Fire services embrances technology

The Surface Go devices allow them to view information about specific vehicles as they are travelling to a crash.

It means when they get to the scene of the incident, they can tell firefighters the best places to cut vehicles to free trapped passengers and how to disable undeployed airbags to avoid injury. They can also see live information about the incident, which can be shared instantly with colleagues.

Microsoft’s technology will be used alongside the Mobile Data Terminals found in all Fire Appliances, which allow firefighters to stay in contact with their control centre but can’t be removed from the vehicle.

Chris Davies, Chief Fire Officer at Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service, said: “By using Surface Go, our Officers can now see all the safety features of a vehicle involved in an accident, wherever they are. This gives Firefighters more information about the situation as they safely extricate casualties.

“The use of real-time data and Power BI has transformed what we do. Whether that’s information from an emergency or a live feed from a drone searching for someone injured on a mountain, information allows our staff to understand situations in more detail.

“Technology is also helping us with more straightforward activities, such as using Teams to hold training sessions for Firefighters across Wales rather than them spend up to six hours travelling to a session.”

For the future Mr Davies says he wants to use Microsoft HoloLens to create life-sized holograms of some of the buildings in mid and west Wales, which Firefighters can look at and interact with during training at their station or on the way to an emergency. This will allow them to understand potential risks, identify safe routes through those buildings, and learn the location of hydrants and sprinklers.

“I firmly believe this is going to change the way that we train and maintain the competencies of our Firefighters."

Chris Perkins, General Manager of Public Sector at Microsoft UK, said: “There has never been a more important time for companies and organisations to use technology that helps staff collaborate, communicate and gain insight into the world around them. This is even more critical when those people are employed by our vital public services, which work tirelessly to keep us all safe and well.

“Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service is adopting technology at scale, allowing firefighters and officers to create a network of information that can be shared and acted upon. It is a fantastic example of how placing cutting-edge technology in the hands of skilled people can lead to ground breaking solutions.”