first to arrive at the scene, followed by ambulance crews, further fire crews and appliances and also urban search and rescue teams and equipment from both the local area, and South Wales and Merseyside. Shropshire and Gloucestershire fire and rescue services also participated,
Emergency Services Times April 2012
and fleet technicians from HWFRS also attended to look after the many vehicles involved in the exercise. HWFRS’ Deputy Chief Fire Officer Richard Lawrence said, “We regularly hold training exercises that involve our fire crews or our USAR teams but this is the first time we have involved both, on such a major scale, and invited other fire and rescue services to take part as well. “The key to the exercise was to make it seem as realistic as possible and this was achieved by using the excellent facilities at The Fire Service College, which allowed us to create a building collapse and a series of fires and other incidents as the exercise progressed. As with a real incident, the exercise didn’t stop as darkness fell but instead the specialist teams worked through the night to locate and rescue the injured.” Partnership working was tested at many levels and the interoperable radio system, allowing the individual agencies to communicate with each other more effectively, was also tested during the exercise. www.hwfire.org.uk www.fireresilience.org.uk/candc.html
8 | NEWS
In brief . . . Aspiring actors from Trinity Catholic School in Leamington Spa recently played a key role in helping trained facilitators respond to the psychological consequences of an emergency. The sixth form drama students played the roles of college students affected by an explosion following a petrol tanker collision, during a simulation exercise called Exercise Olympia, which was staged at Shire Hall, in Warwick. The event was held by Warwickshire County Council’s Emergency Planning Unit to test the arrangements of Warwickshire’s Psychological Welfare Group in response to a major emergency. www.warwickshire.gov.uk/prepared
Ambulance staff have been awarded a prestigious prize for their innovative scheme to improve the service received by bariatric patients. The Spotlight Award was run and funded by Health Enterprise East (HEE) in a bid to encourage groundbreaking project ideas to improve staff, patient and public experience. East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust (EEAST) trio Lewis Andrews, Hazardous Area Response Team (HART) Training Manager, Clinical General Manager Tracy Nicholls and HART Operative Dave Sexby clinched the first prize. The team devised a clinical assessment package (Pre-Hospital Bariatric Response) for colleagues to use when responding to call outs from bariatric patients so ambulance staff can make an accurate assessment of what is required before the patient is taken to hospital. This means that specific problems can be highlighted and the appropriate equipment and resources provided on arrival. www.eastamb.nhs.uk
North Wales Fire and Rescue Service officially welcomed the Maritime and Coastguard Agency to its fire station at Flint on 16 March where a new partnership will see both organisations working alongside each other to protect the public. Kevin Brain, Response Manager with North Wales Fire and Rescue Service, said, “As we had the space we were more than happy to accommodate the Coastguard response vehicle at Flint Fire Station. We recognise the value of partnership working, with many successful partnerships already helping us to ensure we provide the best possible service to the public as well as helping to drive down costs.” www.nwales-fireservice.org.uk
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Crash patient benefits from trauma network
Partnership approach strengthens response in Poole Harbour Dorset Fire and Rescue Service (DFRS) and Poole Harbour Commissioners have launched a partnership agreement to ensure a swift response to emergency incidents on any of the Poole Harbour Islands.
A man injured in a crash on 26 March, in Shropshire, has become one of the first patients to benefit from the new West Midlands Regional Trauma Network. The West Midlands Trauma Care System went live that morning and is expected to save up to 60 lives of people with the most severe life threatening injuries. An ambulance, a paramedic area support officer, the Midlands Air Ambulance from Cosford and a BASICS Emergency Doctor were sent to the scene. A West Midlands Ambulance Service spokesman said, “When ambulance staff arrived on scene, they found two cars that had both suffered very significant front end damage. A 63-year-old man was trapped in the wreckage of the car that he had been driving for around 40 minutes while fire and ambulance staff worked together to release him. “He was complaining of pain in his neck, shoulder and ribs. He also had a possible abdominal injury and had been knocked unconscious briefly. He was assessed at the scene before being airlifted to the Queen Elizabeth
Hospital Birmingham, one of three Major Trauma Centres in the region. “A 33-year-old man in the other vehicle was already out of the car when crews arrived. He was assessed at the scene before being discharged.” Trauma Lead for West Midlands Ambulance Service, Sandy Brown, said, “A key part of the trauma care system will be the introduction of a trauma desk at WMAS which will be manned by senior paramedics who have extended knowledge and experience of dealing with major trauma patients. They will work with crews at the scene to ensure that patients with serious traumatic injuries are taken direct to a major trauma centre if they are within 45 minutes on blue lights. “In addition, the scheme will see a specialist doctor available to respond 24 hours a day to assist crews or transfer patients from trauma units to the major trauma centres. During daylight hours, the doctor will be based on an air ambulance.” www.wmas.nhs.uk
London pulls out of CFOA An announcement by the Chief Fire Officers’ Association (CFOA) to introduce a 20 percent hike in fees has prompted London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority (LFEPA) to cancel its membership. CFOA wrote to London Fire Commissioner Ron Dobson in February, advising that the proposed charge for LFEPA’s membership in 2012/13 would be £8670. It says the increase reflects the end of central government funding for CFOA from 1 April 2011 and a restructure of the organisation’s funding model. But Commissioner Dobson said, “At a time when public sector organisations are being challenged to make huge savings across the board we believe this increase shows a lack of
empathy with the financial situation facing all the fire and rescue services that CFOA is there to support. In the current economic climate we believe they should be leading the way rather than simply passing on the cost of savings that we are all being asked to make.” LFEPA’s decision to withdraw its CFOA membership was made as part of the authority’s budget proposals for 2012/13, which were agreed on 15 March. The decision followed a request from LFEPA Chairman Cllr Brian Coleman that members consider withdrawing and avoid the increased membership cost as a budget saving measure. www.london-fire.gov.uk
Emergency Services Times April 2012
The new Memorandum of Understanding covers all the Poole harbour islands of Brownsea, Furzey, Round, Green and Long. The Poole Harbour Commissioners have agreed to transport DFRS crews and equipment to any of the islands in Poole harbour in the event of an emergency incident. In return, Dorset Fire and Rescue Service are providing emergency fire training for Poole Harbour Commissioners staff. Efficient response Crew Manager John Powell, based at Poole fire station, has managed this project. He said, “This agreement will ensure a fast and efficient response to an incident on any of the islands in Poole Harbour. Dorset Fire and Rescue has several procedures in place to ensure an effective response to the Poole Harbour Islands and this new agreement between the two agencies has allowed us to make all those who live, work and visit the islands safer.” Captain Brian Murphy, the Poole Harbour Master, said, “Poole Harbour Commissioners are delighted to be providing this vital waterbourne resource, which will allow Dorset Fire and Rescue Service to respond quickly and safely, improving the safety of all those involved.” In order to ensure fire crews and Poole Harbour Commissioners are fully aware of the procedures, both organisations will undertake combined training exercises on a regular basis. www.dorsetfire.co.uk
10 | NEWS
In brief . . . Livingston-based W L Gore & Associates (UK) Ltd, manufacturer of the world famous GORE-TEX® fabric, has been named the best company to work for in Scotland for the ninth year in a row. Gore also rose six places to achieve number seven on the full UK Top 100 list published in The Sunday Times on 4 March. The continued success of Gore is attributed to its associates and its unique company culture. The Sunday Times list is based on a wide range of factors from employee satisfaction and well being to company policy on a wide range of benefits. www.gore.com
Efforts to improve road safety in the Isle of Man have received a major boost thanks to a striking new addition to the IoM Fire and Rescue Service’s fleet of emergency vehicles. The IoM Fire and Rescue Service hopes the eye-catching FireBike12 will play a prominent role in reducing bike-related casualties, and also become a new focal point for engaging with new riders before they venture out on to public highways. The Kawasaki ZX10R 1000cc, fitted out in distinctive fire and rescue service livery, will become a familiar sight in the months ahead as firefighters travel around the Island to pass on important safety advice to both novice and experienced riders. www.iomfire.com
Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service has been granted the Inspire mark for work carried out across all its Prevention and Education functions. The London 2012 Inspire programme recognises innovative and exceptional projects that are directly inspired by the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Every year Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service delivers a number of diversionary activities all aimed at educating young people and therefore preventing fires. The Prince’s Trust teams in Newcastle and Sunderland; Young Firefighters Association; Phoenix Project; Schools Education Programme and Juvenile Firesetters Education Programme will all be involved in events that embody the Olympic and Paralympic values. Seb Coe, Chairman of the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games, said, “I am proud that, with the help of partners such as Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service, we are delivering our vision to use the power of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games to boost participation in sport.” www.twfire.gov.uk
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Successful launch of emergency planning degrees Two innovative degrees to provide emergency service and transport industry professionals with additional skills when dealing with major incidents have been launched by the University of Wolverhampton. The university was transformed into an ‘emergency village’ and an off-duty air ambulance landed at Wolverhampton Science Park for an official launch event on 28 February. The event was held to launch an MSc Emergency Planning, Resilience and Response and a unique Postgraduate Certificate in the Management of Passenger Transport Emergency Incidents. Emergency service and passenger transport industry experts toured the emergency village, which featured more than 25 emergency vehicles, including a fire appliance, rescue boat and specialist ambulances. The launch also included presentations from Anthony Marsh, Chief Executive of West Midlands Ambulance Service, Chris Gibb, Chief Operating Officer at Virgin Trains and Phil Storr, Head of NHS Preparedness, from the Department of Health. Professor Linda Lang, Dean of the University’s School of Health and Wellbeing, said, “What really sets these degrees apart is the way they
Vij Randeniya, West Midlands Fire Service’s Chief Fire Officer; Professor Geoff Layer, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Wolverhampton; Phil Storr from the Department of Health, Head of NHS Preparedness; Professor Linda Lang, Dean of the University’s School of Health and Wellbeing; and Anthony Marsh, Chief Executive of West Midlands Ambulance Service.
have been developed with our partners in the emergency services and transport sector to ensure they meet the needs of today’s services, which face different challenges and obstacles when major incidents occur. We are sure that students completing the courses will gain valuable experience of working in partnership with other agencies so they are well prepared for situations
requiring emergency planning expertise.” The two qualifications are designed for people working in the emergency services, transport sector and local authorities, or those seeking careers in these areas, and will be delivered by the University’s School of Health and Wellbeing from April 2012. www.wlv.ac.uk
Emergency services open up to outsourcing and shared services says independent report UK emergency services organisations will commit to outsourcing and shared services ventures worth more than £1bn in the next two years, according to a new report from Pierre Audoin Consulting (PAC). The report states that a ‘perfect storm’ of unprecedented cost pressure, and the need to protect and modernise front line service delivery, is driving a new approach towards software and IT services. Models such as shared services and outsourcing, which in the past were much talked about but infrequently implemented due to political barriers, are now firmly on the agenda. PAC expects that the majority of software and IT services (SITS) spend in the emergency services will be delivered through outsourcing contracts or shared services vehicles by 2020. The current approach towards SITS is highly fragmented and typically delivered internally, an outcome of the strong level of operational independence among emergency services organisations. Although this means that agencies can tailor their approach
to meet local challenges, it is often not the most cost effective model. PAC has tracked more than £900m in new outsourcing and shared services contracts signed over the past 18 months, including Cleveland Police Authority’s £175m engagement with Steria. A key driver for new SITS investment is that clients are being forced to seek savings in a wider range of areas to achieve their targets. This goes beyond back-office activities such as F&A, IT and HR, and into mid-office processes such as control room management and firearms licensing. Mission critical Dominic Trott, Public Sector Consultant at PAC, said, “Although many of these activities had been considered too mission critical to be handed over to third parties, the need to cut costs without impacting front-line policing requires new approaches.” The SITS supplier community targeting this sector is relatively fragmented. Unlike the central
Emergency Services Times April 2012
Government space, it is not dominated by the ‘usual suspect’ international providers. There is also room for new entrants, highlighted by G4S being named in December 2011 as the preferred supplier for a planned £200m deal with Lincolnshire Police Authority. Analysis of strategies PAC’s report ‘Emergency Services – Delivering IT Services in the Perfect Storm,’ is the first in a new UK local research programme. It analyses the strategies of key decision-makers at leading UK blue light organisations, and provides a view of how the market will shift towards outsourced and shared services delivery. It also includes data on the current future scale of software and IT services spending in this sector, as well as a detailed breakdown of forthcoming contract opportunities and the supplier landscape. Pierre Audoin Consultants is a privately held research and consulting firm for the software and ICT services market. www.pac-online.com
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The BMH Group Outsourced Emergency Planning Support
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12 | EVENTS
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Emergency services triathlon
Forthcoming Events Counter Terror Expo 2012 Olympia, London www.counterterrorexpo.com Life Connections 2012 Kettering Conference Centre www.lifeconnections.uk.com
25-26 April
3-4 May
Infection Prevention Society 22 May 2012 Ambulance Forum Clarendon Suites, Birmingham www.eventsforce.net/ambulanceforum2012 The VUE Emergency Services 25 May 2012 National Triathlon Championships National Water Sports Centre, Nottingham www.vue-cctv.co.uk Blue Lights Horse of 31 May – 3 June the Year Show Aintree International Equestrian Centre www.bluelighthorseoftheyearshow.co.uk Policing 2012 12 June Central Hall, Westminster www.connectpa.co.uk/conferences/policing/index.html Incident Live 2012 Milbrook Proving Ground www.incidentlive.com NHS Transport 2012 Maple House, Birmingham www.sbk-healthcare.com
12-13 June
19 June
Rescue 2012 – Iceland Grand Hotel, Reykjavík www.icesar.com/rescue
19-21 October
Ambulance Service Institute Awards 2012 House of Lords www.asi-international.com
13 November
Road Safety Week 2012 www.roadsafetyweek.org.uk
19-25 November
The Emergency Services Show 2012 Stoneleigh Park www.emergencyuk.com Follow @999editor
21-22 November
Lone Worker Safety 2012 Conference & Exhibition Olympia Conference Centre www.loneworkersafetyexpo.com
27 November
The VUE Emergency Services National Triathlon Championships is an annual event, which takes place on 25 May at the National Water Sports Centre in Nottingham. The event is open to all emergency services personnel, including police, fire and rescue, ambulance, mountain rescue, coastguard/lifeboat services, army, RAF, Navy etc. The event attracts competitors from all areas of the emergency services, from frontline personnel to back office staff and management level personnel; from experienced tri-athletes to first time entrants. All competitors and sponsors are invited to attend a hugely popular free BBQ after the race, which also allows great networking opportunities. Along with a £1000 donation being awarded to the overall winning service benevolent fund the
event gives each competitor the opportunity to gain sponsorships to raise money for his or her respective service benevolent fund. The triathlon is a three-stage race, which consist of the following: 750m swim, 20km flat cycle and 5km run. Due to the high demand of the event in previous years the maximum number of entries has again been increased to allow up to 300 competitors to take part. Each competitor also receives a free kit bag courtesy of Innocent Bags (www.innocentbags.com). Individual entry costs £35 (BTA Member £30) and Relay Team Entries cost £60 (BTA Members £50). www.vue-cctv.co.uk
Policing 2012: 12 June Policing 2012: Delivering Accountability and Results takes place on 12 June at Central Hall, Westminster. The conference, which will focus on the future of policing, tackles the big issues in the policing spotlight in 2012: The Olympic Games, Winsor Part II and the election of Police and Crime Commissioners. The conference will set out what this unprecedented year of change will mean for police forces across the country. Police funding, new private sector partnerships and the consequent re-definition of ‘frontline policing’ are just a few of the issues on the agenda. Last summer’s riots also placed policing and justice services under scrutiny and there is a need to examine the Government’s commitment to a
rehabilitation revolution, which can build public confidence in community punishment. Policing 2012 will hear from national politicians and policing representatives who are at the forefront of delivering these changes. It will provide a unique opportunity to shape the future debate on how to deliver policing and justice reforms. It will also showcase examples of best practice, where police forces, authorities, and other organisations are leading the way on efficiency savings and greater engagement with local communities. If you are interested in attending or exhibiting at this conference, e-mail: policing2012@connectpa.co.uk or Tel: 020 7592 9490. www.connectpa.co.uk/conferences/policing/index.html
Incident Live offers a dynamic approach to exhibiting Incident Live 2012 promises to be a unique, dynamic exhibition that will feature the police service and its partner agencies testing vehicles and equipment. The hands-on demonstrations will take place at the Millbrook Proving Ground in Bedfordshire from 12-13 June 2012. The free-to-attend exhibition will enable operators from all of the emergency services and related agencies − including military personnel − to personally experience and test drive new vehicles and operate frontline equipment. From driving the latest fast response vehicles to witnessing simulated real-life disasters, police and partner agencies will be able to test the latest technology and compare the full range of peacekeeping and life-saving equipment. Heralding a new and invigorating way of exhibiting, Incident Live will immediately set new standards of experiential learning and knowledge sharing within our sector.
The emergency services in the UK are coming under increasing pressure to deliver world-class levels of operational delivery while at the same time coming under severe budgetary pressure. Taking advantage of new technologies and products is one way in which that issue can be solved. Making the right product choice, however, is a complex and difficult task. Exhibitions are a good way to examine new products that could lead to increases in operational capacity and delivery while also having the chance to share experiences with colleagues and interact in regard to the best possible solutions. Incident Live 2012 will provide a unique opportunity for emergency service personnel to test and gain valuable insight into latest equipment performance standards, giving visitors the opportunity to assess first-hand the operational capability of new kit. www.incidentlive.com
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Gearing up for The Emergency Services Show 2012 Registration for the UK’s leading exhibition and conference for vital networking and resources for every emergency will open next month. Bookmark www.emergencyuk.com now and visit the site in May to sign up. This year’s show will take place on Wednesday 21 and Thursday 22 November at Stoneleigh Park, Coventry. again feature exhibition stands from police, fire and rescue, ambulance, professional, government and voluntary organisations from around the UK. This zone demonstrates to visitors the capabilities of partnering agencies and the voluntary sector. Live demonstrations at the show will also provide a unique opportunity to see the latest equipment in action – in 2011 the show featured a public order water cannon from the Police Service of Northern Ireland. Expect more surprises at this year’s show.
Last year’s Emergency Services Show exhibition and conference attracted over 4400 visitors and 2012 will look to build on the success of previous years, promising to be the best yet. The Emergency Services Show and Conference has become the must attend event within the emergency services industry. Now in its seventh year, the two-day event promotes multi-agency collaboration and interoperability by bringing together everyone involved in an emergency – from the strategic planners and first responders, to the manufacturers and suppliers of equipment and services used by these leading professionals. Great place to meet Commenting on last year’s exhibition, Richard Lush from 1st Response Medical Services Ltd, said, “The Emergency Services Show brings together a great collection of the country’s leading suppliers to showcase current and new products. It’s a great place to meet suppliers, forge new relationships and see what’s new and improved.”
Photo: Arun Marsh – Follow @arunmarsh.
“There will be plenty of product launches at the show and a chance for visitors to look at budget savings.” John Bradley MBE, Fleet Manager, Hampshire Constabulary, said the show is, “An excellent event that encompasses a number of emergency services and equipment suppliers under one roof. This event has evolved over the years to be one of the ‘not to be missed’ annual events.” Free to attend The exhibition is free to attend for anyone involved in emergency planning, response or recovery in the UK and abroad, giving them the opportunity to share information and best practice for emergency personnel, planning officers and resilience professionals to work together in the future. The two-day event is open to all Category 1 and 2 Responders and is key for those with a role in operations, procurement, training, recruitment
and emergency planning. The exhibition and its conference provide access to technology, ideas and initiatives focused on improving public safety and protecting the environment and the critical national infrastructure. With over 400 exhibitors to see, visitors to this year’s meeting place for emergency services professionals will be bigger than ever before. The market leaders will all be on display offering their latest products for visitors to see and try for civil resilience, search and rescue, extrication, first response, communications, IT, protective clothing and uniforms, vehicles and fleet, vehicle equipment, training, community safety, station facilities, water rescue and medical supplies. Companies new to the show this year include: TBI-LUG Europa, E-Semble, Tiger Tools, Mammut UK, Tencate, Delta Fire, Texport, Lewis Medical Supplies, Flame Pro, English Braids, ARCO, YKK, Indicomm Global, ABC McIntosh, Mecmesin, Panasonic Toughbook, Babcock Emergency Services Training, Honda, Step Access, Firemain Engineering, Andreas Stihl and Electrosonic, to name but a few.
