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The Firelink project has been set up to replace radio technology used by Fire and Rescue Services in England, Scotland and Wales. It aims to improve communications between a response team and the Control Room during and after an incident and also to support communications with other emergency services.

  What are the aims of Firelink?

• To make radio communications between the Fire Service, Police and Ambulance Service easier;
• To improve operational resilience through the provision of a new radio system and interlinking control rooms (the FiReControl project);
• Provide in England and Wales the communication link for the New Dimensions vehicles including high volume pumps.

Firelink is sponsored by Communities and Local Government, the Scottish Executive and the Welsh Assembly. After the attacks on the United States in September 2001, a review took place of the communications within and between our emergency services. In 2002, Firelink was set up to provide the first single wide communications system for Fire and Rescue Services across Great Britain.

The new system will be rolled out to the 46 fire and rescue services in England, eight in Scotland, three in Wales and two fire colleges. It will enable fire vehicles to work beyond their area and still communicate easily with other emergency services and the Control Room. It allows better voice quality and improved security and provides a greater capability for the emergency services to work together.

The Firelink project will deliver for England, Scotland and Wales:

• A radio network and regional switching sites (similar to telephone exchanges);
• Installation of radio, Mobile Data Terminal (MDT), and global positioning receiver in fire and rescue service appliances (including New Dimension vehicles);
• Installation of a radio, MDT and global positioning receiver in Officers' cars

For Scotland and Wales, the Firelink project will additionally deliver:

• Integration of Firelink control room equipment with legacy mobilising systems and Incident Command and Control Systems (ICCS)

For England only, the Firelink project will also deliver:

• Interim installations to existing control rooms to enable the fitting of Firelink for voice communications into vehicles prior to FiReControl rollout
• The link to nine new FiReControl Regional Control Centres - fixed radio communications installation to enable voice and data exchange with appliances or Officer cars.

What are the benefits of Firelink

• Resilience - the benefits associated with the reduction in the impact of failures and increased levels of security and integrity;
• Modernisation - extending the effectiveness of existing systems and supporting the modernisation agenda;
• Improved performance - benefits derived from increasing the efficiency of fire and rescue communication services while maintaining or improving service quality;
• Command and Control - enabling FiReControl and New Dimensions to improve the effectiveness of Control Rooms.

Who is working on the project?

• Communities and Local Government - www.communities.gov.uk
• Scottish Executive - www.scotland.gov.uk
• Welsh Assembly Government - www.wales.gov.uk
• 57 Fire and Rescue Services in England, Scotland and Wales
• Fire colleges - www.fireservicecollege.ac.uk
• Chief Fire Officers Association - www.cfoa.org.uk
• Convention of Scottish Local Authorities - www.cosla.gov.uk
• Fire Officers Association - www.fireofficers.org.uk
• Fire Brigades Union - www.fbu.org.uk
• Local Government Association - www.lga.gov.uk
• Retained Firefighter's Union - www.rfuonline.co.uk
• Welsh Local Government Association - www.wlga.gov.uk

When will the project be completed?
For the purposes of rolling out Firelink, Fire and Rescue Services have been grouped into regions: England is split into nine regions broadly reflecting the Government Office boundaries; Scotland and Wales are each being treated as individual regions.

Rollout will be delivered on a phased basis across these regions. The order was developed following consultation with the Fire and Rescue Service and, in England, coordination with the FiReControl project. For more details about the phases of the rollout or the Firelink project please visit www.frsonline.gov.uk.

Last update: 13/06/2011 09:12:00