Fire Services To Share IT Services

16 July 2013, 12:31 | Updated: 30 March 2016, 13:50

Plans for Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service to work with several other counties could mean some of our calls are answered as far away as Devon and Somerset.

The two services, as well as Dorset's and Wiltshire's, have also joined forces to form the Networked Fire Control Services Partnership (NFCSP), and an eight year contract has now been signed with Capita's communications and control solutions business to provide a new control and communications system.

Dave Curry, chair of the NFCSP Strategic Board said,

"Because all four fire and rescue services will have the same Capita technology in their Control centres, it will give us far greater resilience.

"If one service is under pressure for whatever reason, one of the others will be able to provide full support.  This integrated system will allow us to work together even more effectively than we do at the moment and that can only be good for public and firefighter safety.

"This is very much 'one system, many opportunities'  We will have the ability to work together when we need to, we will be able to train together and many of our processes will be simplified.

"The fire and rescue service nationally has been challenged to face the future and find better ways of working - we are confident that this project will achieve the efficiences and economies that Government is demanding of us."

Capita was chosen as the system supplier following a thorough procurement process and is able to provide a system that meets the partnership's requirements most comprehensively.

The cost of the contract are being met from central Government funding.

George Goodliman, managing director of Capita's communications and control solutions business said:

"The solution that we are providing to the NFCSP is the latest in control and command technology.

"This system isn't just confined to the four walls of the Control centre - it's about providing technology that fire and rescue workers rely upon when responding to calls.  Information flowing back into the Control centre is just as important as information received by fire crews on their way to incidents."