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New high-tech vehicles for Englands Fire and Rescue Services
Fire Minister Parmjit Dhanda has handed over the first of nine state-of-the-art co-ordination and communications vehicles for use in major emergencies by England's Fire and Rescue Service.
The nine Enhanced Command Support (ECS) vehicles will be strategically located around England and mobilised to regional or national scale emergencies when some 300 specialist appliances would need co-ordinating. Each vehicle will provide a variety of communications systems so that should one fail other options remain available.
The ECS vehicles are the last part of the Government's investment of over £200million in New Dimension specialist equipment and their roll-out will be completed by the end of 2008.
Fire Minister Dhanda said: "The Fire and Rescue Service has never been so well equipped and trained as it is today to deal with the many different types of emergencies. These vehicles will mean that command and control of large numbers of these resources at major incidents will be more effectively managed."
The communications systems on board the ECS vehicles include satellite phones, UHF, VHF, marine band and secure digital radio systems and mobile phone networks.
The vehicles will also have computers and Wifi internet access laptops, with the capability to display information and data from multiple applications, geographical information systems, situation awareness software, as well as standard office computer software. The vehicles will also be equipped with a television.
The first ECS vehicle was handed over to Gloucester FRS and although a national resource the vehicles will be hosted by the following Fire and Rescue Services: Cumbria, Devon and Somerset, Gloucestershire, Hampshire, Hereford and Worcester, Kent, North Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire and Suffolk.
