Fife Fire and Rescue Service has unveiled its new major incident command unit (ICU) as part of an investment of more than £5m in new state-of-the-art rescue equipment and facilities.  Developed in partnership with coachbuilder Cebotec and technology supplier Excelerate Technology, this new vehicle will play a major role in improving the management of major incidents and achieving interoperability with other emergency services.

According to Fergus Ewing MSP, Scottish Government Minister for Community Safety, who attended the launch on 28th July at Fife Fire and Rescue’s administrative headquarters in Thornton:  “Our fire and rescue services play a vital role in building a safe and strong Scotland.  This is an excellent example of Fife ensuring its firefighters have the skills and equipment that really matter on the front line.  The Scottish Government provides over £24m capital funding each year to support Scotland’s fire and rescue services and it is clear that Fife is using their funding in an effective and focused way.”

This is the first such command unit to roll off the production line as a result of the Scottish Executive’s new funding programme for communications technologies.  It will be deployed at major incidents throughout the region.

Alan Robertson, Group Manager - Communications at Fife Fire and Rescue Service commended both suppliers:  “Both Cebotec and Excelerate Technology played an active role throughout the specification, development and manufacturing phases of this project.  The contributions that were made at the regular project build meetings helped to refine the specification to ensure that the vehicle would be finished to the highest quality standards with the capability to deliver the highest level of operational capability.”

“As Scotland’s leading provider of high quality bespoke coachbuilt vehicles, Cebotec was a natural choice for this project,” commented David Lapsley, Managing Director of Cebotec.  “Our track record of successful deployments for the emergency services, including a major ICU for Strathclyde Fire and Rescue Service that was delivered in 2006, as well as our ability to provide the highest level of local support and backup to meet the operational requirements of Scotland’s Fire and Rescue Services were key factors in winning this important contract.”

The new ICU is based on a Mercedes 7.5 ton Atego chassis and has been equipped with a rapidly deployable roof mounted 98cm satellite dish that provides a resilient stand-alone broadband connection for high-speed data, voice and video communications.  The unit contains two main areas – a communications suite and a meeting room designed for operational briefings.

The communications suite at the front of the vehicle has a comprehensive range of technologies to improve the management of major incidents.   Four ruggedised PC terminals are installed to enable STEPS (Strategic Emergency Planning Software), GIS, email, instant messaging and other specialised applications to be run.  The satellite links ensure that all such applications are current in real-time to ensure that vital operational decisions can be made using the latest, up to date information.  They also enable video streams to be viewed by incident commanders on the scene as well as being transmitted to authorised personnel at other locations.  In addition, to complement the existing VHF and UHF radio communications equipment, VoIP handsets have been installed enabling calls to be seamlessly connected with Fife Fire and Rescue Service’s HQ.

The separate meeting room has seating for up to 12 people and a wall mounted 42” plasma screen that can be used for operational briefings.  An additional screen is mounted externally within a separate compartment enabling larger scale briefings to be conducted.  The vehicle is also equipped with skydomes, external lighting and a reliable power generator.

According to David Savage, CEO of Excelerate Technology, the UK’s leading supplier of satellite and wireless-based data, voice and video solutions to the emergency services:  “We are pleased to have been so involved in this project which will make such an important contribution towards improving the management of major incidents.  This new ICU will enable Fife Fire and Rescue Service to meet its responsibilities under the Civil Contingencies Act and achieve interoperability with other emergency responders.”