About the organisers The Emergency Services Show is organised by Broden Media Ltd, based in Nutfield, Surrey. As the publisher of Emergency Services Times and the annual Emergency Services Times Who’s Who Directory the company has extensive experience working with those involved in the emergency sector. Visitor registration will go live on the show’s newly designed website (www.emergencyuk.com) in May 2012. www.emergencyuk.com Follow @999 editor
Product launches There will be plenty of product launches at the show and a chance for visitors to look at budget savings. The exhibition will feature three indoor halls and outdoor exhibition areas giving visitors the chance to meet over 400 specialist product and service suppliers. The show’s Emergency Response Zone will once
Emergency Services Times April 2012
Join the discussion on Linkedin Use your smartphone to scan this QR code for instant access to The Emergency Services Show LinkedIn Group. 1. Download a QR reader Go to your smartphone’s app store and type ‘QR reader’. You’ll find several there. Download one to your phone. 2. Scan code Launch the QR reader on your smartphone and scan the QR code shown here. 3. View content Your smartphone will automatically be directed to The Emergency Services Show LinkedIn Group. (Signing into your Linkedin account is required) Linking emergency services professionals and partners, The Emergency Services Show Linkedin Group allows members to discuss the issues relevant to the sector and share knowledge and experience. Join the discussion today.
14 | COMMS & IT
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Government delivers funding for fire control improvements On 1 March the Government published the outcome of its invitation to fire and rescue authorities in England to submit their plans to improve the resilience, efficiency and technology in their control services following the termination of the last Government’s FiReControl project in December 2010. The Coalition Government is adopting a localist approach to help secure improvements in national resilience, rather than the flawed approach of FiReControl, which tried to impose a top-down regionalisation of the fire and rescue service. As I announced in my statement of 13 December 2011, Official Report, Column 90WS, the Government is making available £81m for local improvements – up to £1.8m for each authority – and additional funding of £1.8m to secure benefits of national importance bringing total funding available to £82.8m.
Hereford and Worcester, and Shropshire
Control room operator Sandra Davies explains how the new fire control centre works to Fire Minister Bob Neill and Telford and Wrekin Council leader Kudlip Sahota during the opening of the new Shropshire fire HQ earlier this year.
Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service is developing its new 999 system with Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service in a joint project for a shared resilient control room with common operational, technological and procedural practices. It will operate from twin locations in Shropshire and Worcestershire so that both services can work together during major incidents and in exceptionally busy periods. CLG has jointly awarded £3.6m to Hereford and Worcester and Shropshire fire and rescue authorities, which will be equally split between the two authorities. Shropshire FRS’s Chief Fire Officer Paul Raymond welcomed the funding boost. He said, “We believe that our new control room, linked to Hereford and Worcester, will improve the efficiency of our call handling function and improve our resilience and emergency response for local people.” The control room, which opened earlier this year in the revamped Shropshire fire headquarters in Shrewsbury, manages the service’s emergency 999 calls and replaced a 15-year-old system. www.hwfire.org.uk www.shropshirefire.gov.uk
Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire fire and rescue services will receive a combined total of £5.4m as a result of the Government’s funding announcement. It means that the three counties will share a common system to mobilise firefighters, appliances and other resources to emergency incidents, but will function independently through three individual command and control rooms. The collaboration has already seen a great deal of work being carried out while awaiting the outcome of the bid. This includes the establishment of project teams for each individual service, as well as joint programme and project groups and the appointment of a programme manager. www.leicestershire-fire.gov.uk www.notts-fire.gov.uk www.derbys-fire.gov.uk
I would like to thank all the fire and rescue authorities that responded to this invitation and for their cooperation in sharing their plans. Most respondents agreed with the Government’s preferred approach of achieving this through improvements and increased collaboration – in a locally determined manner, with some Government support. The plans submitted by fire and rescue authorities have reinforced this approach and shown how a localist approach will build resilience on a national scale.
“A localist approach will build resilience on a national scale.” Utilising empty FiReControl buildings Our approach also seeks to take steps to tackle the legacy of the empty regional fire control buildings which we have inherited, and which as the National Audit Office has observed, were a consequence of the flawed procurement process of the FiReControl programme. Some of these bids will make use of these legacy buildings; otherwise, we are separately seeking to dispose of the buildings for appropriate public or private sector use, to ensure value for money for the taxpayer. In total, 23 bids were received from 44 of the 46 fire and rescue authorities. The London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority did not submit a bid as alternative arrangements had been agreed previously and resulted in London’s fire control arrangements being provided from a new Operations Centre in Merton, which I had the pleasure of opening on 1 February. The Isles of Scilly Fire and Rescue Authority did not bid
because its control arrangements are already provided by Cornwall Fire and Rescue Authority. Local proposals The bids outline a series of local proposals to: • Improve the efficiency of fire and rescue control rooms; for example, Staffordshire and West Midlands Fire and Rescue Authorities aim to combine the provision of control room services for both authorities sharing one common call handling and mobilising, command and control system, including a secondary control providing local resilience. Combining control services will provide the opportunity to improve efficiency • Strengthen local resilience; for example, resilience for large incidents and spate conditions in Buckinghamshire, Cambridge and Suffolk will be enhanced due to greater numbers of control staff being on duty at any one time than had they worked in isolation and create a larger pool to ‘recall to duty’ if required, thereby strengthening the building blocks of national resilience • Improve the ability to interoperate with each other and with other emergency services and agencies; 36 fire and rescue authorities’ submitted joint bids that involved collaboration with at least one other fire and rescue authority. The other eight fire and rescue authorities submitted bids that involved collaboration with other emergency or local services • Deliver cumulative financial savings of over £120m by 2021 • Provide a platform for further strengthening and improvement. Each bid has been considered carefully in line with the criteria I set out in July for value for money, efficiency and resilience. The resilience aspects of each bid were assessed by the Chief Fire and Rescue Adviser.
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West Midlands and Staffordshire
West and South Yorkshire Fire chiefs in West and South Yorkshire have welcomed news that they are to receive a £3.6m grant from central government to develop a resilient control system. The cash will go some way to assisting the essential replacement of a new mobilising system that will enable the introduction of ground-breaking technology so both brigades can handle each other’s calls when necessary. The grant will assist in the re-location of West Yorkshire’s control room from Birkenshaw to more suitable premises already owned by the fire authority in Bramley. Long-term efficiency savings will be over £400,000 a year and the system should be up and running by the summer of 2014.
In order to maximise efficiency, and increase resilience, West Midlands and Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire fire and rescue authorities signed a formal agreement back in November 2011 to work in partnership to develop a shared fire control service covering the Staffordshire and West Midlands areas. Work is now underway to determine how the shared facility might work. Part of that process includes examining the way in which emergency vehicles are mobilised to incidents, reviewing current working practices and the trialling of flexible working arrangements. A bid for a sum of £4.1m was submitted to CLG to support the ambitious and far reaching scope of the project and assist in creating a highly efficient fire control solution, which covers both areas. Chair of Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Authority, Councillor Len Bloomer, said, “The amount awarded, £3.6m, will go some way towards funding the shared fire control service but we will need to review the scope of our ambitious bid to ensure that the shared facility has the technology and ICT resources we need.”
Significant financial pressure SYFR’s Deputy Chief Fire Officer Mark Shaw said, “At a time of significant financial pressure, this money will enable both services to fully-integrate their mobilising systems to manage their own control rooms independently whilst enjoying lower unit costs and far greater resilience and security. By 2014, control room staff in South and West Yorkshire will be using the most efficient and sophisticated mobilisation technology available – and at significantly lower cost.” www.westyorksfire.gov.uk www.syfire.gov.uk
Merseyside; Northamptonshire and Warwickshire; Oxfordshire and Berkshire; South and West Yorkshire; Staffordshire and West Midlands; and Tyne and Wear and Northumberland. I rejected 13 requests for funding above the indicative amount of £1.8m per fire and rescue authority. In those cases, I am awarding £1.8m per fire and rescue authority. The submissions did not provide evidence of exceptional factors sufficient to justify a higher amount.
www.wmfs.net www.staffordshirefire.gov.uk
I am pleased to be able to announce that I will be providing funding this year to the following fire and rescue authorities: Buckinghamshire; Cambridgeshire and Suffolk; Cornwall; Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire; Devon and Somerset, Dorset, Hampshire and Wiltshire; Essex and Bedfordshire and Luton; Gloucestershire; Hereford and Worcester and Shropshire and Wrekin; Hertfordshire, Humberside, Lincolnshire and Norfolk; Kent; Isle of Wight and Surrey;
Northamptonshire and Warwickshire Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service submitted a joint bid with Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service as part of its ongoing work to save money through joint procurement and collaborative solutions. Northamptonshire County Council’s Fire and Rescue Service has been awarded £1.8m of government funding to upgrade the service’s mobilising system. Warwickshire was also awarded £1.8m, making the total funding awarded for both services £3.6m. Upgrade needed Chief Fire Officer for Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service, Graeme Smith said, “We know that the current control room is in need of an upgrade and we are delighted that this funding will enable us to achieve that. We will now continue to consider the best options for our control and mobilising provision to best serve the needs of not only the service but also the communities of Warwickshire.” www.northamptonshire.gov.uk www.warwickshire.gov.uk
Additional savings for the public These allocations are in addition to early bids that I had already accepted from: a consortia of four fire and rescue authorities (for Lancashire, Cheshire, Greater Manchester and Cumbria); Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Authority; and East and West Sussex fire and rescue authorities. I awarded the consortia of four authorities an additional £300,000 per authority above the indicative amount because their plans involve utilising the new control centre in Warrington and will deliver additional savings to the public. There are three bids from English fire and rescue authorities, which require further work before I can award any funding. I have asked officials to work with Avon Fire and Rescue Authority, Cleveland Fire and Rescue Authority and North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority with the aim of concluding matters by the end of June. I have set aside funding for them. We received one bid from a Welsh Joint Emergency Services Group, which was out scope for the funding and has therefore been rejected. Cross-service interoperability I am also announcing that I am minded to provide some funding from the £1.8m fund for interoperability to a collaborative partnership of 13 fire and rescue authorities, which has submitted a bid to develop standard operating procedures. I have asked officials to work with the authorities concerned to significantly reduce costs and ensure proposals align and support wider work now underway on cross ‘blue light’ service interoperability and have potential to be adopted across all fire and rescue authorities. We will be reviewing the further work underway on crossservice interoperability and will consider whether there is other essential work that ought to be funded from the £1.8m interoperability fund.
Royal Berkshire and Oxfordshire Since September 2011, Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service (RBFRS) and Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service (OFRS) have been working in collaboration to investigate options for delivering increased resilience and the preferred option is a shared control service between the two fire and rescue services. The two services have successfully secured £3.6m to finance plans for a single joint control function. Awaiting approval The plans are still in their very early stages, with no decisions or proposals made as yet around staffing models and locations, and will be subject to Royal Berkshire Fire Authority and Oxfordshire County Council Cabinet approval. It is anticipated that the business case for a single joint control function will be presented to the respective governing bodies this summer. www.rbfrs.co.uk www.oxfordshire.gov.uk
I am pleased to note that the Chief Fire Officers’ Association National Resilience has developed a detailed peer support process designed to provide assistance and support to fire authorities with the implementation of their control room improvement plans. This will provide central support to single fire authorities, or groups of partnering authorities, to facilitate implementation of their proposals to improve or replace their fire control facilities. It will also include the provision of a sector owned central repository to collate and manage information that will aid all fire authorities with the improvement or replacement of existing fire control facilities, along with the provision of professional support and assistance to resolve problems or issues when required or requested to do so. www.communities.gov.uk
Taken from a written Ministerial Statement by Fire Minister Bob Neill on Fire and Rescue Control Services.
Emergency Services Times April 2012
Author: Bob Neill MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State
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Think six days or six hours, not six minutes… Managing an incident should be thought of as a marathon, not a sprint. Integrating mobilising and dispatch software with command support technology allows the smooth escalation between the everyday and the career breaking, or career making, incident. mobilising system operationally on its command support units for the past two years in over 2000 incidents of all shapes and sizes. In late February 2012, Essex County Fire and Rescue Service used CSS throughout the Tilbury Power Station fire, which was in a biomass fuel storage area and involved a large multi-agency response, including 120 firefighters, 15 pumps and three ALPs. Chief Fire Officer David Johnson, who took charge of the incident, said that this was one of the most challenging fires he has had to deal with in his 20-year career because of the technical complexities. Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service used the Command Support System operationally throughout a nine-day forest and heathland fire in May 2011, handling over 1000 vehicle movements and logging 77,400 messages (145MB of data) on the system. It is, says VectorCommand, a tried and trusted solution that can really make the difference, providing all of the paper-based information you would normally use in a digital, modular format – one that is both intuitive and easy to use.
The cancellation of the FiReControl project by the Government has resulted in a positive re-evaluation of the needs and priorities for the UK fire and rescue services. Fire Minister Bob Neill MP has recently announced additional funding, which will deliver substantial and tangible improvements in resilience, efficiency and technology in fire and rescue service control services (see page 14). Many of the 42 services, which have been awarded this funding, will be working together on a collaborative basis to improve resilience and interoperability. A further £1.8m has also been made available to fund specific initiatives, which focus on developing common technical and procedural standards. Dynamic risk information It’s not just about the first six minutes of an incident though, when resources are mobilised and dispatched. It is about the first six hours or even six days, during which time the key command decisions are made and a vast amount of dynamic risk information is generated. A mobilising system automatically provides initial in-cab data with the location of the incident, as well CSS greatly enhanced ECFRS operations at the Tilbury Power Station fire. as hydrant locations and hazard information. Photo: Essex County Fire & Rescue Service and often out of date (sometimes by essential But when the resources arrive at the incident, the incident commander often resorts to pen and paper minutes or even hours in a long-running incident). Comprehensive, current and coordinated and a whiteboard to manage them. information in a Common Operational Picture can Important, potentially life-threatening decisions help an incident commander make better, moreare being made using an approach, which, by its informed decisions; command decisions, which will very nature, is labour-intensive, time-consuming affect the outcome of the incident – the difference between containment and escalation, between success and failure.
“It’s all about knowledge management really. Integrating the mobilising and command support systems makes absolute sense.” Olaf Baars, DCFO Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service
Photo: Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service/Forestry Commission
Tried and tested solution London Fire Brigade, the third largest fire brigade in the world, has achieved just that and has been using VectorCommand’s Command Support System (CSS) software integrated with its
Time for innovation The Command Support System shares the same information to multiple users, but with the added benefit that each user is also able to look at a different part of the picture at the same time – and in real time. So, while a sector commander is able to focus on the detail of the incident in front of him or her, the strategic commander can take the overarching view of all the active incidents in the region, but is also able to drill down into each one to see more detail, if desired. The Command Support System can be installed on a command support unit(s), on ruggedised laptops used by sector commanders, in the control room and in Gold Command. Deputy Chief Fire Officer Olaf Baars, Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service, says, “It’s all about knowledge management really – with any incident lasting more than a few hours, there is a huge amount of information the Incident Commander needs to access and to share. Integrating the mobilising and command support systems makes absolute sense, as you no longer have to input the information twice, which in turn reduces the risk of human error. And of course, you can then organise the information and access it much more quickly when you need it, making you significantly more efficient on the fireground.” www.vectorcommand.com For further information, please e-mail: rod.stafford@vectorcommand.com
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A VHF-Airwave solution for the RNLI Mobile device overcomes ‘black hole’ communications problems Airwave, the leading provider of critical voice and data communications to public service organisations in Great Britain, and the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) recently went live with an innovative solution for a communications challenge that had plagued the Kyle of Lochalsh lifeboat station for some years. Alex Marshall, RNLI Operations Communications & Information Manager, says, “This RNLI lifeboat station is one of the youngest in Scotland and provides lifeboat cover as far as Raasay, Mallaig, Portree and Applecross. The area is surrounded by sea lochs and steep mountains, making two-way communication a challenge for the activities of the RNLI.” Martin Benké, Airwave’s UK Network Services Director, says, “The RNLI uses a non-secure VHF analogue radio system to communicate between the lifeboat station and the lifeboat. This radio system is perfectly suitable for line-of-sight and point-to-point communications, but their location made for a difficult situation.” “The harsh terrain in the area means that we experience gaps in communication and in certain areas our crews have had to resort to using mobile phones,” adds Alex Marshall. “However when we go into areas such as Loch Alsh, Loch Long and Loch Duich, the lifeboat loses all forms of communications. This is particularly treacherous as not only does the lifeboat station lose contact with the lifeboat, but the lifeboat also has no way of communicating with the coastguard.” Over the last few years the area has become a popular destination for leisure yachting, which has increased the number of visitors to the area and the associated demand on the emergency services. As a result the RNLI and Airwave convened a meeting to discuss whether a suitable solution could be found using the Airwave network. “We currently use the network on the Thames to communicate with the coastguard and interoperate with the other blue light services that operate on the river. However, further afield we make exclusive use
Interface unit.
of the Maritime VHF system. In other areas where communications have also been poor, we have put in repeaters. However, they cannot always solve the issue due to the surrounding terrain,” says Alex. “In finding a solution, the most important aspect was to investigate whether the Cabinet Office would allow us to connect the RNLI to the secure Airwave network through their existing VHF system,” adds Martin. Working with the NPIA security panel it was agreed that a back-to-back system into the Airwave network would be best as this would enable translation of the frequency between the Airwave system and the VHF radio. “The process involved installing an Airwave terminal in the lifeboat station at the Kyle of Lochalsh, which converts Airwave calls into VHF transmissions, and vice versa (in reverse),” says Alex. Alex designed the interface unit, which was manufactured by PMR Products Ltd, and once all the equipment had undergone a trial, the kit was installed at the lifeboat station and in the Atlantic 85 lifeboat. “The crew use the network through the intercom system on the lifeboat and the concept of operation is that when they enter areas where communication via the Airwave network is required, they simply flick a switch to go to the Airwave radio – a new talk group has been set up specifically for this situation,” concludes Alex. www.airwavesolutions.co.uk
Business names database available Aligned Assets, a specialist in gazetteer and address management, has made a database of all UK businesses available to the emergency services and local authorities. The business names database can be used for a variety of functions to better serve the public through improved delivery of council services and enhanced emergency response to business addresses. With the database matched to the Ordnance Survey’s AddressBase Premium, as well as being the most up to date source of business names data currently available in the UK, it will contain UPRNs (unique property reference numbers) and be easily compatible with existing sources of public sector address data. “Because businesses change so frequently, it has always been difficult for either local authorities or the emergency services to maintain up to date records,” explained Andy Hird, Managing Director
of Aligned Assets. “Our database is kept up to date by a call centre of 65 people, whose sole job it is to call businesses to confirm and update details. In addition to the call centre, data is also sourced from and validated against Companies House, through online submissions, direct from clients and businesses, plus an online feedback facility with both Bing and the BT Phonebook. “In order to ensure that accuracy is retained, the data will be supplied with monthly updates and we will also be supplying business classifications and SIC Codes to enhance the value of the data.” Unlike all other sources of business names, which are designed for use in marketing, Aligned Assets has worked to engineer its data so that it is specifically designed to fulfil the requirements of the emergency services. www.aligned-assets.co.uk/businessnames Follow @alignedassets
Limited cellular coverage in some areas, including parts of Wales, has traditionally posed communications difficulties for police, fire and rescue, and ambulance services. Cassidian has developed a totally secure mobile system, which overcomes problems for emergency services operating in areas around the world with communications ‘black holes.’
