Firefighters embrace mobile technology

Undertaking fire risk assessments in homes across the Tyne and Wear area was proving a painstaking task, which required a significant commitment of time – a scarce resource for any firefighter. To address this issue the Fire and Rescue Service identified the need for a robust mobile data management application to improve the mobile effectiveness of firefighters.

The background

Established in 1974, Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service serves a population of 1.08 million. Situated in the North East of England, the population density of the area is comparable to that of other Metropolitan areas and accounts for 43% of the North East’s population.

With 17 stations spanning an area of 540 square kilometres, the service works closely with all communities to improve people’s safety in work, domestic and social environments. Their mission is to save life, provide humanitarian services and protect the environment, however the service is equally focused on prevention. For when it comes to fire safety, prevention is definitely better than cure. As such today’s firefighters do much more than simply extinguish fires, they are also responsible for a wide range of prevention work. The firefighters at Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service proactively endorse this approach and to achieve this are successfully exploiting the benefits that modern technology offers.

The challenge

Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service pioneers many community safety initiatives to prevent the occurrence of fires. It is fully committed to achieving its vision of ‘Creating the Safest Community‘ by reducing the risk of fire in domestic premises, and one of the ways that the service achieves this is through Home Fire Risk Assessments (HFRA). A regulatory requirement of all Fire and Rescue services across the UK, Home Fire Risk Assessments require firefighters to visit the homes of people who are at the greatest risk from fire in order to complete a thorough assessment of the property. This potentially life-saving process sees firefighters complete an assessment on the areas of the home where fire safety concerns may exist. Once the risk assessment form is completed firefighters then offer simple safety advice tailored to an individual’s needs. Historically this process involved the completion of a two-page questionnaire for each household.

The firefighters themselves were then responsible for rekeying the data into an SQL database, as Andy Robinson, GIS Development Officer for Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service explains. “In order to complete HFRAs our firefighters undertook quite an onerous task. Firstly the paper form was completed during the assessment within the homes, and then upon returning to the station, the information was manually inputted into our computer system – resulting in the duplication of data recording.” Recognising the laborious task that this method created, Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service sought a solution to facilitate a more streamlined process.

Andy continues, “With approximately 80 assessments completed per station per month, this was an area identified as needing significant improvement in its approach. We wanted a solution that would save our firefighters time, cut the duplication of data recording, and at the same time, be straightforward enough for our firefighters to master quickly.”

The solution

Having researched various software toolsets for developing mobile data management applications, Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service noticed that one product stood out against the rest – Integral mForms®. As a sophisticated platform that enables specific mobile applications to synchronise with multiple databases, Integral mForms® offers the power, flexibility and speed required to computer enable their mobile workforce. The short window for development was one of the key decision points for Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service. Deployed quickly and easily by people with no specialist programming skills, the solution is now deployed within the service by over 500 firefighters across the entire area.

For some firefighters, using mobile technology did not come naturally, however after carefully planned training the solution has been adopted. “The firefighters now take a PDA containing Integral mForms® on the visits, complete the survey of the house and record it on the device. When they return to the station, they simply place the handset onto the cradle which automatically transfers the information to the database,” explains Andy.

The benefits

The implementation of Integral mForms® has led to the fire service providing a more efficient HFRA service through securing both time and cost-savings. The response received from the firefighters following implementation is mixed due to initial technical teething problems but the benefits are slowly being realised. “Prior to implementation, it would take around 10 minutes to enter the data from just one form. Now the same information is completed in just seconds, and furthermore, through reducing duplication, the quality of information is much improved,” comments Andy. Through the application of this solution, Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service are able to free up valuable time to focus on what they do best – saving lives and preventing risk. Andy continues, “The time previously spent inputting data has now been reallocated to other important duties, for instance, checking the fire equipment.” From an audit point of view, Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service can now accurately monitor data on a monthly basis and set targets accordingly.

Looking forward

Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service has since established a focus group which includes firefighters from stations across the region that use Integral mForms®. As Andy concludes, “The focus group was initiated in response to the feedback from our firefighters. As our firefighters became more familiar with the solution they wanted to become more involved, and as such were keen to take part in its future development.” As it has successfully streamlined working practices for the fire service, firefighters are keen to drive the solution forward to the next stage. As a direct result of the focus groups, and taking advantage of the speed and ease of designing or adapting applications inherent in Integral mForms®, the Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service aim to extend usage for ad-hoc information