This year's Fire & Rescue Congress will take place on May 25 at ORT House Conference Centre, London, hosted by FIRE.   

 

Key Speakers: 

• Michael Wright Director, Green Street Berman 

• Olaf Barrs Deputy Chief Fire Officer, Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service 

• Jon Hall Chief Fire Officer, Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service 

• Chair: Peter Dartford Chief Fire Officer/Chief Executive, Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service 

 

The conference will help set out the issues faced by fire and rescue services following the closure of the regional control centre project (RCC). Many fire and rescue services are now faced with the urgent task of replacing old systems that were retained in anticipation of the RCC.  

The requirements for systems still exist and the conference will provide an overview of those needs, an analysis of the new operating context, and help set the parameters for new systems. The RCoCC will help identify the lessons learnt in trying to implement a national solution and review existing areas of recognised good practice, including shared services and tri-service models. Non-fire and rescue service providers of emergency response control systems will help identify additional options and provide an alternative view of how control systems may be managed. 

 

About the Conference   

The demise of the regional control centre (RCC) has left the fire and rescue services with a void that will need to be filled over the next five years or so. Many services had expected this void to be filled by the regional solution and now find themselves with redundant or semi-redundant systems that require replacing. The delivery of a cost-effective method of call-handling and response dispatch remains at the heart of any emergency service, and in the current economic environment, solutions will be sought that meet user requirements within contracting budgets.  

There are many lessons to be learned in this vital sector of the Fire and Rescue Service. These include how an eminently sensible approach to an efficient control system can be frustrated through a lack of clarity of expectations and appreciation of user requirements. There are also examples of good practice and systems and concepts that should enable the Service to move through this difficult period to provide a better service for the community. The threats to the community from terrorism and climate change have not diminished, and the ability to respond to events provides communities and individuals with a reassurance they deserve. The 2012 Olympics around the corner will serve to focus minds on the effectiveness of response of the Service.  

This conference will look at the lessons that can be learned from the aborted procurement of the regional fire controls, look for examples of best practice in call and dispatch practices, seek ideas from industry experts in developing a robust and resilient emergency response control for the 21st-century, and build on the best available technology today. 

 

Aims of the Conference   

The objective of the conference is to allow strategic managers, industry providers and sector specialists to review past initiatives to modernise and upgrade control systems with a view to making best use of future command and control systems for fire and rescue services. Further, the conference aims: 

• To review previous initiatives to improve command control mobilisation systems and identify lessons learned 

•To undertake a strategic review of the modern context in which foreign rescue services operate and specifically modern pressures 

•To assess the cost-effectiveness of various models of control systems and their application to the modern Fire and Rescue Service 

• To identify effective existing models of control systems from other sectors and their potential applicability to the UK Fire and Rescue Service 

•To examine alternative models of control systems for the future including shared command and control systems, tri-service systems and resilient controls 

•To explore the potential for merger of fire controls and their associated difficulties in implementation 

•To assess the impact of terrorism and major events on control systems. 

 

Who Should Attend?   

• Senior fire, police and ambulance officers 

•Local authority councillors 

•Civil servants from the Home Office, Communities and Local Government, Health and Crime and Justice  

•Chief executives and system developers from command and control system providers. 


Conference Programme   

 

10.00am Registration and refreshments 

 

10.30am Chair's welcome and introduction 

Chair: Peter Dartford Chief Fire Officer/Chief Executive, Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service 

 

10.35am Keynote session Fire control: lessons identified, lessons learned? 

•Has the requirement for larger controls changed? 

•What went wrong with the RCC (Regional Control Centre) projects? 

•What lessons can be learned by the Service for future fire control projects? 

Olaf Barrs Deputy Chief Fire Officer, Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service 

11.05am Merging services 

•Outline the options open to services for merging services 

•Reviewing the cost effectiveness of various merger models 

•Optimising resources in the post RCC world 

Michael Wright Director, Green Street Berman 

11.35am Refreshments 

 

12.00pm Making the best use of technology: the way ahead 

•Making best use of current technology and extending operating life 

•What systems and ideas will become available within the next ten years 

•Managing the changeover between redundant technology and new systems 

John Stannett, Business Development Manager, Remsdaq 

12.30pm Lunch 

 

1.15pm Afternoon chair's welcome and introduction 

Afternoon chair: Jon Hall Chief Fire Officer, Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service 

1.20pm The management of fire cover during major events 

•Managing fire cover during major events 

•Olympics 2012 

•The terrorist threat  

Speaker to be confirmed  

 

1.50pm Current alternative models of fire control  

A review of existing alternative models of fire control including: 

•A joint control model 

•Merging controls  

•A tri-service model of control - Horizontal integration of function 

Jon Hall Chief Fire Officer, Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service 

2.30pm Refreshments  

 

2.45pm The way ahead: the debate 

Chair: Peter Dartford Chief Fire Officer/Chief Executive, Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service 

A) A service preferred option  

B) An alternative view: the resilience model of fire control  

 

Delegate debate 

3.45pm Panel and delegate discussion 

•Lessons identified 

•Emerging threats and risks 

•A way ahead? 

4.00pm Chair's summary of the day and conference close 

 

Chair: Peter Dartford Chief Fire Officer/Chief Executive, Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service