Newport-based Cassidian has succeeded in encapsulating, in a case the size of a cereal box, a mobile device that optimises and maintains a communications network in problem geographical areas or severe weather conditions. Cassidian has chosen the Brecon Beacons in Mid Wales as the ideal testing ground for the system, known as Mobile Internet Protocol Node. It can be carried in ground vehicles or, for example, in helicopters, and does not need a skilled operator. Dr Mark Bentall, Chief Architect of Cassidian, said, “This system takes a holistic view of all routes from sender to destination, taking into account external conditions, message file size, priority, security level and physical location. It then decides on an optimum route for the information. Users can be confident that a message will reach its intended audience regardless of conditions.” Cyber security is now essential for modern military and emergency services, and the device incorporates Cassidian’s latest encryption technology. Dr Bentall added, “We have combined network mobility, security and quality of service delivery in a highly integrated, functional package. It is designed to remove complexity from the user and reduce the need for communication planning. A mobile IP node-based system can provide high levels of trusted communications without the need for skilled operators or users – they can simply send a message and know that the system will efficiently deliver it.” www.cassidian.com
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One Box Concept – emergency service vehicles of the future? The emergency services uses a wide range of vehicles, fitted with an array of equipment, operating in challenging environments, for both the vehicles and crews. Historically, equipment was installed as stand-alone systems, with separate controls, wiring, duplication of components, such as GPS etc and a cluttered and distracting cockpit. The One Box Single Vehicle Architecture concept is looking to change this. To standardise and redesign the way equipment is fitted to police vehicles a consortium of 70 vehicle manufacturers, stakeholders and suppliers was formed by ACPO Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS). This is based on a common technology platform, fitted and connected to the vehicle – the One Box Single Vehicle Architecture. The One Box system comprises: a data network; managed power supply; a control system, based on CanBus technology; and a greatly improved cockpit layout. This was shown at the recent British APCO exhibition in Manchester, where two vehicle manufacturers, Vauxhall and Volvo, provided two vehicles that are working towards, and are close to, compliance.
The One Box system comprises: a data network; managed power supply; a control system, based on CanBus technology; and a greatly improved cockpit layout.
Interest from Europe The Single Vehicle Architecture (SVA) concept has attracted significant interest from the other emergency services in both the UK and across Europe. This concept has been developed into Criteria, launched in September 2011 and owned by the Home Office Centre of Applied Science and Technology (CAST). It includes both quality standards and an independent test regime, to
Vauxhall customised the electric Ampera to win an ACPO ITS competition to develop a concept vehicle for 2015.
ensure both quality and consistency. Other vehicle manufacturers and suppliers are currently working towards producing compliant vehicles and products by September 2012. This is now considered ‘Business as usual’. The link to the Criteria document is provided below: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/science/ cast/cast3911?view=Binary The next stage The SVA also provides a platform for the next stage of the project, which is to develop a Driver and Vehicle Data Management System (DVDMS), which would monitor both vehicle usage and driver behaviour, to improve both safety and reduce cost. Based on an extensive user requirement, six suppliers have developed systems that are currently being trialed across the UK in 10 police forces and an ambulance trust, to both establish whether these systems work in a live operational environment and to gain an indication of the cost savings that may be generated. The trials are due to conclude in June
2012 but early indications are that significant savings may be able to be made across both the police and other emergency services, particularly in the areas of fuel and collision reduction. Again two of these systems were demonstrated at the British APCO exhibition.
“This just shows what a public private partnership can achieve, when they have common aims.” Chief Superintendent Jim Hammond Cutting edge technology Additionally, ACPO ITS held a competition within the consortium to develop a concept vehicle for 2015, utilising the benefits of SVA, in a vehicle with an alternative fuel source, demonstrating how cutting edge technology could benefit both the police and other emergency services. Vauxhall won the competition, customising the electric Vauxhall Ampera to include a 360 degree video capability, forward and rear ANPR, utilising the car’s own in-vehicle screen, on which to run mobile data and other police applications, together a wireless connection between the vehicle screen and a tabletbased screen for the passenger, reducing potential for driver distraction. It also includes the latest developments in mobile GIS mapping technology, providing crews with a command and control system, which converts text to speech, together with both the latest intelligence and tasking information. Police cars of the future This One Box Concept shows what could be possible in police cars in the near future. Some of the technologies were so well received by the attendees, that they are being considered for fast track development. www.acpo.police.uk
Emergency Services Times April 2012
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Improving Birmingham’s community awareness and resilience The Birmingham Resilience Team is responsible for planning and responding to different types of emergencies and business disruptions. The team had a system in place for messaging contacts within Birmingham City Council, but required something that could manage these more efficiently and be expanded to include community-based messaging. The team wanted a tool that could more intelligently manage their database of contacts, as well as being able to group them in different ways in order to provide dynamic geographically targeted messages. HTK Horizon, the web-based multichannel customer engagement and strategy platform, was selected by the team as the best tool to deliver this vision. Messaging in an emergency Communities, residents and businesses in the region can sign up to receive emergency alerts through a secure online web page and by SMS text message. To register for text alerts, they simply send an SMS to 83118 with the word ALERT followed by a Birmingham postcode. No manual steps are needed by Birmingham Resilience Team to add people to the database or to manage the groups and areas for which each new contact will receive messages. One of the main users of the HTK Horizon system is Birmingham Resilience Team’s 24-hour duty officers. When they’re informed of an incident and there is a requirement to inform city council
staff, manage business continuity, or send messages out to communities, they can log in to Horizon through a secure, password protected and encrypted web browser session. This allows them to send a message, by e-mail, SMS text, pager, fax or telephone, making sure messages are targeted to particular groups and geographical areas so the right people receive the message as quickly as possible. Using Horizon’s GIS mapping and dynamic group management capabilities, the resilience team’s database of contacts can be automatically segmented to target messages based on each individual contact’s preferences and location. Avoiding the flood The Birmingham Resilience Team was particularly impressed with Horizon’s GIS mapping capabilities for geographic warning and informing; a feature that other providers they investigated did not offer. The team has uploaded all of its flood warning areas, wards and constituency boundaries onto the system, plus maps of areas around major industrial sites. This allows it to send messages just to people who have registered a postcode in those particular areas, which they find extremely useful. “Rapid delivery of information to as many people as possible is critical in emergencies to protect and reassure the public and manage the incident. HTK Horizon makes it easy for Birmingham residents to stay informed by choosing the best way for them to
receive alerts and makes sure that accurate and timely information is delivered automatically to the people affected,” said Councillor Paul Tilsley, Deputy Leader of Birmingham City Council. “HTK Horizon is helping to improve resilience in a number of ways. It’s allowing us to be a lot smarter in the way we communicate both internally and with our diverse and complex communities,” said Glen Curry, Emergency Planning Officer, Birmingham Resilience Team. www.htkhorizon.com www.birminghamprepared.gov.uk
Author: Justin Bowser, Managing Director at HTK Online.
Hands-free intercom for water rescue fully waterproof and submersible and is designed to fit to helmets and headsets. Neptune BlueWave offers hands-free, multi-way intercom suitable for marine and white water rescue, plus open deck working and crane, dock and harbour operations.
Neptune BlueWave, the latest concept from DS-Neptune Developments, offers fully cordless communications with bluetooth technology. Featuring crystal clear audio at high speed, in spite of engine, wind and sea noise, the product is
Neptune BlueWave in operation with Wasserwacht, Zinnowitz, Germany.
A VHF link addition is available (fixed or handheld) with PTT operation. There is also an optional mobile phone facility. www.neptunecomms.com
Neptune BlueWave fitted to Gecko Mk11 helmet.
Emergency Services Times April 2012
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Changing times for London Fire Brigade’s new control centre London Fire Brigade’s control staff have seen two significant developments in a matter of weeks this year with the move to new premises and a decision by London’s fire authority to outsource the future provision of control and mobilising services to external provider Capita. Staff moved into the new control centre in Merton, south-west London, in January this year. The threestorey building was originally specified and built as part of the regional FiReControl project, abandoned in December 2010, and with the lease on the brigade’s former control centre in London’s Docklands due to expire in 2013, a groundbreaking agreement was reached between London’s fire authority and the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) to take on the lease of the Merton building for LFB Control. Other occupants of the London Operations Centre include the brigade’s emergency planning team, who are able to coordinate the emergency planning work of London’s boroughs when circumstances dictate a London-wide solution, such as during the snow of previous winters when the centre has been used to coordinate salt and grit supplies across the capital.
The building also houses the Fire Service National Coordination Centre (FSNCC), which moved from West Yorkshire to Merton at the beginning of April. In the event of an incident that
may have national implications requiring coordination of national resources, the FSNCC liaises with the Government and fire and rescue services to mobilise the required resources and between them the two centres will bring Londonwide and national fire and rescue service emergency planning under one roof in time for the Olympics. The 25-year lease on the newly named London Operations Centre includes an initial rent-free period to cover the costs the brigade incurred on the FiReControl project and DCLG will pay two thirds of the rent on the three-storey building after that. The cost of relocation funded by the rent free period is about £1.3m and the £820,000 annual cost is expected to deliver savings of around £600,000.
ICT deal set to provide a £12,000 saving Stone, the ICT services provider to UK public sector and education, has signed a deal to supply Humberside Fire and Rescue Service (HFRS) with desktop PCs, providing powerful and robust equipment and an ICT budget saving of approximately £12,000 compared with the previous provider. Stone and HFRS have been working together to ensure that the agreement not only saves the service money, but also improves upon the current ICT capability. HFRS has received 120 units, with Stone providing a saving of approximately £100 per unit. James Bird, CEO of Stone, says, “We are very pleased that we can play an integral role in assisting Humberside Fire and Rescue Service to achieve its goal to reduce ICT spend, yet simultaneously improve its capability.
“With Stone being a manufacturer of the ICT solutions we market, we can set accurate target dates for implementation and stick to them because we do not rely on external manufacturers. The ability to meet customer deadlines, work to individual customer requirements and supply excellent warranties and after-sales care is a crucial part of our customer service and demonstrates a real differentiator.” Stone’s partnership with Humberside Fire and Rescue Service reinforces Stone’s dedication to working with the emergency services. In 2010, Stone agreed a deal with Dyfed Powys Police worth £638,000 to supply and maintain 130 Panasonic Toughbook CF-19 mobile data terminals.
The 120 control staff work a six-watch shift pattern with variable staffing levels to mirror the peaks and troughs of incidents throughout a 24-hour period.
“London will become the first brigade in the country to outsource its emergency call handling.” Outsourced call handling London will become the first brigade in the country to outsource its emergency call handling following the decision taken by the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority (LFEPA) at its meeting on 15 March. The contract with Capita will run for 10 years and is expected to realise over £5m of savings over the lifetime of the contract. DCLG are also part-funding the purchase of the new mobilising system to the tune of £2.25m, as a new system was originally part of the FiReControl project. Brigade officers are currently finalising the contract documentation before signing the contract with Capita. Once a contract is signed, a detailed implementation plan will be drawn up including how and when affected staff will transfer to the supplier and work will start on the development of the replacement mobilising system. Transfer of affected staff to the new supplier is currently expected to take place between October 2012 and the end of March 2013. The supplier will then deliver the service using the brigade’s existing systems while the new mobilising systems are being developed and tested. Changeover to the new systems is expected to take place by March 2014. www.london-fire.gov.uk
www.stonegroup.co.uk
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British Red Cross selects Excelerate’s mobile satellite broadband solution for six new command vehicles The UK has a fourth emergency service – but it’s not the AA. It’s the Red Cross. With 30,000 volunteers, plus 3000 full and part-time staff, and with a clear role in the UK emergency management framework, the British Red Cross clearly has an important part to play supporting the work done by the three main emergency services. Emergency Services Times spoke to John Blake, the Red Cross National Emergency Communications Manager, about the thinking underpinning the acquisition of its six new command vehicles featuring mobile satellite broadband solutions supplied by Excelerate Technology. To support its many staff and the valuable work they do, and to integrate better with the fire and rescue, police and ambulance services, the British Red Cross recently undertook a major review of its communications requirements, with a view to upgrading its mobile incident communications. As a result of this detailed process it recently introduced six new advanced command communications vehicles, which feature a range of advanced technologies, including mobile satellite broadband, supplied and supported by Excelerate Technology Ltd. The result will be huge improvements in Red Cross effectiveness, interoperable support for the three main emergency services and, as a result, greater public safety.
“Excelerate were chosen to provide the satellite link for our fleet of six nationally deployed communications vehicles and they worked in close conjunction with the vehicle builders and other specialist communications companies to integrate it into the vehicles.” John Blake, British Red Cross John Blake, National Emergency Communications Manager for the British Red Cross, said, “Following the floods in 2007, the British Red Cross undertook an internal review of how it had operated, both internally and with Category 1 and 2 partners. Following this review a project was initiated to produce a resilient set of communications tools with which to manage our own Red Cross staff and volunteers, and to interoperate with partners in a standard way throughout the UK. “Initially the review of existing systems was undertaken by external consultants, and then the project team, through workshops with staff and
“We now have a fleet of six national communications vehicles spread geographically throughout the UK. All serve a wide local area but can be deployed anywhere in the UK to support our work,” said John Blake, British Red Cross.
volunteers. This covered the various systems, which included messaging, paging and the use of Airwave to supplement existing radio communications. “Some areas had simple communications vehicles which met local needs but would be restricted if operating elsewhere. A small, dedicated team then worked to provide a proof of concept vehicle, incorporating technology where it met an operational need and to set a national standard for use of the vehicle and systems. “Excelerate were chosen to provide the satellite link for our fleet of six nationally deployed communications vehicles and they worked in close conjunction with the vehicle builders and other specialist communications companies to integrate it into the vehicles. “We now have a fleet of six national communications vehicles spread geographically throughout the UK: one in northern Scotland to work with our Red Cross Fast Water Rescue Team, one in Glasgow, one in Newcastle, one in Warmley, one in Enfield serving London and another in Mitcham serving the south east. All serve a wide local area but can be deployed anywhere in the UK
to support our work.” Asked to comment on how well these new vehicles work in multi-agency operational situations, John said, “The experience gained so far suggests that we have exactly the right systems, not only to manage
Emergency Services Times April 2012
Profile: British Red Cross The British Red Cross is a member of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, the world’s largest independent humanitarian network. The Red Cross Movement is not a political or religious organisation. Its neutrality allows it to offer unconditional help to people in crisis. The emblem of the red cross or red crescent on a white background is the visible sign of protection under the Geneva Conventions. The seven fundamental principles: humanity, impartiality, neutrality, independence, voluntary service, unity and universality guarantee the consistency of the Red Cross and the Red Crescent Movement and its humanitarian work.
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our own teams but also to interact and provide a real capability for supporting partners. As the Category 1 and 2 groups migrate to Airwave, charities do not have the funds to migrate completely, nor the wish to lose all their legacy radio equipment. We see the need to use all of our systems to be effective, both operationally and commercially, but in an integrated way. “As a charity we have to be transparent with our finances and only equipment which can make a positive value-for-money contribution has been incorporated into these vehicles. Each system has a specific role to play in providing resilient communications. “What is proving invaluable now, and will become more important as time goes on, is the ability to link and exchange information with both internal managers and partners at all levels, from operational to strategic, and the satellite systems are integral to that capability. When linked with the conferencing capability, and our ability to involve specialists wherever they are located, we can effect virtual management teams within a very short space of time and bring their expertise into play in supporting our Category 1 and 2 partners whenever and wherever the need arises.”
With 30,000 volunteers, plus 3000 full and part-time staff, and with a clear role in the UK emergency management framework, the British Red Cross has an important part to play supporting the three main emergency services.
Mobile satellite broadband communications This is at the heart of Excelerate’s technology offering, providing commanders with a robust, easily accessible and high capacity capability. Roof-mounted transportable satellite solutions provide resilient stand-alone broadband connections giving access to secure telephony, data, video, internet and e-mail facilities.
The British Red Cross recently introduced six new advanced command communications vehicles featuring a range of advanced technologies, including mobile satellite broadband, supplied and supported by Excelerate Technology Ltd.
Satellite broadband is highly robust, a key factor during major emergencies when other communications systems can be overloaded and/or compromised. It is also easy to use – with the touch of one button a satellite system can be enabled, automatically locating a signal and providing fast, reliable communications. Supporting this pioneering collaborative work within the emergency sector, Excelerate Technology is helping to drive the development of some of the most advanced mobile emergency management vehicles in the world. The full range of solutions can be integrated into large command vehicles as well as smaller, agile vehicles such as the Mercedes Vito and Land Rovers. Excelerate Technology can also retrofit upgrades into existing command vehicles. In the event of a main command headquarters (HQ) being put out of action, a mobile satellite broadband-enabled command vehicle could act as a backup HQ, thereby ensuring emergency management continuity. Satellite communications enable command and control vehicles to receive and transmit data from all responders and emergency teams and achieve a Common Operational Picture. Combined with wireless networks, personnel using PDAs, laptops, mobile phones and data terminals can access tactical plans, live-streamed video or information from strategic emergency planning software. The range can be extended using self-powered, rapidly deployable MESH wireless nodes. .
Maximum resilience Vehicles also retain the flexibility to be upgraded with additional capability, such as the wide range of different wireless video options now offered by Excelerate, including body-worn cameras, dualthermal imagery cameras, pole and tripod mounted cameras and even the remarkable Sherpa climbing camera and communications platform, which automatically climbs up and places cameras and communications devices high up on poles for improved viewing of incidents. For maximum resilience, vehicles can communicate directly with each other as well as their appropriate HQs and other locations. Some emergency services also use satellite broadband receivers at their command centre as well as on their mobile command vehicles. Unsurprisingly, training forms an important part of the introduction process for the Red Cross vehicles, ensuring it receives best value for money. John said, “As the vehicles became operational we held a number of two-day training workshops for key staff and trainers, to enable them to train locally core teams to operate the vehicles. The host areas also regularly hold initial and continuation courses to ensure that we have the required number and levels of competency to operate the vehicles for protracted periods, if required.” Clear benefits The benefits, even at this early stage, are clear. “Internally, since introduction, areas are very keen to use the vehicles as part of their exercising and incorporate it as part of the management infrastructure for pre-planned events, and immediately arising incidents where we would be supporting our Cat 1 & 2 partners,” said John. “Externally, we are even beginning to get requests from some partners to provide the communications link as part of those partners’ emergency planning.” www.excelerate-group.com Tel: +44 (0)8456 585747 E-mail: enquiries@excelerate.info
The new command vehicles give the Red Cross the ability to link and exchange information with managers and partners at all levels, and the satellite systems are integral to that capability.
Author: Stephen Prendergast
Emergency Services Times April 2012
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Mountain and cave rescue teams use SARCALL for callouts The problems and time delays of calling the right mountain or cave rescue team are rapidly diminishing as calling authorities (police, fire and rescue and ambulance services) in large parts of the UK now have access to SARCALL. This secure, web-based platform enables the police or other appropriate authority to quickly, easily and accurately select and call the most appropriate search and rescue (SAR) team to deal with the incident. This new platform brings numerous operational benefits to the police, the volunteer teams and most importantly, the casualty. SARCALL is a web-based platform that has been developed from within the UK’s mountain and cave rescue community in close cooperation with our colleagues in other emergency services. The system has a number of elements, but initially grew as a web-based SMS (text) and e-mail platform, that the police, fire and rescue and ambulance services (calling authorities) and search and rescue teams use to call out their members. SARCALL was first developed in North Wales by John Hulse, a team leader of Ogwen Mountain Rescue Team, and went live in August 2009 with the full support of the eight teams and North Wales Police. The need for a more robust, secure and auditable callout system was urgent as the old methods of using pager bureaux, direct phone calls to team leaders etc, were increasingly problematic.
