Frequently Asked Questions
The Firelink project is part of a wider change programme for the FRS and will invariably invoke a wide variety of questions ranging from technical to financial matters. This section gives a detailed overview of many questions that have already been posed by stakeholders, which are likely to give relevant information to fire and rescue services and individuals alike. Please be aware that although the content of this site is developed for the FRS, it is viewable by all who have internet access. The answers given take into consideration commercially sensitive information such as fees and the detail of resilience measures. Quick reference menu: click to find out more Firelink provisionThe main purpose of Firelink is to provide the communication facilities necessary to mobilise resources in response to a 999 call and maintain communications between the control room and response team during and after an incident. It also supports communications with other emergency services during a joint operation. The Firelink project will deliver for England, Scotland and Wales:
For Scotland and Wales, the Firelink project will additionally deliver:
For England only, the Firelink project will also deliver:
Many existing fire and rescue service radio systems are dated and need urgent replacement to meet current demand. Following major incidents like the World Trade Centre terrorist attack on 11 September 2001, government recognises that the FRS require a system that enables communications with each other and other blue light services to on a local, regional and national level. This is especially important in large scale incidents and has become even more apparent with more recent events such as the London transport bombings on 7 July 2004. How will the system be updated as technology improves? The Firelink supplier, Airwave will continuously monitor and remotely manage the Airwave network to ensure that the service remains fully operational at all times, providing network upgrades to the Airwave Service as required. The fire and rescue services will be given the opportunity to purchase additional equipment at pre-negotiated prices to support differing user requirements. In addition to this, the solution design is flexible enough to be developed in the future in line with technological advancements, should there requirement be needed. Will the new technology affect peoples’ roles? The improved functionality being provided by the new technology will support individuals to perform their role in the best way possible. As with all new technology, the Firelink system will work in a slightly different way to existing systems and will result in some changes to how the FRS operates. To maximise the potential of the system, full participation with the FRS is essential and suitable consideration given to how changes in operational procedures will make best use of the new technology. How will the Firelink project be delivered? For the purposes of rolling out Firelink, fire and rescue services have been grouped into regions: England is split into nine regions broadly reflecting the Government Office boundaries; Scotland and Wales will be treated as individual regions. Rollout will be staggered across these regions and capability to each region delivered on a phased basis. The order of rollout was developed following consultation with the FRS and coordination with the FiReControl project in England. What will be the obligations of the FRS? The obligations of the FRS include presenting vehicles for installation, people for training, provide information to Airwave to enable works and establish access to control rooms for the technology to be installed. Individual fire and rescue services are being consulted at each stage to ensure a successful transition to the new wide area communications system. How long will vehicles be out of service? It will depend on the requirements of each fire and rescue service. The fit out of vehicles will be coordinated to ensure levels of cover and service are assured. It is envisaged that each vehicle will take a minimal number of hours to fit, but this will depend on the specifics of that vehicle and the location of the conversion site. It is anticipated that it will take 1 day to complete a standard fit, depending on the location and travel required. All fit outs will be planned well in advance to minimise disruption. BenefitsWhat benefits will I see from the new communications system? The formal business case benefits of the new communications system will be realised in 4 areas:
For a description of what the benefits represent in real terms, please go to the Project Overview page and read the section titled ‘The core benefits of Firelink’. InteroperabilityWhat is interoperability and why is it important? Interoperability is connecting people, data and diverse systems. It is a term that can be more easily understood by hyphenating the word appropriately: inter-operability. The concept of interoperability is important to the FRS because an interoperable radio system will provide efficient and effective communication for all types of incident: at a local, regional and national level; between fire and rescue services, and also the primary blue light services at silver command level. The Airwave Service has the capability to provide voice interoperability between all the services involved in public protection, as well as cooperate in forward planning to meet new obligations under the Civil Contingencies Act. How will the system be interoperable with the other blue light services? Firelink will provide fully integrated communications between the FRS and other blue light services, in accordance with the agreement signed by the three priority blue light services. The agreement covers voice interoperability at strategic and tactical command levels. Firelink will provide interoperability with other blue light services that are controlled through talkgroups. If the police and ambulance are in the same talkgroup, who controls the talkgroup? The control of the talkgroup is predetermined by the fleet map for the system. However, locally agreed protocols must be established for inter-agency communications. Project management and rolloutWhat would be the situation if the system doesn’t work? The system will undergo a vigorous and thorough testing process before going live in the fire and rescue services and regions, so the chance of the system not working is minimal. Firelink requires staff to move to handling both voice and data. How can you be sure that they will be ready for this transition? The Firelink contract includes training for FRS trainers and certain specialist staff directly. This training will occur in advance of each region's rollout to ensure the FRS has time to promulgate this training to all Firelink users. While Firelink will enable the use of data on its system, the software applications will be provided under the FiReControl project for England; therefore, FiReControl will take responsibility for the associated training and development of standard operating procedures for these data applications. A Training Working Group has been set up to align training across Firelink, FiReControl and New Dimension projects within Communities and Local Government. How many vehicles are required and where will the installations actually take place? Resource requirements should be available following the due diligence visits, which are currently being carried out. In terms of locations for installations, these will be agreed with fire and rescue services in each region. When can we switch off the legacy radio systems? This will depend on the confidence of the FRS in the system at the end of phase A. Will the Phase A test vehicles be expected to continue with their normal duties? Yes. This will assist in confirming that the contracted coverage requirements have been met. The interim solutionIn terms of the interim solution, will the functionality provide voice only or voice and SMS messaging? The vehicle radio has been selected for its voice capability. A Short Data Service (SDS), similar to SMS is a function