Posted On Thursday, June 30, 2011
View / Download PDF
West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service is using satellite broadband and wireless video to transform the way it manages communications at incidents, from the command unit through to its own satellite-enabled command room. On a recent training and testing exercise we looked at how the service is deploying these cutting edge technologies for improved incident management.
‘Our existing Command Unit was coming to the end of its serviceable life. Alongside this, West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service identified a need to improve the information flows between the incident ground and the command unit. It is well recognised that sound command decisions rely on relevant, accurate information reaching the incident commander in a timely manner. To assist us with the delivery of this project, a fundamental review of our command support facilities was carried out; we also considered the lessons learned from recent major incidents such as Buncefield, the 7/7 bombings and the 2007 floods. The outcomes of our review led to the development of a concept of operations; how we wanted our new vehicle and systems to be used.’
These are the words of Nick Smith, Group Manager Operations for West Yorkshire FRS and project manager for the service’s Command Support Project, one of the UK’s most advanced uses of satellite broadband and wireless video in support of joined up fire and multi-agency incident management.
Because the project he is describing embraces not just a satellite broadband and wireless video-enabled mobile command unit, but also a fully satellite-enabled command room, senior West Yorkshire FRS commanders will soon be able to view sector and incident imagery direct into Gold command based in the command room, via the command unit acting as Silver.
‘With Excelerate supplying the technology for the Command Unit,’ says Station Manager Colin Oxley, Command Development Officer for West Yorkshire FRS, ‘it was, as far as we were concerned, essential to have the same kind of technology in our Command Room.
‘Working with Excelerate,’ says Nick Smith ‘helped to provide some of the solutions to the business requirements we had identified.
‘We have fitted out the Command Room with similar technology to that which is on the Command Unit,’ says Colin Oxley. ‘This includes large monitors to display our command software and live incident video streaming from the command unit via the satellite. We also have a satellite ground station in our training centre providing us with a fully resilient solution. There are also facilities in place to manage multi-agency attendance if required. The infrastructure is in place and the technology is in place; we are just going through final testing before we go live.’
In the UK a number of fire and rescue services are taking pioneering roles in adopting, testing and using the latest satellite broadband, wireless video and associated communications technologies to improve the effectiveness of incident command. West Yorkshire Fire Service is one such service (Royal Berkshire FRS is another, and this service’s activities will be profiled in a future issue. Strathclyde Fire and Rescue has also been an active and long-standing user). Both services are long standing Excelerate clients.
The use of mobile satellite broadband, wireless imagery and interoperable communications to support improved emergency management has been steadily gaining greater understanding and acceptance throughout UK fire services (as well as other emergency services, especially the ambulance service with its HART programme). The reason is quite simple: the use of these technologies supports massive improvements in the delivery of real-time incident information, supporting faster and better informed command decision making.
While the use of these advanced technologies is still at an ‘early adopter’ stage, in some areas, services such as West Yorkshire FRS, Royal Berkshire FRS and Strathclyde FRS are now rapidly becoming ‘advanced users’. Having equipped their command units and other vehicles with cutting edge technologies, and trained both their specialist staff and incident commanders to understand their hugely powerful capabilities, these services are now taking a leading role in exploring just how far they can be pushed to deliver improved command performance.
Ironically, what they are doing is not hugely complicated. One myth surrounding the use by emergency services of new incident command technologies, such as satellite broadband and wireless video, is that because these technologies are highly sophisticated they must also be complex and difficult to use. The opposite has in fact proved to be the case, as a growing number of fire and other emergency services have discovered.
While satellite broadband, wireless video, interoperable communications and advanced emergency management systems, are very powerful technologies, one of the key benefits delivered by an experienced systems integrator, such as Excelerate Technology, is the fact that their advanced communications solutions have been supplied with intuitive, easy-to-use functionality and interfaces. This has been one of the company’s key priorities in all the many installations it has undertaken.
Clear, logical, user-oriented interfaces remove major potential barriers to widespread adoption and usage. The solutions have been designed to allow command support staff to deliver improved communications and management of resources across incident grounds in a straightforward way, no matter how complex and high-pressure the incident may be. Fire personnel used to pointing and clicking on everyday computers find that the interfaces supplied with these new technologies are easy to master, and they are supported by regular training, exercising and technical support provided by both Excelerate Technology and West Yorkshire FRS.
In West Yorkshire’s case: ‘We have three stations that are trained to operate the vehicle’s equipment as well as a trained cadre of 16 officers who manage the command support function at incidents. It is their responsibility to provide a consistent working environment for the Incident Commander to operate within. Due to the time-critical nature of our business, we insisted on a turnkey solution, enabling us to deploy and operate the vehicle and its technology quickly; it needed to be simple and reliable. To support the vehicle’s implementation we had a number of awareness sessions, exercises, and Continuous Professional Development sessions for senior officers,’ says Nick Smith.
We also deploy firefighters to act as support officers to the sector commanders. In the near future they will use MESH-enabled wireless Toughbooks, populating the command software with data, carrying out risk assessments and accessing service databases.
Mick Davis is a Station Commander with West Yorkshire FRS and the service’s lead Command Support Officer. ‘We operate the vehicle with four firefighters, and a Watch Manager or a Crew Manager who oversee the communication flows. We also have a Command Support Officer who manages the unit.
‘The Command Unit provides a central location which enables us to bring together our partner agencies. We have equipment on there which allows the Incident Commander to view live video images which are downloaded from West Yorkshire’s police helicopter. Our mapping system allows us to view areas where flooding is known to have occurred in the past; we can also place flood predictions on to the mapping layer. On the outside of the unit we can display a briefing screen, under a canopy area.
‘The resilient internet connection provided by satellite broadband enables us to access our back-office databases whether this be for personnel details or fire protection information. We can click on a symbol on the mapping and obtain building risk information. We can access all our fire safety archive files, we can bring up a history on buildings, and any notices that might be in force. We have overlays for hydrants, overlays for areas that are known for flooding, and measuring tools, so we can measure lengths of hose. We can put cordons on it, then print that off and give it to the police officers present. Although behind the covers there is a myriad of computers, equipment and servers, the user interfaces are straightforward to use.
‘During incidents we invite our senior partners from other organisations on to the command unit and we share information with them to formulate the tactical plan; if necessary we have the facility for them to access their systems through our technology. We work closely with the Yorkshire Ambulance Service HART team. The technology on our vehicles is very similar and this provides an opportunity to improve interoperability in the future.
‘In terms of exercising, the vehicle was deployed locally during Exercise Watermark, the national multi-agency wide area flooding exercise that took place in March this year. Since its introduction it has attended a number of multi-pump incidents; the outcomes of which have helped us fine tune our operating procedures
‘The quantum leap improvement has been the ability to obtain current and live information in the Command Unit. The facility to view remotely what is going on around the incident ground will never replace walking around an incident, but it is reassuring when you are in the Command Unit, making tactical decisions, to have an overview, on a large screen, of an area of concern, especially when managing a large area incident or where the Command Unit is remote from the scene of operation.
‘Visual imagery supplements voice communications. For example, at a recent 20-pump incident in Leeds, a Sector Commander was able to improve the effectiveness of the firefighting jets. The Operations Commander, who was in the Command Unit, panned the camera onto the area in question, and they were then able to make a joint decision about where best to place the jets.
To date the new Command Unit has had a high level of operational activity, and when it is not at incidents it is used regularly for training and exercising. There is still much work to be done before the final, end-to-end solution is achieved. Our next steps are to introduce a MESH network, which will be the bearer for our Command Software which we are currently developing through our partnership with Excelerate.
View / Download PDF
Back To News