The SARCALL system can be viewed as a ‘Swiss army knife’ of tools; you pick and use only the right tool for the right job. In summary, SARCALL offers: • Police, fire and rescue, and ambulance controls send SMS callout message to team leaders together with e-mail notification containing additional data about the incident • Team leaders can send the SMS notification of the incident to the team members together with an e-mail notification containing additional details of the incident • Team members can use the SMS response to declare their availability to the team leaders • The live incident logger enables robust record keeping and collaborative working between teams and the police, fire and rescue, and ambulance services during an incident • Full SMS, e-mail and usage audit trail • Regional and national contact list, maintained by team administrators • Up-to date team contacts and information database – controlled and managed by team administrators • Storage of current SAR documentation at team, regional and national levels
• A searchable gazetteer of local place names that do not fall within the general scope of a GIS gazetteer (names of rock climbs/names of caves/names of swiftwater rapids etc) • Zoomable and scrollable mapping based on OS showing team bases and operating boundaries, location-based push pins from gazetteer searches. Rapid growth From its roots in the North Wales region, the system has grown rapidly and is now in active use across about 40 mountain and cave rescue teams in the UK together with their calling authorities. In just two-and-a half years there have been more than 1400 police activations of the system and more than 3700 own-team activations. On 3 April 2012, the Lake District region, one of the busiest regions for mountain rescue call outs in the UK, went live. Cumbria Police have fully committed to using the system and training of force incident managers (FIMs), call handlers and dispatchers has been undertaken. Across the 10 mountain rescue teams, a mines rescue team and SARDA organisations that cover the Lake District area, this is seen to be a revolutionary way that teams will be activated and call outs managed and logged. SARCALL is now also in use with Avon and Somerset Police, Gloucester Fire and Rescue Service, Dumfries and Galloway Police and Lancashire Constabulary. In due course it is envisaged several other calling authorities will adopt the system.
“A new feature of SARCALL now allows team members to text their availability to a defined number.” Strong operational focus The workings of the system and especially the callout section are very intuitive for the user; this ‘keep-it-simple’ approach is one of the key principles that the SARCALL team works towards. As the development, sys-admin and support team members are all SAR volunteers in UK teams, the focus has been on ensuring that the platform reflects the needs and expectations of the various teams and our police, fire and rescue, and ambulance colleagues. This strong operational
focus helps bring new ideas and features into the system to address real rather than perceived needs. SARCALL in operation The operation of the system is simple. From a 999 call being received by a police force communications centre (FCC) from a person in need of assistance, the FIM or dispatcher will log into SARCALL then select and callout the required team. The notification message is a short message sent as an SMS (text) to the appropriate team leader group, which typically arrives within 20 seconds of dispatch. Further information including critical data such as the caller details, the type and nature of the incident, the numbers of people involved, the weather conditions at the incident location etc, can be sent to the same mountain or cave rescue team leader group transmitted as an e-mail, accessed from control points and smart phones etc. All of the team leaders (typically two to six per team) will simultaneously receive this callout information.
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Smart information sharing is one of the key benefits of the system and results in the FCC staff being freed of making lots of ‘ring around’ calls to find someone that can accept the callout. The team leaders will have established a protocol for who becomes the main point of focus for this job. The responsible team leader can now use the SARCALL system to activate the team members (typically 50 per team) by sending again one set of text messages. These text messages are sent by SMS, landline or pager to the team members, with the messages typically arriving within 20 seconds. Once again additional data, if appropriate, can be forwarded on to team members by e-mail.
App allows real-time tracking of personnel from a tablet computer
“The system has grown rapidly and is now in active use across about 40 mountain and cave rescue teams in the UK.” A new feature of SARCALL now allows team members to text their availability to a defined number. The availability is declared by using a simple key word and the number of minutes until they arrive at the stated RV point. This information is then collated and presented in a simple format and is available to the team leader as an SMS, via an e-mail and is also available on the team’s SARCALL web pages. For complicated and multi-team type of incidents, then the secure web-based incident logger tool comes into its own. The incident together with all the actions and decisions are logged and time-stamped allowing a clear audit trail of the job. Due to the SARCALL system being web-based, other authorised teams and support services can see and add to the log. This active collaboration helps to ensure that appropriate different teams and services ‘see’ the most current information about an incident. Gold, Silver and Bronze The incident logger can be running in Gold, Silver and Bronze controls, it can be accessed and updated in the field from PDAs, smartphones etc. In addition, the logger will store a number of file types, so photographs, recorded voice communication files, GPS tracks, maps and briefing/debriefing notes all form part of the evidence trail. The SARCALL system works with the UK SMS provider World-Text.com who provide a very robust and cost-effective service with discounted messages available to UK teams and emergency services for all SMS messages sent via the SARCALL system. However the SARCALL front-end including all its tools is provided FREE of charge to all the UK’s mountain and cave rescue teams and police, fire and rescue, and ambulance services who work with the voluntary teams. www.mountain.rescue.org.uk For more information please e-mail: sarcall_admin@mountain.rescue.org.uk
Authors: Jon Whiteley, Devon Cave Rescue Organisation/SARCALL System Admin & John Hulse, Team Leader of Ogwen Mountain Rescue Team/SARCALL System Developer.
A new website from Chirange Technologies Limited (CTL), based in Manchester, has been designed to best display the new Chirange Commander, as well as a variety of upcoming technology focused towards the emergency services. The Chirange Incident Commander, an Android tablet cloud-based application, has been specifically designed from the ground up for fire and rescue and police tactical units. The application provides real-time GPS tracking of personnel, allows incident commanders to view the big picture yet allows other commanders involved with the incident to view and share information. Additionally, commanders and headquarters can view any number of live incidents and view exactly what the situation is on the ground, all in real time. Everything from location of fire appliances to coordinates of each specific incident team member is logged and a full audit trail is recorded of every movement and action for debriefing or later analysis. Take more control “The Chirange Incident Commander application for the Android tablet has been designed specifically to help protect firefighters in the field and to allow incident commanders better control over emergency situations, enabling them to make better decisions,” remarks Paul Birchall, CEO of Chirange Technologies. “The ability to work with fire and rescue services throughout the development of the application has offered Chirange the opportunity to implement the exact requirements of fire commanders, building a solid application that moulds itself to work with their existing practises and procedures.” Fire and rescue services in both the UK and US
have been involved in the design and development input to the Chirange Incident Commander tablet application. Chirange is currently being trialled in the UK by Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service. Lancashire Station Manager Ian Potter remarks, “We’ve been working with Chirange to develop this product, which could contribute effectively to the way an incident is managed in future.” The application is gaining interest from other UK as well as US fire departments, several US police SWAT teams also set to start trialling Chirange.
Upcoming products Chirange is integrating the very latest geospatial tracking technology due to be launched in 2012, allowing firefighters to be accurately tracked in real time, inside buildings. Working with a US technology partner, CTL will be among the first in the UK to provide this leading technology to fire and rescue services, and specialist police units. www.chirange.com Follow @chirange
Emergency Services Times April 2012
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Conversion specialist celebrates dual success W H Bence has recently completed conversions for both West Midlands Fire Service and Lothian and Borders Fire and Rescue Service. The company was awarded the contract for the fit out of two Technical Rescue Units for West Midlands Fire Service. The Mercedes Sprinters panel vans were converted to hold three additional passengers in a second row of seats, while still providing sufficient space for all required equipment.
Two Mercedes Sprinters panel vans were converted for West Midlands Fire Service.
The vans were designed to be able to provide secure and safe storage for both existing and the new range of equipment required to be carried
under the Technical Rescue arm of the West Midlands Fire Service. The storage system was manufactured at the Bence facility in Yate and designed to offer even weight distribution along the length of the vehicle and durability. These vans have been designed to offer rapid operational response for the firefighters while still providing all necessary equipment and welfare on scene. To add to its portfolio of bodies into the UK fire and rescue service, WH Bence has produced a Demountable Welfare Unit for Lothian and Borders Fire and Rescue Service. The unit was built to suit the Multilift LHS260.51 and Type LHS 190-51 ground loading hook lift systems with a body manufactured from 50mm thick Thermo board to give maximum insulation in both the winter and summer. The body is divided into two main areas. The forward mess area consists of worktops to the front and offside walls with cupboards above and below; into the offside worktop is fitted a stainless steel sink unit complete with hot and cold taps. In the lower cupboards are fitted the fresh and wastewater tanks accessible from within the unit. Also fitted
WH Bence has produced a Demountable Welfare Unit for Lothian and Borders Fire and Rescue Service.
below the worktop in an acoustic locker is the 240V generator, which is accessible from the outside. The rest area is made up of an ‘L’ shaped bench seat with stowage below each cushion. The cushions are manufactured from 65mm bonded polyurethane chip foam covered with black vinyl Ambla material. Suitable backrests are fitted to match the seating positions and a demountable table is also fitted in this area.
The rest area is made up of an ‘L’ shaped bench seat with stowage below each cushion.
In the lower cupboards are fitted the fresh and wastewater tanks accessible from within the unit.
Capita awarded radio services framework with Met Police Capita’s secure information solutions business has entered into a four-year framework agreement with the Metropolitan Police Service for the supply, delivery and support of radio-managed services and peripherals for use under the Airwave radio service. The multi-supplier framework, which has an estimated value of up to £160m, is being supported by the Metropolitan Police Service and is open for use by public sector bodies using the Airwave service via the Bluelight portal. The framework allows customers to benefit from the convenience, choice and value for money derived from purchasing goods and services through a single, pre-competed national framework. The agreement, which was awarded following a competitive tender process, recognises Capita’s
market leading position in radio managed services provision to the police service, ambulance service, Ministry of Defence and other central Government departments. Craig Rodgerson, Chief Executive Officer of Capita’s secure information solutions business, said, “Capita is delighted to be able to offer a new, affordable and comprehensive range of radio managed services to our customers through this new framework. “Our regional shared service model means that even much smaller organisations on tight budgets can now take advantage of our services, which are tailor-made to meet each individual customer’s specific requirements.” www.capita.co.uk
Ancillary equipment is fitted, including a first aid kit, 2kg dry powder extinguisher, eye wash station, hand towels dispenser, and skin care unit. The second area consists of two WCs, each fitted with a vacuum toilet system, sink, hand towel and skin care units. www.whbence.co.uk
The vans were designed to be able to provide secure and safe storage for both existing and the new range of equipment required to be carried under the Technical Rescue arm of the West Midlands Fire Service.
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Tyne and Wear Irish Coast Guard contract for appoints new Canadian company Chief Fire Officer Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service has appointed Tom Capeling as its new Chief Fire Officer. Tom has worked for the service for 24 years and for the last three has been the Assistant Chief Fire Officer for Community Safety, which included responsibility for community safety and the service’s frontline emergency response service.
Tom was responsible for leading and developing the service’s workforce development and asset management processes, ensuring the service’s workforce is well trained and ensuring that the estate is well managed and maintained effectively. He was part of the team that relocated the service’s training centre and successfully led the implementation of FireLink, the new digital radio network, across the service. More recently Tom’s focus has been on reducing the risk to the community by improving performance, changing how the service responds to fires and working with partners to make Tyne and Wear a safer place to live. This work resulted in the lowest number of house fires and injuries ever reported in Tyne and Wear last year. Chairman of Tyne and Wear Fire Authority, Cllr Bob Heron, said, “Tom has a wealth of knowledge, expertise and skills which will assist us in taking the service forward during the very challenging times ahead. I am confident that he will help to ensure we continue to have the best emergency response and prevention services in the country to ensure the safety of our local community.” Tom has replaced Iain Bathgate who was Chief Fire Officer for four years. Iain retired on 24 February after nearly 34 years with the service. www.twfire.gov.uk
Canadian company L-3 WESCAM has received an order from CHC Ireland Ltd to provide MX™-15 electro-optical and infrared (EO/IR) imaging systems for installation on S-92™ search and rescue (SAR) aircraft. Installation of the turrets will be completed by Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation and deployed to Ireland in support of the Irish Coast Guard’s fleet replacement programme. The newly equipped S-92s will be utilised for SAR missions and operate from bases located near Shannon, Dublin, Waterford and Sligo. The first system was delivered in January and
remaining systems are scheduled to be delivered during 2013. “We are committed to providing a fully modernised, world-class search and rescue service for Ireland,” said Mark Kelly, Managing Director for CHC Ireland. “The roll-out of the MX-15i marks another step in the continued programme of investment we are making to ensure our crews are best equipped to continue the lifesaving work they carry out on a daily basis.” www.wescam.com www.L-3com.com
Lincolnshire Police announces new chief officer team Lincolnshire Police Authority has announced that the force’s Deputy Chief Constable Neil Rhodes is to become temporary Chief Constable. His appointment took effect following the retirement of Chief Constable Richard Crompton on 31 March. The authority also announced that Alec Wood, who left Lincolnshire Police in 2010 to become Assistant Chief Constable in Derbyshire, would be seconded back to Lincolnshire as temporary Deputy Chief Constable with effect from 2 April. Assistant Chief Constable (Safer Neighbourhoods) Keith Smy will continue in his present role and Chief Supt Roger Bannister will become temporary Assistant Chief Constable (Protective Services), replacing Carl Langley who has been appointed Assistant Chief Constable of Dyfed-Powys. Chief Constable Rhodes said, “It’s an enormous privilege to be asked to lead Lincolnshire Police as Chief Constable. When I first stepped out on the beat, as a young constable patrolling the streets in Lincoln 26 years ago, I hoped I might make it to
In brief . . . The Event Medicine Company has been appointed to provide the medical cover to the Portsmouth Air Festival, a new seafront airshow to be held over the Solent on 18 August 2012. To date the company has covered 38 Ministry of Defence airshows at RAF Waddington, RAF Leuchars, RNAS Yeovilton and RNAS Culdrose. In addition, the Event Medicine Company is the medical provider to the Farnborough International Airshow. Managing Director of the Event Medicine Company, Dr Brian Robertson, said, “We are delighted to have been appointed to support this new event, the Portsmouth Air Festival, later this year. The Event Medicine Company has considerable expertise in covering airshows that are airfield based but the Portsmouth Air Festival will be the first seafront show added to our portfolio.” www.eventmedicinecompany.co.uk
Hunter Apparel Solutions Ltd has recently been awarded the prestigious Northern Ireland Regional uniform contract for Northern Ireland Ambulance Service (NIAS). The new uniform has been successfully rolled out to the NIAS staff and the response has been extremely positive. The new three-year (with two possible 12month extensions) contract will see Hunter Apparel provide fitting services person packs for the 1000 staff throughout Northern Ireland. The contracted items include: footwear, trousers, t-shirts, shirts, ties, knitwear, sliders, GORE-TEX® jackets, PPE high visibility Jackets and over trousers. The foundation piece of this system is a blue GORE-TEX® jacket, which provides waterproof, windproof and breathable protection for staff. www.hunterapparelsolutions.com
inspector before I retired, so you can image the pride I feel today. “With fewer officers and a tight budget the year ahead will be pretty challenging. My personal priority will be retaining officers on the beat and PCSOs in the heart of the community.” www.lincs.police.uk
Emergency Services Times April 2012
Royal Berkshire Fire Authority (RBFA) has reappointed Chief Fire Officer Iain Cox QFSM, as head of Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service. Mr Cox is in his fourth decade of service with Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service (RBFRS) and was eligible for retirement in October 2011. The fire authority asked him to consider staying on, both because of the unprecedented period of organisational change that RBFRS is undergoing and because it is a more economic option than recruiting an external candidate. The fire authority will save around £54,000 a year plus the costs associated with recruiting a new Chief Fire Officer. www.rbfrs.co.uk
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In brief . . . Healthcare specialist Westhouse Medical Services Plc has sold its AST Ambulance Services business to a management buyout team for £2.75m. AST’s current Operations Director, Stewart Lawson, leads the MBO team. AST Ambulance Services provides specialist transport and ambulance services for the NHS in the UK. Jack Kaye, founder and CEO of Westhouse Medical said, “We wish Stewart and his team all the best in the future in taking the AST business forward.” www.astambulance.com
The WILL BURT Company, the world’s premier manufacturer of telescoping mast elevation solutions for surveillance, communication antenna and scene lighting systems, has acquired GEROH GmbH, based in Waischenfeld, Germany. GEROH is the leading manufacturer of telescoping mast and trailer solutions for the military market in Western Europe. The acquisition broadens the mast product line that Will-Burt offers customers in its global markets and gives it manufacturing facilities and sales and service capabilities in Europe. www.willburt.com
Nottinghamshire’s Chief Constable Julia Hodson is to spend the last five months of her police service leading on a piece of work for the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) in preparation for the introduction of Police and Crime Commissioners later this year. Ms Hodson took up the role at the beginning of April when the force’s DCC Chris Eyre became Acting Chief Constable. Last year she announced she would retire at the end of August 2012, at which time Mr Eyre will succeed her. In a message to all officers and staff Ms Hodson said, “It’s been a privilege to serve here for four years and an honour to work with so many talented and dedicated officers, staff, volunteers and partners. I move on to my new role with every confidence that the force will go from strength to strength, feeling safe and reassured as a resident on the patch.” www.nottinghamshire.police.uk
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Hollywood star announced as charity patron Dame Helen Mirren has been announced as patron of the London Ambulance Voluntary Responder Group, a charity supporting volunteer lifesavers in the capital. The actress visited London Ambulance Service headquarters in Waterloo on 27 March to meet the people behind the group and learn how to save a life. The charity offers financial support to people responding to patients in the capital alongside London Ambulance Service. The Oscar-winning actress became involved in the charity after one her friends Chris Worwood, was resuscitated from a cardiac arrest at the premiere of her film The Debt in Mayfair last year. Volunteer Alan ‘Al’ Moore, a police constable with the Met, began cardiopulmonary resuscitation while a public-access defibrillator that had been placed by the London Ambulance Service at a nearby underground station was brought. The defibrillator was used to shock Mr Worwood’s heart while the ambulance was on the way. Dame Helen said, “It’s very simple. These people saved my friend’s life. In 10 or 15 minutes, he would have
Paramedic Malcolm Ritchie teaches Helen Mirren CPR.
been dead if he had not had the fortune of Al being there. I just want more people to have this fortune.” The London Ambulance Voluntary Responder Group is a registered charity offering financial support to three ongoing areas of work: emergency responders – clinically-trained volunteers responding on blue lights alongside ambulances to 999 calls; community first responders – defibrillator-trained St John Ambulance
volunteers attending on call from their homes and responding to 999 calls in their own car without blue lights alongside ambulances; publicaccess defibrillator sites – people who work at these locations trained to use a defibrillator and respond to emergencies while an ambulance is on the way. www.londonambulance.nhs.uk Follow @ldn_ambulance
Rural fire fighting vehicles for Highlands and Islands Highlands and Islands Fire and Rescue Service has taken delivery of two new appliances, the first of a design that will become standard issue to many stations which provide emergency cover in rural areas. Faster and more effective The new Mercedes 816D ‘Vario’ vehicles, which have been custom built for the fire and rescue service, will be based at Sandwick on the Shetlands Islands and Lochboisdale on South Uist. At a weight of 8.2tonnes the vehicles are smaller than
the typical fire appliance, which will improve access and manoeuvring. The new appliances, which can carry a crew of five, have been kitted out with all the equipment required to attend road traffic collisions and utilise modern fire fighting techniques to ensure firefighter safety. This will allow crews to tackle all of the incident types they are likely to encounter, providing a faster and more effective and sustainable service for the future. A further seven ‘Vario’ vehicles have been ordered with delivery expected by the end of April.
