Bedfordshire Fire & Rescue Service - Experts & Thought Leaders

The Fire and Rescue Services of Essex and Bedfordshire awarded Frequentis the contract for providing its latest version of its 3020 Integrated Communications Control System (ICCS) for their new joint control rooms project. Essex has been using Frequentis solutions for some seven years. A new collaborative control center in a brand new facility will be established. This contract when completed will enable the combined team of Essex and Bedfordshire FRS to have one of the pioneer and highly reliable integrated communication systems available, comparable with technology used for Air Traffic Management and Defense. The Frequentis technology is designed to place their critical emergency communications into the next decade. 3020 ICCS platform The advantage of the Frequentis 3020 ICCS platform is the focus on the Operational User. Frequentis invest heavily in the Control Center Operator experience without compromise. It’s practical approach has always been to engage with this community and provides one of the most flexible HMI (Human Machine Interface) systems available. The HMI design enables existing operational/business processes to be maintained, allowing a seamless and cost-effective transition where business improvements and changes occur. All this operating on one of the most reliable and resilient platforms available that has its DNA in Air Traffic Control. Reliability During the last seven years our Frequentis system has been 100 per cent reliable Assistant Chief Fire Officer, Paul Hill said, “We decided to choose Frequentis again not only because of the capabilities of the company and its system, but also because of the reliability of the current solution in Essex. During the last seven years our Frequentis system has been 100 per cent reliable – an absolute requirement of a fast-paced, 24/7 emergency operation.” The combined control room facilities of Essex and Bedfordshire will serve a population of almost 2.4 million people in an area of about 500,000 hectares. It includes two major airports, the country’s busiest motorway, and commuter rail links in and out of London. Communications partner George Berger, Director of FREQUENTIS UK Public Safety Operations states, “We are very proud that as an existing customer of ours, Essex has with Bedfordshire selected FREQUENTIS as the communications partner for their collaborative program. This contract takes to 12 the total number of Frequentis delivered Fire control centers in the UK.” Frequentis has extensive expertise in providing systems for collaborative control centers globally and in the UK in addition to Public Safety a further five market sectors are served, including; Air Traffic Management, Defence, Public Transport, and Maritime.

A large fire broke out at a recycling center and waste depot in Kingsway, Luton, on the morning of 29 October 2022, leading to the evacuation of around eight homes and a block of flats. Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service (BFRS) called in nine fire appliances and adjoining crews to tackle the fire at the recycling center. Around 60 residents had to leave their homes, while other residents were asked to keep their windows closed due to smoke. Important council service Councillor Tom Shaw, who is the portfolio holder for recycling and waste at Luton Council, said: “Firstly, I want to stress how relieved we are that no one was hurt as a result of the fire at Kingsway depot. I would like to thank the emergency services who were on site promptly and worked hard all day to bring the fire under control and minimize the disruption to local residents.” He adds, "I also want to express my gratitude to our staff who worked tirelessly over the weekend to not only try and minimize the disruption to such an important council service, but also for their work setting up an emergency assistance center for those residents evacuated from their homes.” Small electrical appliance Up to 30 firefighters and six fire appliances were in attendance to tackle the blaze While BFRS is yet to investigate the cause of the blaze at Kingsway, fires at recycling centers are sadly not infrequent – another fire erupted on the same day at a recycling plant in Caerphilly, Wales. Up to 30 firefighters and six fire appliances were in attendance to tackle the blaze, which resulted in the site beginning closed for the remainder of the day. Just a few weeks earlier, on 18 October, a fire broke out in a waste container at a Somerset recycling center in Backwell. An investigation launched by Avon Fire and Rescue Service found that the blaze had been caused by batteries that had been left in a ‘small electrical appliance when it was thrown away.’ Specialist recycling services A spokesperson for North Somerset Council said: “Thankfully, no one was hurt but officers had to attend for two hours, and it caused the facility to close for most of the day. Battery fires can endanger the public and emergency crews by causing fires in recycling centers and on streets. When disposing of electrical items in kerbside recycling boxes, remove batteries first and place them into an untied clear plastic bag inside your box. Never put them in your waste bin.” The dangers of fires caused by discarded batteries have also been widely publicized by campaigns such as ‘Take Charge’, launched by the Environment Service Association (ESA). The latest ESA campaign urges consumers to recycle their batteries safely by only using specialist recycling services.

At least one person has died and three others have been taken to hospital as a result of a fire and explosion at a block of flats on Redwood Grove, Bedford, just after 9 am on Monday 4 July. Of those affected, two people were seriously injured, and a firefighter was hospitalized for smoke inhalation after the fire. East of England Ambulance Service airlifted one person to Addenbrooke’s Hospital with leg injuries. cause of the explosion Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service have confirmed that there is no mains gas line at the property, as their investigation into the cause of the explosion continues. They described the blaze as a “major incident” in a statement on the day of the fire, and that they sent “six appliances, two water carriers, an incident command unit” to the fire, which saw extensive structural damage to the flats. Indeed, the block of flats is damaged to such an extent that search teams are unlikely to be able to enter the main affected block for some time. emergency services A resident has reported that they saw one person jump from a second-floor window to escape the burning Local police have also warned that more fatalities may be discovered in the coming days as emergency services continue to search the scene, as there are still residents of the block unaccounted for. A resident has reported that they saw one person jump from a second-floor window to escape the burning building, and pupils at Shackleton Primary School were also sent home for the day due to the proximity of the fire. All children at the school were safe and unharmed.   emergency assistance center Bedfordshire Police said, “[The fire] has engulfed the whole building and caused a large portion of the roof to collapse. An emergency assistance center has been set up by Bedford Borough Council, at the John Bunyan Centre in Bedford, for people who have been evacuated and need support. “An adjacent block of flats has also been evacuated and we are working as quickly as we can to get people back into their homes as quickly as possible.” Fatalities discovered Very sadly we know that at least one person has passed away in the explosion, there is a possibility for more"Bedfordshire Police Chief Superintendent John Murphy said, “Very sadly we know that at least one person has passed away in the explosion." “There is a possibility that there will be more fatalities discovered in the coming days as we continue to search through the scene and several people were injured as well.” protracted stage Following the start of the investigation into the cause of the fire, Chief Superintendent Murphy added, “We still do not know the cause of the explosion. Several lines of inquiry are taking place to help us establish that and we are working closely with our colleagues from the fire service as part of our investigation." “We are now entering a protracted stage of the investigation at a very complex scene where we will be conducting our inquiries as diligently and professionally as we can." support and patience “It may take a significant amount of time before we can begin to search at the affected site, given the damage that has been caused and the risks that present to our teams. Therefore, at this stage, we cannot rule out the possibility of further fatalities being discovered." “We know that residents of nearby properties want to get back into their homes as quickly as possible, and we thank them for their continued support and patience while we continue to ensure the scene is safe.”