Excelerate is Gold at World Rescue Wales 2008

31/07/2008

‘World Rescue Wales’ has just taken place, hosted by South Wales Fire and Rescue Service at Cardiff International Arena. In support of this prestigious and challenging fire fighting event, Excelerate Technology participated as a gold sponsor.

This high profile competition attracted hundreds of fire fighters from across the globe not only hoping to take the title for the best ‘extrication’ team when dealing with serious traffic incidents, but also to demonstrate and learn from one another in order to provide a more effective response and service for the future. 

Excelerate demonstrated the effectiveness of the products and solutions it provides within the emergency services by streaming via multiple solutions the activities and demonstrations that took place at the ‘out of the Blue’ event at Bute Park, near Cardiff Castle. This enabled the USAR team to deliver high quality video, in real time via Excelerate’s body worn camera solution from a building collapse. These images were then transmitted back to Royal Berkshire fire and Rescue services Rapid Response unit where the images could be viewed and also transmitted to the 10’ screens within the park. In addition Excelerate were also able to stream the entire event using Royal Berkshire Fire and rescue’s dual thermal, mast mounted camera and its rapid deployable COFDM camera via Excelerate’s website.

South Wales Fire and Rescue service also demonstrated the demand for satellite communications on board Command and Control units. Using Excelerate’s Satellite VPN Solution to access and transmit information onsite at Bute Park, which enabled them to manage their fire station away from HQ. South Wales Fire and Rescue Service stressed the value of the vehicle as a means to stay fully operational during a mission-critical situation should conventional means of communication fail. To highlight this point, David Savage, CEO of Excelerate was invited by the University of Glamorgan and South Wales Fire and Rescue to speak at the ‘Dealing with Disasters’ Conference about the advances in satellite communication systems and how important and effective it is within the management of incidents.

World Rescue Wales showcased the work of fire fighters from around the world and served as a forum for rescue response and best practice. Visitors were able to view a non-stop series of crash rescues at the CIA. They witnessed medical rescuers tackling some of the most realistic accident scenarios imaginable as well as urban search and rescue demonstrations involving a collapsed block of flats. There was also the spectacle of the UK’s fittest rescuer competition, which attracted considerable spectator interest.