The Chief Fire Officer of Highlands and Islands Fire and Rescue Service, Trevor Johnson, said, “These new modern appliances will be the backbone of the fire and rescue service in rural parts of the Highlands and Islands. At a cost of £150,000, this is more than £70,000 less than the standard fire appliance, representing excellent value for money. The people of the Highlands and Islands should know that our crews will have the best of kit as they strive to keep our communities safe.” www.hifrs.org
TenCate wins seven-year fire and rescue service order TenCate Protective Fabrics has won an important order from FlamePro (UK) Ltd for the delivery of inherently heat and flame resistant materials for the structural firefighter clothing for Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service. This seven-year contract employs a new lightweight system, the TenCate Tecasystem™ Millenia 450, in the construction for more than 1200 fire and rescue service outfits. The first 300 outfits are expected to be handed over in June 2012. Shropshire FRS’s specification
required a durable fire fighting suit with less maintenance costs and better protection against the risk of heat stress. Producer FlamePro has developed a new FlamePro® fire fighting suit based on advanced TenCate materials. TenCate Tecasystem™ Millenia 450 meets the strict requirements of the European Norm EN 469/AC: 2005, level 2. Kevan Whitehead, end-use market manager of TenCate Protective Fabrics, said, “Shropshire firefighters will benefit from a light and comfortable
Emergency Services Times April 2012
fire fighting suit yet still be protected in the extreme conditions experienced in a raging inferno. In addition to fighting fires, firefighters also turn out to a wide variety of other emergencies including road traffic collisions, hazardous materials and terrorist incidents. These various situations require multi-functional clothing that is lightweight, comfortable, strong and protective.” www.tencateprotectivefabrics.com www.tencate.com www.flame-pro.com
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Joint Assistant Chief Constable appointed for Hampshire and Thames Valley Thames Valley Police ACC John Campbell has been appointed joint Assistant Chief Constable for Operations for Thames Valley Police and Hampshire Constabulary. An agreement under section 23 of the Police Act 1996 was signed by both forces’ chief constables and police authority chief executives on 19 March, allowing them to have a joint Assistant Chief Constable. John Campbell will be responsible for the recently formed Joint Operations Unit (JOU) of both forces, which covers Roads Policing, Firearms Operational Support and the Dog Section. He will continue to retain responsibility for managing the Berkshire Local Policing Areas. The Joint Roads Policing Unit was the first element of the new unit, which was brought in at the end of January 2012. Other parts of the joint unit will follow, concluding with
the implementation of the joint Firearms unit after the 2012 Olympics. Hampshire Constabulary hosts the Joint Operations Unit. It is led by Chief Superintendent Chris Shead
Merseyside fire chief confirmed
Devon and Cornwall appoints temporary Chief Constable
Merseyside Fire and Rescue Authority has confirmed Dan Stephens as its Chief Fire Officer. Mr Stephens has been carrying out the role since the previous Chief, Tony McGuirk, retired in August 2011. Councillor Tony Newman, Chair of the authority, said, “We are delighted to confirm Dan’s appointment following a period in which he has excelled. He has built a new senior management team, restructured how the organisation is managed and we are confident he is the right person to guide us through what is going to be a very challenging period in our history.” Commenting on his appointment Dan said, “I passionately believe Merseyside has the best fire and rescue service in the country and I’m determined to build on that success. We face substantial financial challenges in the coming years but we have the staff and commitment to see us through.” www.merseyfire.gov.uk
The Home Office has endorsed the proposal of Devon and Cornwall Police Authority and agreed to appoint Shaun Sawyer as temporary Chief Constable for the next 12 months. The appointment will ensure the force has continued strong leadership over the next year until the appointment of the new Police and Crime Commissioner who will be elected in November 2012. The new commissioner will then take the decision in respect of a permanent Chief Constable. Mr Sawyer joined the Devon and Cornwall force as Deputy Chief Constable in April 2010 from the Metropolitan Police Service, where he was Head of Counter Terrorism. Mike Bull, Chairman of Devon and Cornwall Police Authority, said, “We are sorry to be losing Stephen Otter and grateful for the hard work and leadership he has shown, however, I am delighted to announce Shaun as the new Chief Constable for the next year. This will enable the force
and overseen by ACC Campbell. The appointment of a joint ACC for Operations will assist the two forces with joint working at a strategic level and will be for a trial period of nine months. ACC John Campbell said, “I am delighted to have this opportunity to work across both forces and ensure that we continue to deliver high quality policing in these specialist areas. Much has already been achieved and the rest of this year will see further integration and development of the JOU. “I know Hampshire Constabulary very well, having served there for 10 years as Police Commander in Portsmouth, Head of Operations and as a temporary Assistant Chief Constable before joining Thames Valley Police in 2010.” www.thamesvalley.police.uk www.hampshire.police.uk
In brief . . . Stuart Hyde, Cumbria Constabulary’s Chief Constable, has adopted a new Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) portfolio, which will see him become the national policing lead for wildlife and rural crime. The new role will allow Mr Hyde to increase his understanding of the issues that directly affect Cumbrian communities while influencing the policing of wildlife and rural crime on a national plane. As national lead for wildlife crime, on behalf of the service, Stuart Hyde will be spearheading national initiatives in a bid to raise awareness of rural and wildlife crime and look to improve the way in which the police force tackles the issue across the nation. www.cumbria.police.uk
Leicestershire Police Authority has announced the appointment of Simon Edens as the next Deputy Chief Constable (DCC) of Leicestershire Police. Mr Edens, Assistant Chief Constable with West Mercia Police since 2008, has been Assistant Chief Constable for both West Mercia Police and Warwickshire Police since December 2011 as part of the Strategic Alliance between those two forces. In addition, he currently holds the national lead on anti-social behaviour for the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO). www.leics.police.uk
Mike Shanahan, the former Head of Resilience and Special Operations at Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust, has been seconded to the post of Deputy Strategic Ambulance Advisor at the Department of Health, working as part of the National Ambulance Resilience Unit delivery team. www.wmas.nhs.uk
to continue with the changes it has made over the past year and prepare for the new commissioner towards the end of 2012.” Former Chief Constable Stephen Otter has been successful in his application for the role of Her Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary. www.devon-cornwall.police.uk
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Emergency Services Times April 2012
West Yorkshire Police Authority on 30 March gave initial approval for West Yorkshire Police to host the National Police Air Service (NPAS) under a lead force arrangement. ACPO lead for the National Police Air Service, Chief Constable Alex Marshall, said, “The decision made by West Yorkshire Police Authority today is a positive step forward in becoming the lead force for the National Police Air Service (NPAS). The NPAS team and I will continue to work with West Yorkshire Police to ensure that the conditions set by the police authority are answered quickly in order to implement NPAS with the priority being a strong operational service and effective coverage delivered in the most cost effective way.” www.acpo.police.uk www.westyorkshire.police.uk
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Meet the Bloodrunners You have probably seen the Blood Bikes in the Honda adverts on Channel 4 recently. Or maybe you saw the feature on Channel 5’s Emergency Bikers programme? So who are the Blood Bikers we keep hearing about?
SERV (Service by Emergency Rider Volunteers) was formed in 1981 and is just one of the many Blood Bike charities operating throughout the United Kingdom, from Cornwall to Scotland and Wales to Norfolk.
SERV transports blood, blood products, samples, vaccines, scans, donor breast milk etc – in fact anything patient-related that is needed urgently and will fit on the back of a motorbike – to hospitals, out of hours and free of charge to the NHS. The charity receives no government funding and relies on donations from members of the public, corporate sponsorship and fundraising activities. All SERV riders, drivers, controllers and fundraisers receive no financial compensation for their time or costs. Blood Bikes have been around since the 1960s but the service you see today is barely recognisable by comparison. The charity’s volunteers receive training in the transport of blood and blood products, route training and are required to ride to an advanced standard.
The majority of our calls need responding to urgently, and could save someone’s life. However, we rarely get to hear the outcome of our deliveries – or for whom they are meant – but occasionally we do receive feedback. On a recent call, we were asked to take a sample from Northampton to Birmingham for testing. The sample was analysed promptly, which resulted in a pregnant woman being given a blood transfusion which saved the life of the patient’s unborn baby. On another call, we were asked to transport ‘Factor VIII’, which is used to treat the majority of patients diagnosed with Haemophilia. Factor VIII is required to maintain the normal clotting of blood and a lack of it can lead to acute, life threatening bleeding or chronic bleeding into joints that can cause great pain and disability. Our prompt delivery allowed doctors to continue treating two young children (twins) who were at high risk of bleeding within a couple of hours of the initial call going out. We’ve also had an urgent call to transport a rare blood type from another hospital to an 11-monthold baby who was already in the operating theatre. We managed to get it there in time and the baby survived.
Donated breast milk SERV also provides a service to the ‘Human Milk Banks’ transporting donated breast milk from Donor’s Homes to the Milk Bank – This is then processed and stored ready to treat sick and premature babies and can help prevent ‘Necrotising Enterocolitis’ (a potentially fatal bowel condition).
So why do we do it? Our volunteers come from all walks of life and each has their own reason for giving up their free time to volunteer; many just want to give something back. (see profiles opposite)
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PROFILE | 33
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Meet the volunteers Dave Bartlett, Police Dog Handler
A sick or premature baby’s chances of survival can be increased by a factor of 10 when given donated breast milk as opposed to artificial formula. Sally Inch, Infant Feeding Specialist, Human Milk Bank, and Baby Friendly coordinator for the Women’s Centre; ORH Trust, said, “The Oxford Human Milk Bank has been in existence since 1974, and in all that time has only operated locally because, with no budget, there has never been a dependable way of getting donated milk brought to us. “The milk bank’s ‘catchment area’ has been transformed, thanks to SERV, who have offered us their amazing services. “We still can’t quite believe our good fortune, as we now accept donors from places that would have been unreachable – and the milk is pouring in! The pipedream of, one day, providing a regional milk banking service, and thus enabling the sick and pre-term babies in hospitals without their own milk bank, to benefit from the (life saving) generosity of other breastfeeding mothers, is starting to look possible!”
Canon David Wilbraham, Canon and National Police Chaplain
John Allan, Hot Air Ballooon Operator
John Allen, Hot Air Balloon Operator
John Mason, Master Builder
Room for expansion? We are constantly being asked to expand our service, which means we need more volunteers; if you could give just 2-3 evenings/weekends per month of your time as a volunteer rider, driver, controller or fundraiser we’d loved to hear from you. Norm Humphreys, Metropolitan Police Officer.
Just visit the SERV website SERV is a founder member of NABB (Nationwide Association of Blood Bikes) which was set up to: aid the formation of new groups; assist member groups achieve their objectives; define a minimum operating standard for all members and raise awareness/sponsorship for the benefit of all NABB members. You can find out more about NABB and other blood bike charities by visiting the websites below.
John Stepney, Emergency Services – Supply Chain Consultant
www.serv.org.uk www.bloodbikes.org.uk
Stuart West-Grey, Electrician (Company Director)
Author: Danny Bateman, Publicity Coordinator, Serv Oxon, Bucks, Northants & Berks
Emergency Services Times April 2012
34 | MEDICAL
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The next generation defibrillator/ monitor: the X Series™ from ZOLL The newest addition to the ZOLL family is the ZOLL X Series™. From the minute you see it, you’ll know the X Series is not like other monitor/defibrillators. It’s small but tough enough to meet the challenges of today’s pre-hospital care environment, along with features that are, says ZOLL, unmatched by its competitors. Weighing in at less than 12 pounds (5.4kg) it’s almost half the size and half the weight of other full-featured monitor/defibrillators on the market today. But don’t let the size fool you. The X Series has everything you could ever want in an prehospital care device – it’s compact without compromise in display size, capability, and performance. Compact without compromise Based on a platform developed for the military and air medical operations, the X Series, which can be configured by the user to be an ALS or a BLS device, rises to a new standard in ruggedness and durability with unparalleled features. It combines the clinically superior therapeutic capabilities of ZOLL defibrillation and pacing with the advanced monitoring parameters you need for your patients. This device is loaded with three, five, and 12-lead ECG monitoring, NIBP, SpO2, SpCO, SpMet, EtCO2, three IBP channels, two temperature
channels and wireless data transfer, including integrated WiFi. When it comes to providing CPR with confidence, CPR Dashboard™ includes Real CPR Help® for instantaneous audio and visual feedback on depth and rate, and See-Thru CPR® to reduce the duration of pauses by allowing you to see the underlying rhythm during chest compressions. Additionally, CPR Dashboard offers a release indicator and a perfusion performance indicator.
X Series Highlights
Amazing capabilities in a lightweight package Even with its small profile, there is no compromise on the display size. No matter what patient parameters you’re monitoring, they’ll be easy to read, thanks to a large, bright, high-contrast colour LCD with three display modes. The large colour display allows the user to simultaneously view up to four waveforms, and it allows medics to display all 12 leads so they can get a view of the tracing prior to acquisition. It can also do a split screen to compare analysis results against a realtime ECG. An oversized numeric display of just physiologic parameter values is one of the many display options.
“This is an exciting device full of advanced features that has the potential to become the standard for the pre-hospital care market.”
• Less than 5.4kg and 42 percent lighter than other monitor/defibrillators • ‘Gold Standard’ Masimo® rainbow® SET Pulse CO-Oximetry and Welch Allyn’s Rapid NIBP technology to improve accuracy and reliability • Larger colour display • Integrated WiFi • Long battery run time • Display up to four waveforms • CPR Dashboard any aspect of design or performance when selecting it for your pre-hospital care operations. The X Series comes with the latest accessories and more to help you deliver the best care possible in pre-hospital care. www.zoll.com/ukxseries
The X Series incorporates several options for data transmission. It is the first monitor/defibrillator on the market to have integrated WiFi. Data can also be transferred via Bluetooth, USB, and USB cellular modem. Impressive battery run-time Even battery run-time is impressive on this device. The high capacity, lithium-ion battery gives medics up to six hours of continuous monitoring of ECG, SpO2, CO2, three invasive pressure channels, and two channels of temperature with NIBP measurements every 15 minutes and 10 200J shocks. It is enough power for the busiest prehospital medical care operation. This is an exciting device full of advanced features that has the potential to become the standard for the pre-hospital care market. With the X Series you won’t have to compromise or trade off
Emergency Services Times April 2012
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London’s Air Ambulance is first in the UK to carry blood on board London’s Air Ambulance, the charity that runs London’s Helicopter Emergency Medical Service, has become the first air ambulance in the UK to carry blood on board its aircraft and cars. London’s Air Ambulance service provides prehospital medical care to victims of serious injury, at the scene of the incident, throughout London, serving the 10 million people who live, work and commute within the M25. Based at the Royal London Hospital and founded in 1989, the service is unique in that it operates 24/7, with the helicopter running in daylight hours and rapid response cars taking over at night. The team, which at all times includes a Senior Trauma Doctor and a specially trained Paramedic, performs advanced medical interventions, normally only found in the hospital accident and emergency department, in time critical, life threatening situations. Missions commonly involve serious road traffic collisions, falls from height, industrial accidents, assaults and injuries on the rail network.
Blood is a precious resource and must be stored at a specific temperature in special containers. Every day London’s Air Ambulance attends victims of major trauma.
Every day in the capital London’s Air Ambulance attends victims of major trauma. Many of these patients are suffering from catastrophic bleeding. Some die at the scene from blood loss and never make it to hospital. Until now the highly trained medical teams have been unable to transfuse blood at the scene of the incident. Normal saline has been used as an alternative but, as it does not carry oxygen, it is not the ideal resuscitation fluid. Blood carries oxygen, which is delivered to major organs, including the brain. A pre-hospital blood transfusion may improve the patient’s chance of survival. Code RED protocol Approximately five percent of London’s Air Ambulance patients will trigger the Code RED protocol. These patients require early administration of blood products and rapid vascular control if they are to survive. In addition, patients in traumatic cardiac arrest may benefit from blood transfusion if hypovolaemia is considered to be a contributing factor. London’s Air Ambulance carries blood in accordance with NHSBT policies and guidance. Blood is a precious resource and must be stored at a specific temperature in special containers. The SCA Cool Logistics’ Credo, thermal range (Golden
Hour Boxes), which is also used by the British Military, was found to be the most suitable following extensive research carried out with the Transfusion team at Barts and the London NHS Trust (BLT). Golden hour boxes™ can maintain a steady state temperature of 2-4°C for up to 72hrs. Each box carried on board the aircraft and rapid response cars will carry four units of O negative (emergency) blood and a data logger.
Until now the highly trained medical teams have been unable to transfuse blood at the scene of the incident. Cutting edge medical care Dr Anne Weaver, Lead Clinician for London’s Air Ambulance, said, “We are a charity and with the support of the communities we serve, this is an example of the life saving advances that London’s Air Ambulance can deliver. I honestly believe that ‘Blood on board’ will allow us to save more lives in London. “The first human blood transfusion actually occurred in London in 1825 in the Finsbury Square
area. Now victims of major trauma in London will now be able to receive blood on the streets if they need it. Another first in blood transfusion for London.” Saving more lives The Mayor of London Boris Johnson said, “London’s Air Ambulance has an international reputation for pioneering medical procedures, which have been adopted around the world. It provides a great service across the capital and being able to carry blood on board means the team will be able to save even more lives.”
London’s Air Ambulance pioneered thoracotomy (open chest surgery) at the roadside and in 1993 produced one of the world’s first survivors from this procedure. www.londonsairambulance.co.uk
Emergency Services Times April 2012
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Raising awareness of cyanide poisoning as a result of smoke inhalation There is an urgent need to significantly improve understanding of cyanide poisoning in smoke inhalation so that all emergency first responders know how to recognise it, treat it and what antidotes are available for use. with the licensing of hydroxocobalamin 5g a treatment option is now available that is effective, well tolerated and most important of all, suitable for empiric use. This makes it much more important for emergency services personnel to think about cyanide poisoning in every patient who has been exposed to smoke.
Despite evidence of its importance from smoke analysis, experimental models and forensic sampling, levels of recognition among emergency services personnel of the presence of cyanide poisoning within smoke inhalation is extremely low. Many first responders automatically take carbon monoxide (CO) to be the primary consideration for toxic substance when they arrive on scene to rescue and treat victims from a burning building or vehicle. According to the Department for Communities and Local Government (CLG) statistics there were 33,244 accidental dwelling fires in the year ending 31 March 2011. With 42 percent of deaths in house fires coming as a result of smoke inhalation, it is the single greatest cause of mortality in house fires, and in those patients who die from smoke inhalation there is good evidence of high cyanide levels. With new European guidelines highlighting shortcomings in smoke inhalation treatment in the UK, we need to fundamentally change the way we do things and actually start challenging perceptions of what makes house fire smoke toxic.
Regional Trauma Networks In the United States, France and a number of other European countries, a cyanide antidote is carried on frontline emergency medical service vehicles and given routinely pre-hospital. In NHS ambulance services there is no provision for the specific treatment of cyanide poisoning with antidotes such as hydroxocobalamin. With effect from April 2012, victims can be taken to the new Regional Trauma Networks (RTN), which should have treatment available, and in most regions these centres are located so that victims can be transferred to the nearest one available within 45 minutes. In any patient who has reduced neurological and cognitive function, the suspicion of cyanide poisoning should be raised, and become an automatic trigger for delivery to a Improving knowledge Improving knowledge of what materials can produce cyanide should see a massive difference in the exchange of information passed between firefighters and paramedics on-scene. RTN with a Pre-Alert to emergency staff We need to raise awareness levels among all querying cyanide poisoning from smoke. emergency services personnel that common treating both CO and cyanide poisoning. For ease I have outlined a sample ATMIST household materials such as plastics and foam These questions are straightforward, but often handover below which could be given as a Pre-Alert padding do give the largest production of hydrogen overlooked: what exactly was on fire? Where was to the hospital with estimated time of arrival and cyanide gas, but that ‘safe’ materials such as cotton the victim found in relation to the fire? How long then act as a handover on arrival: and wool also produce cyanide in the right has the victim been exposed to smoke inhalation? • Age: 42-year-old male combustion conditions. Improving knowledge of • Time of incident: 0100hrs what materials can produce cyanide should see a • Medical complaint / mechanism of injury: massive difference in the exchange of information Involved in building fire suffering smoke inhalapassed between firefighters and paramedics ontion and possible cyanide poisoning due to furniscene, and significantly help towards improving ture involved in the fire. outcomes among house fire victims. Increased • Injuries/ examination findings: Patient has burns knowledge of this threat among emergency to hands, signs of smoke inhalation/ burns/ professionals could also protect their own safety, soot in airways. ? Carbon Monoxide and providing another good reason for fire and rescue These may seem like basic questions, but the Cyanide Poisoning service members to ‘wear their air’ while on the answers will often be crucial. For example, in a • Vital signs: Resp rate 28, Pulse 130, GCS 12, scene, even once a fire is extinguished. Even situation where the casualty has left some food in BP 144/90, Carbon Monoxide 16% on toxco smouldering household items can produce cyanide. the oven and fallen asleep, leading to the flat • Treatment: On High Flow Oxygen (15lpm), becoming smoke-filled, you would be led to the 7.5mg IV morphine for pain relief for burns. Information sharing likely conclusion of CO poisoning; the quantity of There are various scenarios that can be supposed material on fire is likely to be small, and unlikely to Increasing awareness levels of cyanide poisoning which explain the importance of information give off much toxic gas other than smoke particles from smoke inhalation among all emergency sharing and the difference it may make in and possibly carbon monoxide. On the other hand, services personnel, be they frontline responders or treatment regimes. Say, for example, the ambulance in a situation where a cigarette has not been A&E practitioners, is a drum that should be beaten service responds to a fire in a flat in the early hours extinguished properly and various items of ever more loudly. Perhaps then we will see an of a Friday or Saturday night. On arrival the team furniture have burnt as a result, responders should improvement in outcomes among house fire victims. of paramedics are presented with a casualty who is start to suspect and think about treating both CO www.southcentralambulance.nhs.uk displaying key signs of smoke inhalation (soot and cyanide poisoning. The quantity of burnt around nose or mouth), and neurological materials is significantly greater, and the material impairment, such as confusion. At this point, a few itself is more likely to give off cyanide gas. Author: James Amos, Resilience and simple questions to the responding firefighters can Conventional cyanide antidotes can make the Specialist Operations Manager, South make the difference between the paramedics patient worse rather than better if the patient has Central Ambulance Service. suggesting treatment for just CO or suspecting and not actually been exposed to cyanide. However,
Even smouldering household items can produce cyanide.
