Capita to provide Welsh fire and rescue control centre

16 July 2015 Consultancy.uk

Capita has won the contract to deliver a command and control platform to the Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service and the South Wales Fire and Rescue Service in Wales. The platform provides real-time information to emergency response units in the area of an emergency. The service will see the two organisations form a command and control centre in the South Wales Police in Bridgend.

The Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service (MAWWFRS) and the South Wales Fire and Rescue Service (SWFRS) are equipped to deal with a wide range of emergency services across Wales, including fires, car accidents, search and rescue, as well as environmental protection. Yet like any organisation that deploys units into unstable environment, an overview, communications and planning system is of critical importance to a successful delivery of service.

To assist the Services with such a system, Capita’s Communication and Control Solutions has been hired. The consulting firm will provide the organisations with its VISION Command and Control software. A new command centre will be deployed for the service at the South Wales Police (SWP) Headquarters in Bridgend, where MAWWFRS and SWFRS will be merged and join the SWP at the new location.

Capita to provide MAWWFRS and SWFRS control centre

VISION Command and Control
The command and control software provide staff with an appropriate response to emergencies, which includes automatically locating and alerting emergency resources to a threat, through bells and printers on fire stations or on-call devices for on call fire-fighters and officers. The service will provide command staff with an overview of the situation, including the GPS location of the emergency plotted onto a detailed map, as well as information about road network leading to the location and potential deviations in landmark names, among other services.

Commenting on the deal, Chris Davies, MAWWFRS Chief Fire Officer, says: “This new control room software also provides improved functionality and efficiency from the current systems in use, and will allow control room teams to effectively manage fire emergency calls across South Wales Fire and Rescue and Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service areas.”

Paul Eggleton, Managing Director of Capita Communication and Control Solutions, adds: “The work to deploy VISION will offer the authorities some new opportunities for greater co-operation between agencies which in turn will help to improve the response and service provided to the public and communities of Mid and South Wales”