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Thousands of lives could be saved, simply by a click of a button Have you ever wondered what you would do if a family member, friend or colleague collapsed in front of you due to a cardiac episode? West Midlands Ambulance Service, working in collaboration with Safeheart UK and the Community Heartbeat charity, has recently launched a unique website that could help you save the life of your nearest and dearest. Defib Finder (www.defibfinder.co.uk) is a unique website that allows members of the public to find out where their nearest defibrillator is in relation to
their home, work, or wherever they may be. With approximately 850,000 adults suffering from cardiac arrests each year, can you really afford to not know where your nearest defibrillator is? This simple to use website allows a user to search for their nearest defibrillator by simply typing in a postcode or area name and clicking search. The finder will not only show all the defibrillators in the vicinity but it also provides directions to the location (either by car or by foot) and will provide a contact name for the defibrillator. National database The website, which has been in development for the last three years, currently covers the West Midlands Region (Birmingham, Black Country, Coventry, Warwickshire, Staffordshire, Shropshire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire) only. However, it is hoped that in the future the website will hold the national database. Behind the scenes, the website produces numerous reports that can be of use to ambulance services and other organisations. For example it can demonstrate when a defibrillator was last used, how many people are trained to use a specific device and when each defibrillator is due for a maintenance check, among many other useful tools. Duncan Parsonage, Community Response Manager for West Midlands Ambulance Service, explained why the website could be vital to helping to save lives. He said, “I would urge everyone to spend just a few minutes on this website to familiarise themselves as to where their nearest defibrillator is. Should anyone you know ever suffer
Duncan Parsonage, Community Response Manager for West Midlands Ambulance Service, conducts defib training.
Each Public Access Defibrillator Site (PADS) within the region display a defib poster.
a cardiac arrest your first port of call should always be to dial 999 and commence CPR, but more often than not in such situations there are other people in and around who could help by fetching a defibrillator. “Eighty-five percent of those people who suffer cardiac arrests have the ability to be corrected by defibrillation. The quicker someone is defibrillated, it not only improves the chance of their survival but it can also help to improve the chances of a patient’s full recovery and reduce the time to do so. For every minute a patient is in cardiac arrest, their chance of survival decreases by 10 percent.” Current figures suggest that nationally only 3-4 percent of those who suffer cardiac arrests survive, however within the West Midlands Region this rate is currently approximately 45 percent. www.wmas.nhs.uk Follow @officialwmas
Great Western Ambulance Service helps REVIVE research into pre-hospital care Great Western Ambulance Service (GWAS) has commenced a major one-year study looking at different ways of managing the airway of patients suffering a cardiac arrest outside of hospital. The study – known as REVIVE Airways – involves 184 paramedics from across GWAS treating patients in cardiac arrest in one of three ways. Cardiac arrest is one of the most extreme medical emergencies; prompt and effective CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) is essential to prevent damage to the patient’s brain and other organs, accompanied by managing the patient’s airway. The continuing British Heart Foundation handsonly CPR campaign with Vinnie Jones highlights the importance of chest compressions for a patient in cardiac arrest and once the ambulance paramedic arrives at the scene then rapid airway management is needed to minimise disruption to chest compressions. Among the current methods of airway management – and long regarded as the most
effective – is tracheal intubation, which involves placing a breathing tube in the patient’s windpipe. However, this can cause significant complications and prolonged interruptions in chest compressions. Therefore, alongside tracheal intubation, GWAS paramedics in the REVIVE Airways study will use one of two newer, supraglottic airway devices (SADs) – known as i-gel and LMAS. These are quicker to insert and cause minimal interruption to chest compressions. The paramedics have been divided into three groups – one will continue to manage cardiac arrest victims according to current paramedic skills, with the other two groups each trained in using one of the SADs. Hands-on involvement Megan Rhys, GWAS research paramedic, said, “Over the years we have seen many advances in the field of medical equipment. However, research in pre-hospital care can be very challenging because by its very nature this is often in emergency
Emergency Services Times April 2012
situations where the focus is hands-on treatment of the patient. This is a real opportunity to find out how we can get meaningful results in the field of pre-hospital research. “For us personally and professionally, it is very exciting to have such hands-on involvement in a major research project – ultimately this is about finding better ways to save the lives of more patients.” Also involved in the 12-month REVIVE Airways study are the University of the West of England and University Hospitals Bristol, with Professor Jonathan Benger and a number of other experts in the field of airway management, resuscitation and research. The research is referred to as a ‘feasibility study’ because it is testing the way pre-hospital research is carried out. It is planned that the results of the REVIVE Airways study will be used to pave the way for a future large-scale definitive study of the three methods of airway management. www.gwas.nhs.uk
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40 | CIVIL RESILIENCE
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Keeping the country running: natural hazards and infrastructure The risk of disruption to the delivery of essential services from natural hazards has come sharply into focus after the Environment Secretary confirmed that the South East, Anglia, parts of South and East Yorkshire and other parts of the country were officially in drought, with more areas likely to be affected.
Last year's snow impacted on us all.
Tewkesbury during the height of the Summer 2007 floods.
We all remember the impact last year’s cold spell had on our way of life: transport networks struggled to remain operational; schools and local businesses closed or operated with significantly reduced services; and sporting events were cancelled. You will also recall the dramatic consequences of the summer floods of 2007; the largest peacetime emergency since World War II. When drinking water was lost to 350,000 people for up to 17 days; tens of thousands of people were without power for up to two days; and tens of thousands of people were stranded on the road and rail networks. It is the ability of natural hazards to damage, destroy or disrupt key elements of infrastructure providing essential services, which amplifies their impact on organisations and communities. For organisations, natural hazards can disrupt routine activities and long-term investment plans directly (eg by damaging vital infrastructure) and indirectly (eg by disrupting key supply chains) leading to significant financial and reputational losses. Managing the risk from natural hazards will require decisive leadership. Not just during times of disruption, but to prepare infrastructure to be able to absorb, respond to and recover from (and perhaps even seize opportunities as a result of) such disruptive events. Since 2009, the Government has worked in partnership with infrastructure owners and operators, regulators, trade associations and emergency responders to produce advice, which would enable private and public sector organisations to deliver continuous improvements in the resilience of their most vital infrastructure to disruption from natural hazards. Advice and practical guidance Produced by the Cabinet Office, the guide Keeping the Country Running: Natural Hazards
and Infrastructure is the culmination of the partnership’s efforts over the last two years. The guide is designed to enable infrastructure owners to work with interested parties (including supply chain partners, regulators, emergency responders, consumers and Government departments) to: • Deliver continuous improvements in the resilience of their infrastructure to disruption from natural hazards, and in doing so: • Ensure that improvements in resilience are proportionate to the level of risk to their infrastructure from natural hazards • Ensure that infrastructure resilience building strategies are aligned to their business environments now and in the future.
The guide specifically provides: • For the first time in a public document, the National Risk Assessment’s ‘reasonable worst case scenarios’ for natural hazards • For the first time, an agreed understanding of what resilience is, and advice on the use of standards (including design and engineering standards) to drive up resilience to natural hazards • Advice on incorporating infrastructure resilience into senior level discussions • A resilience building checklist for infrastructure owners • A process to ‘unblock’ issues and overcome existing frustrations within the responder community about information sharing on critical infrastructure • Simple guidance on how to identify dependencies at the local level • Advice for the regulated sectors on addressing infrastructure resilience. The guide is not prescriptive; it is designed to assist organisations develop and implement proportionate infrastructure resilience building strategies. I hope it proves to be of assistance, but the Infrastructure and Corporate Resilience Team will be on hand to assist with any queries you may have regarding the guide. www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/infrastructure-resilience
If you would like to, please contact the team at: naturalhazards@cabinet-office.x.gsi.gov.uk Divided into four sections, the guide sets out the principles underpinning infrastructure resilience and provides advice and practical guidance on risk assessment for natural hazards, standards of resilience, corporate governance, information sharing and the role for economic regulators.
Emergency Services Times April 2012
Author: Mat Barber, Assistant Director, Infrastructure and Corporate Resilience, Civil Contingencies Secretariat, Cabinet Office.
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42 | VEHICLES
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The iconic Kronenburg brand is back with the Light Rescue Pump Plastisol introduced its concept modular body at The Emergency Services Show at Stoneleigh in November last year. The first prototype body is bound for Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service, a service that has for a long time been at the forefront of innovation and has never been frightened to be the first to introduce new ideas that will improve its operational efficiency. Several years ago Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service (FRS) successfully brought into service a small Tactical Response Vehicle (TRV) based on an Iveco Daily, plated at 6700kg GVW, to replace second pumps at certain locations. The next generation of vehicle that Cheshire FRS is looking at is a Mercedes Vario 4x4, plated at 8.2 tonnes for fire use only, up-rated from 7.5 tonnes for commercial use; this vehicle will be known as a Light Rescue Pump (LRP).
The body is of the usual high quality GRP construction with no dividers between lockers and the strength is gained via the pillars, which form a structural element of the body. All the shelving is fastened into the body using removable frames that can be removed easily for ease of maintenance and serviceability.
The pump bay floor is also constructed as an integral component of the body, which allows the fire pump to be mounted directly onto the pump bay floor. There are several advantages of this arrangement: the ease of fitting the pump without the need for complicated brackets; and the fact that no road dirt can be splashed directly into the pump bay compartment.
Highly visible The body has a 1000-litre water tank and the fire pump is a 2010 Godiva Prima pump, the livery is again proof that Cheshire FRS is not afraid to deviate from the norm, the body is painted in fluorescent yellow and a large section of the cab is also fluorescent yellow, making this vehicle one of the most highly visible on the UK roads, thereby
Emergency Services Times April 2012
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adding to the safety of both the crew and the general public. The pump bay panel is also a completely new design. This interactive display gives the operator full electronic control of the pump. The screens can be either touch screen or just informative, with a complementary switch panel that links into the system design. Cheshire has opted for two information screens – one screen displays tank level, pump temperature, low pressure, high pressure and vacuum, while the second screen displays status of the valves within the system and also any warnings or faults that might arise from the base chassis or within the fire fighting system. The system utilises both Multiplex and CANBus J1939 communication. A legend is reborn Plastisol purchased Kronenburg several years ago but delayed re-introducing this iconic name back into the fire market until very recently. All complete vehicles in future will go under this iconic brand. Those people from the airport crash tender business remember Kronenburg as the benchmark for all competitors to try and achieve. Kronenburg produces vehicles of all sizes from small TRV, Light Rescue Pumps, Type B pumping appliances, water carriers to airport crash tenders for all categories of airports. www.plastisol.co.uk
For more information on this vehicle or the whole Kronenburg or Plastisol ranges of products please contact Terry Graham Plastisol UK Sales Director on Tel: 07718 966700 or e-mail: tgraham@plastisol.co.uk
Emergency Services Times April 2012
44 | INTEROPERABILITY
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CFOA Incident Command Conference 2012 After taking on the lead for the Chief Fire Officers’ Association (CFOA) in the area of command and control within fire and rescue services last year, a key objective within the CFOA Operations Response Directorate work programme was to put on a national conference focusing on command and control. This was an opportunity for representatives from across the service as well as the broader sector to come together to discuss and consider one of, if not the most, critical aspect of our roles, that of being a Commander. Deputy Chief Fire Officer Steve Beckley and Deputy Assistant Commissioner Matt Hall have been representing UK fire and rescue services at the national interoperability table for some time now and they provided an excellent double-headed presentation. Thanks to their involvement, the UK fire and rescue service has ‘trusted partner’ status. The main outcomes of this will include joint command doctrine and joint risk assessments across all emergency responders.
CFO Wilsher provided an overview of the Operations Response Directorate.
Introduced by CFOA’s Operations Response Director, Chief Fire Officer Roy Wilsher, the twoday conference programme provided an excellent mix of content. Firstly CFO Wilsher provided an overview of the Operations Response Directorate, covering the key individuals involved together with the main deliverables and priorities of each team.
“CFOA has announced its intention to lead a Strategic Conference on Interoperability in Autumn 2012 aimed at bringing together strategic leaders from across the emergency services sector.” Delegates heard from two eminent specialists providing an academic perspective. Firstly, the forensic psychologist Professor Laurence Alison spoke about his work in the area of naturalistic psychology in the command environment, specifically in working with the police. He highlighted the challenges for incident commanders specifically when operating in a time pressured high-risk environment. He also discussed the issue of decision inertia or the inability to make a decision – often because there is too much information for one person to absorb, understand and/or be able to make sense of.
Interoperability a priority Following this the audience heard a fascinating insight into the thinking about the terrorist threat that is now a reality. Reviewing some of the recent international terrorist events and the learning taken from them, Dr Dave Sloggett gave a lively and thought provoking presentation. He highlighted the issues that have emerged from these incidents, making the case for true interoperability to be a priority for all emergency responders.
Delegates then received strategic updates from those working on aspects of the Operations Effectiveness work programme. This included the latest developments on key national projects such as the Incident Command Manual, from Kevin Arbuthnot, which provided a very useful review of the historical background to the introduction of the safe system of work in the mid-1990s. The Operational Competence Model currently being developed was also discussed, which is led by the CFOA Operational Training & Retained Duty System Lead, Chief Fire Officer Paul Hancock. Olympic resilience arrangements The conference was delighted to welcome the Chief Fire and Rescue Advisor to Government, Sir Ken Knight, who provided an overview of the National Coordination & Advisory Framework. He shared the current Government direction and thinking, particularly in relation to national resilience arrangements that are in place for the 2012 Olympics. (see page 49)
National Inter-agency Liaison Officer network Steve and Matt spoke of the importance of the National Inter-agency Liaison Officer network (NILO) and how the UK FRS is now benefiting from the training available. To be able to have local knowledge of how to work effectively in a multiagency environment, the technology, the language and the thinking of other agencies will be crucial in the, hopefully unlikely, event of a terrorist incident. First-hand experience Throughout both days of the conference delegates heard some poignant case studies from Incident Commanders Roy Wilsher, Mark Yates and Ron Dobson with first-hand experience from two of the UK’s most challenging incidents, Buncefield and the 7/7 bombings in London. It brought home the very challenging role that Incident Commanders face. From the practical part of the job of assessing the situation they are faced with on arrival at the scene; to the automatic response of dealing with resource management and deployment, through to the very personal accounts of emotions and circumstances that remind us all how precious life is. An example of this was Deputy Assistant Commissioner Steve Smith from London Fire Brigade who was sent to Aldgate tube station having just sent his daughter off to a job interview on the same tube line he was being deployed to! CFOA would like to thank all of the speakers for their contribution over the two days, the delegates for supporting the event and finally our event sponsor, Vector Command. Autumn 2012 event As the feedback has been so positive another event is planned for next year and CFOA has announced its intention to lead a Strategic Conference on Interoperability in Autumn 2012. The event will be aimed at bringing together strategic leaders from across the emergency services sector to build on the work done already in assisting and supporting UK national resilience and security. www.cfoa.org.uk
Emergency Services Times April 2012
Author: Chief Fire Officer Simon Pilling, CFOA Lead for Operational Effectiveness.
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Interoperability: ‘the extent to which two or more entities work effectively together ensuring an effective response to emergencies’ When I sat down with colleagues from the Chief Fire Officers’ Association (CFOA) Operations Directorate to discuss our input into new interoperability we first considered a common definition of interoperability. Many discuss interoperability in terms of Airwave and the ability to communicate within and across services. Although this is an important component of interoperability it is but one part of the overall picture. CFOA felt a common definition was important and so proposed the outcome-based definition used by the Civil Contingencies Secretariat, ‘The extent to which two or more entities work effectively together ensuring an effective response to emergencies’. We tested this with colleagues from the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), Association of Ambulance Chief Executives (AACE), government departments and others at a meeting CFOA hosted at the end of February. There was some discussion on how the words might be tweaked but there was general agreement that this was a reasonable working definition. CFOA produced a document with our initial thoughts, which then fed into a blue light working group. CFOA emphasised that a high degree of interoperability already exists across the blue light services, evidenced by the fact that the blue light services work well together to resolve incidents in all areas of the country every day. Although it was recognised that there is always room to learn and improve. CFOA also recognised that further significant progress had been made in specific capabilities in recent years, which demonstrates the benefit of focused and resourced work on issues given sufficient strategic priority. But CFOA took the opportunity to re-iterate a call that the association has been making for some time, the creation of a cross-government body supported by officials and professionals to replicate at national level the discussions that happen in Local Resilience Forums. We are not calling for a replacement of Regional Resilience Forums but would like a body that discusses risk, major incident response and responsibilities across government to feed into the three services via parent departments. Blue light interoperability The working group established some initial short and medium term areas of work for blue light interoperability. The first two pieces of work are both pre-Olympics, one based on assurance, the other based on an up to date awareness package for commanders from each of the services. There has already been significant Olympics assurance for police, ambulance and fire and rescue services. So the first piece of work, led by Her Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary (HMIC) built on this and looked at Interoperability for the Olympics (supported by the Chief Fire and Rescue Advisor and ambulance colleagues). The second area of work is the development of an awareness package on incident command and associated capabilities that will provide up to date information for all blue light commanders before the start of the Olympics. For fire and rescue
Photo: Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service
services this will include information for colleagues on our Incident Command System, the National Coordination and Advisory (NCAF) arrangements, resilience (New Dimensions) capabilities and Incident Liaison Officers (ILOs).
“CFOA, ACPO, AACE and our linked government departments are working closely to make this enhanced programme a success.” This initial work is being sourced in the main from the three services. Work in the medium term will require a small, dedicated team with links into ACPO, CFOA and ambulance existing work streams. It is proposed that this longer term approach will be more generic and looks to agree principles and common planning assumptions that cut across the services and apply to the widest
possible range of events. Then testing against more extreme events would identify gaps where specific planning and training may be required. The high level programme of work is set to cover several areas with doctrine or overarching guidance as the starting point in all cases. An overriding principle being that none of the services produces new guidance or doctrine on any operational matter at a national level without consulting blue light colleagues. This also recognises that although common language may be used in the guidance it may not be possible or even desirable to have completely common doctrine. Train, test and exercise Closely linked to doctrine is the need to train, test and exercise. Many previous large-scale incidents have shown the benefits of different services and organisations testing and exercising together. Exercising and testing helps to identify and recognise difference and develop procedures together. Particular emphasis will be made on the three services working at the front line ‘bronze’ level. This approach will be supported by having the right people in the right place at the right time with the understanding of other services’ needs and
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capabilities. This is where general awareness supported by ILOs really adds benefit to command, communications and liaison structures. Resourcing equipment While working closely together the services will also consider the best use and resourcing of equipment, both in the very early procurement stages and the use of existing equipment capabilities. The functionality and use of communications and the Airwave system for successful blue light interoperability is vital. Therefore continued multi-agency involvement in communications improvement is also vitally important, as is development of systems to ensure the sharing of information and decision-making between services.
“The next steps will include expanding the discussion to Category 1 and 2 organisations, including the military.�
Photo: Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service
Olympic Coordination Centre (NOCC). Initial thoughts are that a structure like the NOCC should be maintained in future.
Once the doctrine, training and exercising, people and equipment are prepared it is important to have the right organisation for an incident in place, this includes strategic coordination of blue light resources. The fire and rescue service has the NCAF arrangements in place and the National Coordination Centre, which tracks all resilience assets. Police and ambulance have their own arrangements, particularly for mutual aid, but it is felt that these service arrangements should be able to communicate better with each other. In addition it is considered that a legacy of the Olympics could be the learning and experience from the National
Early sharing of information In responding to incidents there is an understood need for early sharing of information between the services. This happens as a matter of routine at small and medium size incidents, whether they are road collisions, fires or even crowd safety events. But in more complex situations the rapid sharing of intelligence and information and early agreement on the specific nature of the incident/threat are vital in establishing the type of the incident, identifying responsibilities and mobilising the most appropriate response. To complement this, a national emergency services decision-making model will be considered.
Two final parts of the possible work programme are continued assurance and governance. The interoperability assurance work for the Olympics has already taken place but how this is developed in future needs further discussion. Any assurance process should feed into an operational learning programme to ensure learning leads to improvements in practices and procedures. Thoughts are already turning to a dedicated programme resource with a strategic board and Ministerial oversight group. The blue light services certainly do not want to be overly bureaucratic but do welcome the involvement and commitment of central government. Room for improvement In conclusion, CFOA believes that blue light interoperability is far from being ineffective, in fact the opposite is true. But there is always room for improvement and there has never been a better time or more willingness to push this forward. CFOA, ACPO, AACE and our linked government departments are working closely to make this enhanced programme a success. Some dedicated resources will be required and this will need some investment from central government. CFOA is very pleased that government is closely involved in the programme and believe it is vital that the commitment to interoperability and national resilience by government is maintained. The next steps will include expanding the discussion to Category 1 and 2 organisations, including the military. For the fire and rescue service this also means closer involvement of the Local Government Association. We then need to consider the impact of the new Police and Crime Commissioners and changes in health structures nationally. But all things considered I believe this is an exciting time for emergency response in the UK and have no doubt we will improve on our already high standards. www.cfoa.org.uk
Author: Roy Wilsher, CFOA Operations Director. Photo: Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service
Emergency Services Times April 2012
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Safety and security partnerships during the 2012 Olympics With the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games just a few months away, London Fire Brigade (LFB) is in the final stages of planning for Games-time to help ensure the ‘greatest show on earth’ passes safely for competitors, spectators and visitors alike. With an estimated 500,000 extra people visiting the capital each day during Olympic Games-time, nearly 15,000 competitors and 22 venues, LFB is facing a range of challenges. From community safety messaging, to ensuring that effective fire safety solutions have been designed into the Olympic and Paralympic venues, the brigade has been working across the piece to support the safety of the Games, reduce the risk of fire and provide a lasting legacy for the capital. Initial rapid response In February the brigade took delivery of five MINI Countryman vehicles, which will be patrolling the Olympic Park during the Games. These vehicles will be on hand to provide an initial rapid response to smaller incidents, such as bin fires, and take a proactive approach to keeping the park safe. The brigade’s Olympics Project Team has been helping manage the Olympic work across the organisation, coordinating the planning of the other UK fire and rescue services hosting Olympic and Paralympic events and also ensuring that the fire sector is working effectively with key external organisations such as the London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (LOCOG). Partner organisations London Fire Brigade has officers embedded in key roles within some of the other partner organisations. This helps the fire and rescue service understand what the other agencies are planning. It also provides LFB with an opportunity to develop a greater awareness of how the fire and rescue service can support the planning for the Games. A dedicated team of five fire safety officers have worked with the Olympic Delivery Authority, local building control and LOCOG on the design and development of the venues, including the regulatory fire safety requirements. There is also an officer working full time within LOCOG to ensure that the LFB’s operational planning for the venues is integrated with other partners.
Three further officers work full-time at the Olympic Park, liaising with contractors to reduce the risk of fires and other emergencies occurring during the lead up to the Games. They also
organise visits that ensure local fire crews are familiar with the park and the operational plans are regularly updated reflecting the changing nature of the park’s development.
“A multi-agency National Olympic Coordination Centre (NOCC) will be established for the 64 days of the Games.” Transport route network The brigade’s operational Event Planning team has been working with transport partners and the other emergency services to ensure that LFB is able to use the Olympic Route Network, ensuring a rapid response while keeping the lanes clear for athletes and VIPs. The team is also planning the brigade’s response during Olympic events that will have a big impact on London’s road network, such as the cycling road race and the marathon. All of the Olympic competition venues, both inside and outside the main Olympic Park will either have fire appliances ‘standing by’ in the venue or ‘reserved’ for the event at the nearest fire station. Senior officers will also be in each venue as liaison officers ensuring a rapid, coordinated response in the event of any emergency. Multi-agency links A multi-agency National Olympic Coordination Centre (NOCC) will be established for the 64 days of the Games. This will provide a focal point for the coordination of all the safety and security partners.
To complement the NOCC there will be a range of local and national command and control structures that link together police, fire, ambulance, health and local authorities and other security and safety partners. Online training Last year London Fire Brigade launched the ‘London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games’ online training system. This is known as the ‘Olympic Portal’ and provides staff with immediate access to a wide range of Olympic related information and training packs, for example on security and cultural awareness. In order to share this information and training material across the British fire and rescue service, access to the portal has been made available to all 46 fire and rescue services (FRSs) and the National Resilience Assurance Teams (NRAT). This will ensure that all FRSs benefit from the work undertaken by LFB and serves to promote continuity and consistency across all the fire and rescue service planning and delivering functions. As the clock ticks down to the beginning of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the brigade will be further intensifying its work to ensure that it is ready for the challenges associated with the Games. However, it also important to emphasise that LFB also has a responsibility to maintain its ‘business as usual’ activities. This has been at the heart of our plans so that the rest of London continues to receive the world-class fire and rescue service and the excellent response times it is used to. www.london-fire.org.uk
Emergency Services Times April 2012
Author: Ron Dobson, Commissioner of the London Fire Brigade.
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Emergency Services Times April 2012
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From lifejackets to lifeboats From lifejackets to lifeboats, RNLI volunteer crewmembers need the best equipment available to help them meet the challenges of saving lives at sea. After all, the demand for the charity’s sea rescue service is as strong as ever. 2011 was the lifeboat crews’ second most active year on record, with 8905 launches. Covering 19,000 miles of coastline around the UK and Republic of Ireland, they rescued 7976 people.
Eastbourne’s new Tamar class lifeboat – to be named Diamond Jubilee in honour of the RNLI’s Patron HM The Queen – was lowered into water for first time on 6 February 2012, 60 years to do the day that Her Majesty ascended to the throne. Photo: Babcock Marine
The likelihood is that, as you read this, at least one volunteer lifeboat crew will be on a rescue mission. Who knows what they could face? It could be anything from walkers trapped by the tide at the bottom of cliffs to a cargo vessel at the mercy of huge swells, miles offshore. So the RNLI has to make sure that crew members are ready for anything and able to carry out rescues effectively while staying as safe as possible themselves. When a piece of equipment or craft reaches the end of its operational life and needs replacing, it’s an opportunity to take advantage of the latest technology and engineering – and make things even better. And that’s just what the RNLI has done with its new generation of lifejackets.
New RNLI lifejackets: vital statistics
Lifejackets for lifesavers These innovative all weather and inshore lifejackets, incorporating the latest material technology, were designed specifically to meet the crews’ search and rescue operational requirements. Led by an RNLI technical expert and through close consultation with volunteer crews around the coast, the charity brought a wealth of detailed user feedback into the two-year development process, and ensured that its crews were completely happy with the design. The contract to supply them was awarded to Crewsaver, and all lifeboat crews should have new lifejackets by the end of 2012.
The RNLI is rolling out a new design of crew lifejacket, for all-weather and inshore lifeboat volunteers (pictured).
Photo: RNLI/Nigel Millard
The inshore lifejacket has a single 290N manually inflated chamber with 90N of inherent foam buoyancy. When fully inflated the lifejacket has a total of 380N of buoyancy. The all-weather lifejacket is a twin chamber lifejacket. Each chamber has 290N of buoyancy – one that automatically inflates and another that can be manually inflated. If both chambers are inflated they will pressure equalise so that there is never more than 290N of buoyancy. Both lifejackets are fitted with a water-activated emergency light and integral flare pockets for day and night distress flares. The zipped pockets can hold casualty care kit, torches or gloves. A spray hood is also included in the design.
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The prototype of the RNLI’s FCB2 lifeboat, to be called the Shannon class.
The RNLI has a ‘one size fits all’ policy. The lifejackets will provide increased safety for all size and shapes of crew member and a comfortable, secure fit leading to increased efficiency and effectiveness in lifesaving. Each lifejacket is fitted with crotch straps, which prevent the lifejacket riding up over the crew member’s head when in the water. There’s also an integrated harness, designed to pull the lifejacket away from the wearer’s neck, allowing for greater freedom of movement while rescuing those in trouble. Meet the Shannon Another vital piece of RNLI equipment nearing the end of its operational life is the Mersey class lifeboat. This 17-knot all-weather lifeboat was designed to be launched and recovered from a beach and has been an essential part of the fleet for over two decades. The FCB2 lifeboat, which will be known as the Shannon class, will replace the Mersey. Like the
The Shannon class: a revolutionary design • Naval architects at the RNLI Headquarters in Poole have designed the Shannon entirely inhouse. Model testing identified a hull best suited to satisfy all the operational requirements • The new Shannon class can be launched and recovered from beaches independent of slipways and harbours • Flat out, the Shannon pumps 1.5 tonnes of water per second from its waterjets • The first Shannon class lifeboat is expected to be fully operational in 2013.
Photo: RNLI/Nathan Williams
Mersey, the Shannon is designed to be launched by carriage, but can also lie afloat if necessary. As with other all-weather lifeboats she will be inherently self-righting in the event of capsize and will be able to cope with the roughest of conditions around our coasts. She will be 25 percent faster than the Mersey: her maximum speed will be 25 knots, which is crucial when lives are at risk. Following extensive trials, the Shannon will be the first modern generation RNLI all-weather lifeboat to run on water jets instead of propellers. The waterjets allow the vessel to operate in shallow waters and to be intentionally beached. They will also give the coxswain greater control when alongside other craft, in confined waters and in all sea conditions. Supacat Ltd has designed a new launch and recovery vehicle for the Shannon in conjunction with the RNLI. This vehicle can cope with many different beach and sea conditions found around our coasts. It allows a faster launch and recovery time than the present Mersey system by utilising a turntable to rotate the Shannon ready for its next launch. The Shannon class will help bring the whole of the RNLI’s all-weather lifeboat fleet up to 25 knots. Tamar class lifeboats (designed to launch from slipways) continue to be constructed as part of this project, thanks to RNLI supporters. Among the Tamar class lifeboats going operational this year is the new Eastbourne vessel, to be named Diamond Jubilee. In this Diamond Jubilee year, it’s an opportunity to celebrate extraordinary commitment of the RNLI’s Patron, Her Majesty The Queen, RNLI volunteers and supporters. A big year Eastbourne’s new Tamar took to the water for the first time on 6 February, 60 years to the day that HM The Queen ascended to the throne. There
then followed testing and sea trials. Before Eastbourne’s new vessel goes operational – and as part of crew familiarisation and training – she will be taking pride of place in the Thames Jubilee Pageant. RNLI inshore lifeboats will also be on hand during the pageant to provide safety cover. Another big event over the Summer with an RNLI presence will be the Olympic Games. The charity’s lifesavers will be stepping up safety cover in Weymouth due to the expected increase in visitor numbers. The charity will also be providing medical support for the sailing events in Weymouth Bay. Crew members took part in the designated test event in Summer 2011 at the Weymouth and Portland International Regatta. In addition to the all-weather and inshore lifeboats already stationed at Weymouth, three other Atlantic inshore lifeboats will be brought in. These will be crewed by RNLI volunteers from around the country. The increased safety requirement will be subsidised by the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG). RNLI lifeguards will also play a vital role. They’ll have an increased presence at Weymouth and will watch over the Olympic triathlon and swimming races on the Serpentine in Hyde Park, London. After a busy 2011, the RNLI’s lifeboat crews and lifeguards have another challenging Summer ahead – but with the support of people like you, the charity will continue to save lives at sea. Contact the RNLI For more information on the charity that saves lives at sea – and to find out how you can support the RNLI’s lifesavers, visit RNLI.org or Tel: 0845 122 6999. www.RNLI.org
Emergency Services Times April 2012
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Fire and rescue services improve their flood response capabilities Fife, Cheshire and Devon and Somerset fire and rescue services have recently invested in training and equipment to respond to flood emergencies. Fife Fire and Rescue Service have carried out an intensive programme of training across the service to ensure an efficient and professional response at any flooding event within Fife. Firefighters at Dunfermline, Kirkcaldy, Lochgelly, Methil, Cupar and St Andrews have received Flood First Response training delivered locally, and all personnel at these stations have been issued with personal issue personal protective equipment (PPE) to ensure that they can perform basic wading rescues, and other related activities within water at major flooding events. Cheshire’s out of county ResQcraft 5000 and kit. Station Manager Tom Fox stated, of a Defra-funded water rescue boat, increasing the “Flooding and other inland water related incidents county’s capability to three craft. are becoming increasingly more common within Wide area flood response within Cheshire is Fife over recent years. We now have firefighters coordinated with the use of multi-agency flood equipped with specialised skills and equipment response plans prepared by the local authorities that enable us to carry out any necessary rescues in under the Civil Contingencies Act (2004). The the most effective and safe manner. plans identified that water rescue capability within “Gone are the days when firefighters have the county was required at two primary locations – responded to flooding incidents dressed in Warrington, on the River Mersey, and Chester, on protective clothing designed only for structural the River Dee. Investment has been made in fires. Our firefighters are now fully trained and training and equipping all operational service equipped to the highest standards, to rescue and personnel in water safety and bank side rescue. support our communities in the event of urban The arrival of the third boat allows for out-offlooding that can have the potential to be county deployments without the loss of any internal dangerous and traumatic.” capability. The boat the service has chosen as ideal for the job is the SIT ResQcraft 5000 inflatable rescue boat, complete with Evinrude E-tec 30 outboard. It is a fully inflatable craft designed to suit the needs of emergency services and rapid response units.
Fife Fire and Rescue Service have carried out an intensive programme of training across the service.
The introduction of flood response is enhanced by the specialised water rescue response already being provided from Glenrothes fire station personnel who can perform swimming rescues, ice and mud rescues, and also a powerboat response if required. This specialist water rescue response is now being delivered by all Scottish fire and rescue services, which are working in partnership to support each other if required at local, regional or national emergencies. Rescue boat Water rescue capability has also been increased for Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service, an active member of the EU Flood Rescue project, Watersave. The service has recently taken delivery
Wide area flood response within Cheshire is coordinated with the use of multi-agency flood response plans prepared by the local authorities under the Civil Contingencies Act (2004). Inflated in three minutes, the external length of the craft is 5.0m with an internal length of 3.9m and width of 2.15m; although Cheshire will be keeping the craft at immediate readiness, transporting it inflated with outboard mounted. Fully equipped, accompanying kit includes: inflatable petrol tanks, searchlights, waterproof
radios, full boat safety kit including flares, Jacob’s Cradle, Eurocraft rescue sled, twopiece stretcher, first aid bags and lifejackets. In addition a Land Rover Discovery 4, liveried and equipped with radio and blue lights, has been procured as the dedicated water rescue vehicle for the Eurocraft 490. This additional outfit will be crewed by a team of 12 personnel dedicated for 24-hour on-call out of county deployment. They are Cheshire’s UK-ISAR team, trained and equipped to be self-sufficient for 48 hours. The successful bid has also provided for a wading response capability of 120 wading suits and 40 wading poles distributed to 10 of Cheshire’s fire stations for response and rescue in high-risk areas of flooding across the county. The boat, ancillaries, vehicle and wading response have been funded by Defra, with Cheshire FRS bearing the cost of initial training and ongoing refresher training, skills maintenance for moving water wading response, water awareness, swift water rescue, RYAII and power boat for rescue. Water training is carried out in Llangollen, North Wales, and provided by the service’s own Operational Training Group. Additionally, all PPE (helmets, drysuits, gloves, undersuits, rescue boots, personal flotation devices, knives, torches and throwlines) have been bought by the service. The service’s other two units, based at Chester and Warrington Fire Stations, close to two of the county’s largest water systems, each comprise a 4x4 vehicle and fully equipped Eurocraft 4.9m rescue boat, rescue sled and inflatable pathway. Knutsford Fire Station’s Rope Rescue team has also received additional water training and is equipped with a rescue sled to enable them to carry out water rescues and provide support to the water rescue units. Future emergencies Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service has taken delivery of a new 585 Ribcraft, which will be used to train its crews to RYA Level 2 Standard. The craft is fitted with a Suzuki DF90 outboard engine chosen for its power to weight ratio as well as fuel efficiency. Over the next six months, the RIB will be used to train the south west-based swift water teams to RYA Level 2 Standard. These teams operate as part of the national flood response force. The new Ribcraft is in addition to the service’s 12m Cat, which operates out of Plymouth. www.fife.gov.uk www.dsfire.gov.uk www.cheshirefire.gov.uk www.ribcraft.co.uk Follow @fifefire
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SARbotUK: the underwater rescue charity SARbotUK teams provide a safe and proven method of underwater rescue and can work alongside the existing water rescue services and charities, which include the fire and rescue service and RNLI, who both provide a surface rescue only service. The UK ambulance service has an active resuscitation policy to ‘carry out resuscitation and transport to hospital all drowning victims who have been underwater for up to 90 minutes’. With around 7001 open water drowning per year in the UK and near drownings estimated at around 10 times more, add to this the number of missing persons in the UK (100,0002) and there is evidently a great need for our service. where these victims ‘end up’. We can then recover their remains thus providing their families with closure.
Of course not all missing persons are water related but a search of the local area in the immediate hours after the person is reported missing may make the difference between a rescue and a recovery. SARbot UK will make a massive difference and save many lives with a unique, safe approach that doesn’t involve putting the lives of rescuers at further risk.
“The SARbot search and rescue teams will be placed on the National Asset Register, which allows all emergency services to mobilise the teams as a resource.” SARbotUK will use trained volunteer technicians from off-duty police, fire and rescue, coastguard and other members of our communities to operate our side scan sonars that have been specifically developed to locate human bodies underwater. Our SARbot pilots will then deploy SARbot (a purposebuilt robotic ROV) to perform the rescue/recovery. All rescues are performed from the safety of the river bank or the deck of the boat. Principle objectives SARbotUK’s principle objectives are the protection and preservation of life, in particular but not exclusively, by providing a team of trained volunteers with the skills to provide a reduced risk underwater search capability with the aim of assisting the emergency services, other statutory agencies and the public. The underwater rescue charity will also undertake research by placing trackers on manikins and placing them in major rivers and coastal points at ‘hot spot’ locations where people have gone missing. By forming partnerships with universities to track the locations over time, we hope to find
Team structure, training and equipment Our teams will comprise 14 volunteers, one team leader, two deputy team leader and 11 technicians. This is based on the model of retained (part time) firefighters to provide a 24/7 response. Strategically positioned around the UK, many lives will be saved. Team members come from all areas of our communities including off duty police, fire and rescue, ambulance and coastguard officers along with shopkeepers, postal workers, unemployed etc. We provide all training, personal protective equipment (PPE) and operational equipment. The teams will operate from community police, fire and coastguard stations subject to local protocols. The teams’ training is comprehensive and comprises: ROV Pilot; Sonar Technician; First Aid; RYA Power Boat Level 2; Water Rescue Boat Operator Level 4; VHF Marine Radio Operator; Water Rescue Technician Defra Module 3; Safety at Sea; and Emergency Services Incident Command. Each team member will also be issued with uniform and personal protective equipment (PPE) appropriate to the role. To support our highly skilled team members the team will have the following equipment: 5.6m RIB and outboard; 4m inflatable and outboard; 6m Quicksilver Pilothouse cabin boat; 2 x Land Rover Discovery or equivalent; Winnebago or equivalent (regional asset); SARbot with Gemini Sonar; Starfish Side Scan Sonar; Edgetech 4125 Side Scan Sonar; and 2 x Honda generators. Coastal or areas with major rivers, eg the River Thames in London, would also benefit from a larger vessel, eg 9.5m Arvor 280 and vLBV with Gemini sonar and Aris acoustic camera. Each team will hold weekly training sessions and take part in quarterly exercises. They are also encouraged to take part in joint training with the emergency services. Short term goal The initial target is to place three SARbot rescue teams: one at the River Thames in central London; one at the River Trent in Nottingham; plus a Specialist National Response Team. We hope to have these teams functional in time for the Olympic and Paralympics Games this summer. These teams and locations have been strategically selected as London and Nottingham are ‘hot spots’ for water incidents and the number of incidents will only increase during the Olympics. The National Response Team will provide the
SARbot Edgetech 4125 Side Scan Sonar.
initial service for families of missing persons by providing a detailed search of waterways (we already have a number of cases waiting), each request for assistance that involves a long-term missing person’s case will be considered by the trustees. Before a response is agreed clarification will be made that the case would benefit from our services by contacting the Head of the Police Missing Persons Team. Mid term goal – 18 months to three years It is our intention to place each group at a strategic location in each county of the United Kingdom, a total of 96 inland search and rescue teams and 50 coastal teams. This will provide the initial national response and allow thousands of rescues to take place with the result of making headway into reducing the number of drownings in the UK by 50 percent. The initial National Strategy will allow a review at year three on the locations of the teams. We anticipate this review to recommend further search and rescue teams to provide a rescue response within the medical rescue window to all areas. The
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trustees and management team reserve the right to constantly review the strategic location of teams and place further teams and resources as necessary. Longer term – five years Within five years we anticipate the number of teams per county to reach 2-3, with coastal units increasing to around 100. The number of rescues made over the previous years will have had a major impact on the number of drownings. The longer term strategy will remain a little fluid as search and rescue teams may be placed where needed as the need arises. This may be earlier than five years.
Response policy The SARbot search and rescue teams will be placed on the National Asset Register, which allows all emergency services to mobilise the teams as a resource. In times of major floods in the UK the teams will respond to areas of need as part of the DEFRA Strategy; all of our teams meet the requirements of the DEFRA Team Typing. Subject to approval of the trustees at the time, the Specialist National Response Team may be mobilised to disaster zones overseas where a need for our services may be beneficial. It is not the policy of the charity to respond to police crime-related incidents. Each request for assistance to search for a missing person will be considered by the trustees and if a response is agreed it will be free of charge to the families of missing persons, before a response is agreed clarification will be made that it is either not considered a crime, it is a long standing case that would benefit from our services or it is in the initial hours of the person being reported missing. Clarification of long-term missing person’s cases will be sought by contacting the Head of the Police Missing Persons Team. Mobilisation may be made to other incident types at the discretion of the trustees.
Summary The success of SARbotUK is dependent upon the support of community and corporate stakeholders. We encourage our stakeholders to become involved in our cause and have a say in the direction and management of SARbotUK. Together we can make a difference. www.sarbot.co.uk 1 2
statistics from the National Water Safety Forum statistics from the Children’s Society
Authors: Duncan Winsbury – CEO, SARbot UK and Hedley Haward – CEO, SARbot UK
Single source solution for emergency services Through its Crewsaver brand, SSD Survitec Service & Distribution designs and supplies the different (SSD), part of the global Survitec types of high performance inshore and Group, is one of the UK’s leading offshore lifejackets and buoyancy aids providers of marine safety equipment. used by today’s rescue crews. Its products are used by the The Ravine Buoyancy Aid is ideal emergency services every day for for providing additional buoyancy in dealing with rescue situations on or rescue situations where a lifejacket is near water. not practical. It is typically worn with a SSD has been supplying equipment dry suit and it is sufficiently to the fire and rescue, police, defence streamlined to allow the rescue crew to and coastal emergency services for swim easily if required. The Ravine many years. It works closely with offers 80N of buoyancy. these organisations to ensure those who face danger are equipped with Light and flexible the right type of safety equipment for Many rescue crews carry the Crewfit the task in hand. Many rescue crews carry the Crewfit 275N lifejacket. A fire resistant version of the Crewfit 275N lifejacket. 275N lifejacket. This is a light and Since 2000, the company has flexible lifejacket that is available in three supplied over 85 percent of all UK fire and rescue been the inspection, servicing and maintenance of variations, all approved to EN399 and PPE services with lifejackets. Central to this service has marine safety equipment as well as the supply of Directive (89/686/EEC). The standard Crewfit ancillary equipment like rope, rigging, rescue lines 275N is available with Hammar automatic and fall arrest gear. The company partners with inflation. The Crewfit 275N Plus version features some of the leading names in the industry to offer an integral sprayhood and lifejacket light. There is associated products like pyrotechnics and PLBs also Crewfit 275N with an integral deck safety (personal location beacons). harness. For more extreme applications, the SOLAS Innovation and product research MED-approved twin chamber Seacrewsader 2010 At the heart of SSD’s philosophy is its focus on 275N lifejacket features two 60g CO2 cylinders that innovation and product research, combined with a commitment to high standards of manufacture and can be activated independently. service. The company is continually developing In addition to lifejackets and buoyancy aids, SSD and bringing new products to market. supplies rescue lines like the Yak Throw Bag in SSD’s Crewsaver Personal Recovery Device 15m, 20m and 25m lengths. These products feature (CPRD) is a flexible, ladder-style device that a weighted bag containing a coiled line. Fitted with enables casualties, conscious or unconscious, to be a waist strap, the bags can be carried hands-free. retrieved from the water quickly in a horizontal SSD operates a European-wide business network position. Designed for use on fast rescue craft, the that spans 21 separate locations and includes 19 FRC Kit is supplied in a robust high-vis valise and liferaft service centres. is compact enough to be stowed in the craft. www.survitec-sd.com The Ravine Buoyancy Aid is ideal for providing additional buoyancy in rescue situations where a lifejacket is not practical.
www.survitecgroup.com
Emergency Services Times April 2012
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Niton999 named UK distributer of Fat Ivan Niton999 has built an excellent reputation for supplying high quality and innovative equipment for the emergency services. It is because of this reputation that Fat Ivan selected Niton999 to be its exclusive UK distributer. The Fat Ivan Folding Door Chock is a simple device that will hold open any standard hinged door. It was created by a US firefighter for use across the emergency services. Deployed with just one hand, the Fat Ivan can be inserted in the hinge to secure the door and give you quick and unrestricted access to a property or room. Because any hinge can be used you don’t need to stretch or bend while you try to wedge open the door with a standard wood block.
Create a clear exit Fat Ivan was originally used by firefighters in the US to prevent doors closing behind them, pinching the water hose and potentially trapping them inside the room. There are also other benefits to being able to leave the doors securely open behind you. If you are trying to escape a building with your equipment and carrying a casualty, trying to get a door open and hold it open while you get out can be difficult and time consuming. The Fat Ivan allows you to create a clear exit as you go. Needless to say that these same benefits have seen Fat Ivan become an essential tool across the emergency service and law enforcement sectors. How much easier would it be for an ambulance crew to carry a stretcher from a house when all the doors are already open for them? Being able to keep exit routes open also means the risk of becoming trapped inside a room with a volatile patient or suspect is significantly reduced – there is no chance of the door accidentally closing or locking behind you. Essential tool The Fat Ivan is small and lightweight (4in x 2in x 1in and 140g), so it can easily be folded up and stored in kit bags or pockets, or even tucked in a
helmet band. It can be used with just one hand even when wearing gloves. Fat Ivans are made from engineered plastic and zinc-plated steel, both components being corrosion resistant. The shape has been designed so it is easy to handle and won’t tear your gear. Fat Ivan has proven itself in the field time and again, and has become an essential tool for firefighters, ambulance crews, police and security services across the world. www.niton999.co.uk
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Illuminated clothing system
the company. HOTCANs also have a total higher calorific value – to help keep your emergency response teams properly fuelled. It’s quick, it’s simple and it’s easy to use. There’s no fiddly packaging or complicated method of activation and there’s no need for a kettle or microwave. The food stays hot for up to 45 minutes meaning you can tuck in straight away or leave it while you do something else.
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perform.” The Fit to Fight Fire Fitness Guide coaches you through simple activities that will allow you to minimise the risks of injuries caused by over extending your body. The Fit to Fight Fire Fitness Guide is available to buy through www.emergencystuff.com (under pocket guides) and Amazon.com (under books by Todd Platner). http://firefitnessxl.com
www.hotcan.com
Emergency services personnel could be kept safer while they work thanks to the launch of a new illuminated clothing system that helps drivers and other people see police, fire and rescue and ambulance staff in the dark. The product, designed, created and patented by Fhoss Technology® Ltd in Somerset, was launched in March. Traditional high visibility reflective tapes work on the principle that they actively collect light and then reflect it back towards the light source. Fhoss Technology® has combined the traditional reflective tape with an electroluminescent core that sits behind the semi-transparent tape and actively emits light. Therefore when light is not available the tape emits light as if it were reflecting it. In order for the tape to work it needs to be powered by a specially developed, mini rechargeable powercell, which is designed to allow 12 hours of constant usage and can be located discreetly in a small pocket on the garment. The Fhoss Technology® product has been carefully manufactured and is approved and certified to the internationally recognised EN471 standard by independent test agencies. www.fhoss.com
Hot meals in a can
Staffordshire-based Heat Food & Drink Ltd has relaunched its HOTCAN self-heating meals in seven new delicious dishes and all at more costeffective prices. HOTCAN is supplied to emergency response, police and defence markets worldwide and provides a solution to contingency feeding in emergency situations (eg fires, accidents, floods and other natural or man-made disasters), especially where catering wagons or catering facilities are not available. Each HOTCAN contains over 400g of nutritious food; typically 25 percent more food than most other self-heating meals, says
Fitness guide
Universal mount
The RAM X-Grip™ range from RAM Mount UK offers a new dimension in quick, easy and reliable mounting solutions. Designed with a one-pinch adjustment system for fast insertion and removal of your device, the arms of the X-Grip™ automatically extend to provide a safe and secure fit for a variety of mobile electronics with or without bumper skins and regardless of dimensions. Available in three sizes, the RAM X-Grip™ range offers an ideal ruggedised solution for mounting anything from mobile phones and satnavs to PDAs, eReaders, 10in tablets and more. www.ram-mount.co.uk
The Fit to Fight Fire Fitness Guide from author Todd Platner has been developed for public safety professionals and offers various exercises and injury-prevention tips geared toward fire fighting. Why are such guides so valuable? Todd Platner, Author, and Lou Jordan, Publisher, offer an explanation, saying, “For one, to ignore your fitness is dangerous to you, your family and also your coworkers, not to mention those you serve. Additionally, we in the emergency services are often the victims of injuries and illnesses that we can avoid by keeping ourselves physically fit. Physical fitness isn’t about lifting the most weight at the gym or being able to compete in a 5K run with the fastest time. It’s about having the ability to expend energy to perform a task without overworking yourself needlessly. It’s about building your strength and endurance. It’s about using proper body mechanics to perform a task with the minimum amount of wear and tear on your body. It’s about building a better-prepared body – and it isn’t a difficult task to
Battery-powered bolt cutters
Unisto, one of the world’s leading providers of high performance security seals, has expanded its range of security solutions with the introduction of a new battery powered hydraulic bolt cutter kit. Designed for the safe and rapid removal of heavy-duty bolt and cable security seals, it meets the needs of the handling and distribution industry in a wide range of cross border and domestic operations. It will also be particularly beneficial to police and Border Agency personnel who are often required to remove high security seals from suspect trailers
Emergency Services Times April 2012
and containers in transit. Unisto’s new battery-powered hydraulic bolt cutter will remove barrier seals that have solid steel bolts and bushes with a tensile strength of greater than 20kN. It provides 35kN (approximately three tonnes) of cutting force at the blade enabling a maximum 12mm steel bolt to be removed in less than 10 seconds. The battery is rechargeable and provides about 200 cuts on a single charge. www.unisto.co.uk
‘Intelligent’ fire suits
VIKING Life-Saving Equipment has introduced vital protective technology to its range of fire suits, enabling them to detect if a firefighter is in increased danger. Every VIKING suit can now be ordered with an option of adding VIKING’s Thermal Sensor Technology (TST), which provides firefighters and those around them with clear warning signals as things heat up. Besides their heat-sensing technology, the suits themselves are designed to be at the forefront of today’s protective fire fighting standards while remaining affordable for the often limited budgets of fire and rescue services around the world. Each features a carefully crafted combination of fabrics and features for optimal protection, durability and freedom. Should an accident nevertheless occur, the TST-equipped suits store data in a ‘black box’ inside the jacket and VIKING is able to extract valuable information to help refine fire fighting practices. All components of VIKING suits equipped with the new technology meet or exceed the current standards for fire fighting equipment. The TST microelectronics themselves are durable and can be washed in a washing machine once the small computer/battery pack has been removed from an inner pocket. Beyond replacing the AA batteries, no further maintenance is required. www.viking-life.com
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KNEE & ELBOW Protection
VEHICLE MOUNTED BOILING WATER SYSTEM
Cold, wet and dehydration can reduce performance and impair safety. By fitting a ‘TeaMate’ water boiler, crews can make themselves a cup of tea, coffee or other hot beverage to keep warm and hydrated, therefore maximising concentration and keeping fatigue to a minimum.
• Compact commercial grade throughout. • Self contained fully automatic. • 24v and 12v models available. • Makes up to 9 mugs per filling. WHISPAIRE LTD Email: info@whispaire.co.uk Web: www.whispaire.co.uk T: + 44 (0)1794 523999 F: + 44 (0)1794 519151
Comprehensive range to suit every application Ergonomic design G Comfortable and secure fit Reliable protection Tough and hard wearing Manufactured to the highest standards from selected quality materials CE marking throughout NATO Stock No: 22c 8415-99-8873869
Gotec Trading Limited Boulton Road Pin Green Stevenage Herts SG1 4QL Telephone 01438 740400 Fax 01438 740005
MAKE IT EASY WITH
HOT PACK™ Self-Heating Nutritious Meals In 12 minutes, you can create a delicious hot meal, with Hot Pack Self Heating Meals, anywhere you need it. Everything is in the pack to produce a satisfying hot meal without using any other equipment. Even cutlery and a dish are included! Choose from seven great tasting, ready to eat recipes: Chicken Casserole, Lancashire Hot Pot, Chicken Dopiaza Curry, Sausages and Beans, Spicy Vegetable Rigatoni, Meatballs & Pasta and Vegetable Curry. Make it easy. Enjoy a HOT PACK™ meal – anywhere! Contact Canland UK Ltd, Wellington House, Lower Icknield Way Longwick, Bucks HP27 9RZ Tel/Fax: 01844 344474 E.mail: info@hotpackmeals.co.uk Web site: www.hotpackmeals.co.uk
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Emergency services adopt military technology for 24/7, all-weather vehicle discrimination All the emergency services are applying lessons from the military and making remote identification and surveillance of vehicles effective in all weathers with advanced vehicle discrimination technology. Airborne surveillance is a highly effective tool for the prevention and detection of crime, and in supplying evidence to support police investigations, but how do you identify emergency services vehicles at night? It is the same challenge that the military have been facing for many years. The first Gulf War saw complex battlefields with almost one million combatants and 10,000 armoured vehicles. In contrast to previous conflicts, the front lines were punctuated with dynamic and rapid advances, which left individual combat units with a muchdegraded awareness of where they were in relation to other coalition forces. In such circumstances, the ability to identify friendly assets is paramount. Modern targeting systems use thermal imagers, in much the same way that police airborne surveillance units do, but when viewed in the thermal infrared everyone looks the same.
How are emergency services taking advantage of the methods used by the military? In explaining, it is helpful to go back to 2006 when a Public Accounts Committee report on Combat ID challenged QinetiQ to produce the next generation of marking materials for use in the thermal infrared. The Stealth Technologies group, experts in ensuring that land, air and naval assets remain undetected, applied their expertise in signature control materials to provide the solution. Four years and several patents later, the Mirage™ family of thermal marking materials had been developed and were put through their paces in Exercise Bold Quest, a coalition combat identification test exercise. Following this assessment, the MoD concluded that, ‘The Mirage™ marked vehicles were consistently the first vehicles identified as ‘friendly’ when compared with alternative marking materials’. What is the relevance of Target ID to the emergency services? When a police traffic car stops a speeding motorist, the officers’ situational awareness is probably quite good. There is one target vehicle, one police vehicle, a limited number of protagonists and the overall situation is relatively easy to assess. Contrast that with a situation where the target vehicle fails to stop. The pursuit is conducted at high tempo, with multiple police vehicles under a much lower level of control, an unknown number of neutral vehicles and much higher risk to everyone
Mirage™ offers 24/7, all weather recognition and identification to enable any vehicle to be tracked day or night with ‘cold-sky reflection’ showing the vehicle as ‘hot’ (white) against the film which remains ‘cold’ (black), producing a high reflectivity contrast to provide a clear, distinctive vehicle marking.
involved. The need to control the situation and bring the vehicle to a safe stop as quickly as possible is paramount. Situational awareness is degraded on the ground due to the number of interacting factors and the dynamic nature of the pursuit. Air Support Units (ASUs) provide a unique and useful perspective, but at nighttime, when thermal imaging is the only way to see the ground scene, their job of improving ground situational awareness becomes almost impossible. Vehicle identification issues The environment in which emergency services vehicles operate is different to battlefield conditions, but similar problems arise and in a variety of circumstances. High tempo operations may be conducted through built-up areas, congested with many ‘neutral’ vehicles or through unpredictable rural environs. Airborne surveillance might be 3-4 kilometres from their observational target or closer during a disturbance. Whatever the case, the importance of tracking your own ‘friendly’ vehicles is vital.
“Making emergency services vehicles immediately identifiable to all infrared surveillance imagers increases protection and decreases risk.” It is not just police vehicles that require instant identification. There is the ‘Trojan threat’ where an emergency services vehicle is disguised for the purposes of terrorism, attempting to breach security. When situational awareness is degraded by an evolving incident, it becomes increasingly difficult to confirm the identity of every vehicle or person in the
vicinity. Making emergency services vehicles immediately identifiable to all infrared surveillance imagers increases protection and decreases risk. How did this technology become recommended for use on all UK police vehicles by the Home Office Scientific Development Branch (HOSDB)? With standard markings, there is no way to tell the difference between an emergency services vehicle and any other vehicle when viewed by an Air Support Unit (ASU) using an infrared thermal imager because standard vehicle markings cannot be seen when viewed through a thermal camera. The apparent temperature of the markings is the same as the vehicle, giving no contrast to make them stand out. Mirage™ offers 24/7, all-weather recognition and identification to enable any vehicle to be tracked day or night with ‘cold-sky reflection’ showing the vehicle as ‘hot’ (white) against the film, which remains ‘cold’ (black), producing a high reflectivity contrast to provide a clear, distinctive vehicle marking.
The Mirage™ patented technology can be used in combination with conventional vinyl or reflective roof marking film (which does not show up on infrared imaging) and requires no power or vehicle modifications. It comes in a variety of colours and is compliant with both the HOSDB’s 14-04 High Conspicuity for Livery for Police Vehicles publication and the HOSDB’s 43-04 publication specifies appropriate roof markings and details the installation. There is a recommendation that new markings are applied to vehicles as the fleet is updated. If your vehicles are not already using Mirage™ thermal vehicle marking film then you can request it to ensure compliance with these two standards. Since Mirage™ was designed for military use, it is tightly controlled for reasons of operational security and only verified organisations have access to it, but QinetiQ would be pleased to provide more details and is able to provide demonstrations on request. www.QinetiQ.com
Please contact QinetiQ on Tel: +44 (0)8700 100942 or e-mail: mirage@QinetiQ.com
Emergency Services Times April 2012
Author: Dr Adam Shohet, Mirage Business Development Lead.