of the vehicle radio. Our FRS already has a mobile data solution; will this functionality be lost during the interim period? No, existing legacy systems may continue to be used if required by a fire and rescue service. During the interim solution, legacy radios will be replaced with Firelink radios, but what about Mobile Data Terminals (MDTs)? Legacy MDTs can still be used by fire and rescue services if required. FRS ImplementationHow many FRS staff will be involved in supporting the rollout of Firelink? The network is being delivered by the contracted supplier, Airwave and a small selection of FRS staff has been tasked with specific duties to assist the rollout. Support from the FRS will be essential to progress the rollout smoothly and realise the benefits of the new system. Extensive planning is taking place with the FRS to coordinate delivery of vehicles for fit out and upgrading control rooms, so that the fire and rescue services see minimal disruption to service levels. What training will FRS personnel be given? Each fire and rescue service will receive a tailored training package to meet their individual needs. The obligations on the FRS include releasing trainers and specialist staff to be trained directly by Airwave, as part of the supplier contract. This training will occur in advance of each region's rollout to ensure the FRS has time to promulgate this training to all Firelink users. It is the responsibility of individual fire and rescue services to identify local training requirements and deliver a programme appropriate to fulfil those needs. The Firelink project team will be providing advice and support during rollout to assist with meeting the training requirements. A Training Working Group has been set up to align training across Firelink, FiReControl and New Dimension projects within Communities and Local Government. While Firelink will enable the use of data on its system, the software applications will be provided under the FiReControl programme for England; therefore, FiReControl will take responsibility for the associated training and development of standard operating procedures for these data applications. How is the FRS represented in the Firelink project? The Firelink project team comprises a mixture of seconded officers from the FRS, civil servants and consultants. The seconded officers, comprising operational, control and communications officers provide the project with the FRS perspective in daily decision making, based on many years of valuable experience. Although the network is being delivered by Airwave, support is essential from the FRS to progress the rollout smoothly and realise the benefits of the new system. Each fire and rescue service has identified staff to assist the rollout – either on a full time or on a required basis. In addition to the support the project team and supplier is receiving by working with each fire and rescue service, there are FRS senior user members comprising of senior officers from England, Scotland and Wales. They are supported by the Principal User Group (PUG), which has direct input into the project team on a regular basis. Who should I speak to if I have a question about Firelink? Firelink Area and Regional Delivery managers are assigned to support the FRS in the rollout of Firelink. For details of the contact in your area, please follow the Contact US link on the menu bar at the top of this page. Who will maintain the new system? The system will be maintained by Airwave. As technology improves Airwave will provide network upgrades and a selection of hardware will be made available at pre-negotiated prices to support differing user requirements. Maintenance of Firelink software and hardware can be carried out by one or more contractor selected by individual fire and rescue services. Information will be made to by the project team to for to assist fire and rescue services with this decision. First Line Maintenance can be carried out by the Firelink supplier, Airwave. What happens if the system doesn’t work as envisaged? There will be rigorous testing throughout the project rollout in addition to specific acceptance criteria, which must be satisfactorily addressed before payment. There is also a requirement for the prospective FRS users to be satisfied with the performance via the regional joint roll out boards before milestone payments can be made. Will there be any loss in the current functionality and service compared with the Firelink replacement? In the interim period some fire and rescue services may find there is a reduction in functionality in England compared to legacy systems. This will very much depend on the current technological capability of each fire and rescue service. There will be significant improvements following the completion of Firelink rollout, such as: voice quality, intra/interoperability and resilience. The Police have an extremely comprehensive security system for their terminals; will the FRS have similar facilities and procedures? The Police and FRS have different requirements in their respective levels of security. The procedures adopted will be appropriate to FRS operational use of the system. Scope of SupplyWill fire ground radios to be provided? No. ‘At incident’ communications are not included within the core provision of the contract: Firelink is a replacement for existing FRS wide area radio systems only. Will it be possible to obtain ‘Intrinsically Safe’ radios for Officers? The provision of ‘Intrinsically Safe’ radios is not part of the Firelink core contract and cannot currently be obtained as part of the Firelink project. Why is some Category A (Petrochemical) sites not included in the core contract? The Firelink contract is only for replacement of the current FRS wide area radio systems. Options for `at incident’ coverage are available outside of the Firelink core contract if required. What is the situation regarding the provision of radios to airports etc? Provision of radios to third parties is covered within the contract. A schedule of authorised users has been established in this respect from the data previously obtained from the fire and rescue services. It is possible for each fire and rescue service to lend radios to any other third parties not on the authorised user list for a maximum of seven days, subject written approval from the project team and stringent conditions set out in the core contract. Who is responsible for decommissioning and who will pay? The contractor is responsible for decommissioning and disposal of legacy mobile resource equipment. Other aspects of decommissioning are currently the subject of a review. FinancialWhat is the value of the contract? The contract value is £350m. The capital cost of providing core Firelink supply is being met by Communities and Local Government, the Scottish Executive and the Welsh Assembly Government. What are the service costs? Each fire and rescue service has been informed of the expected monthly service fee for the region. Within the service costs is there unlimited usage of the system? It is not unlimited, there is a threshold worked out over a 90 day period using the average of the busiest hours with a baseline of 20 milli traffic units per user over the region. If usage exceeds this threshold the region will incur capacity charges, based on known service levels and subject to good working practices. What financial contingencies are in place to ensure service quality and system integrity? The performance of the system will be constantly monitored. If there is a reduction in the contracted levels of service and a reduction in service occurs, Airwave will apply service credits to reduce the regional bill of the applicable fire and rescue service. Is there any system in place within the contract to prevent escalation of costs? The price of the core contract is fixed and not subject to escalation. There is an agreed formula in place for call off orders and contract change, which provides for escalation annually according to the agreed formula. This allows for management and containment of cost increases at a regulated rate and avoids unwarranted increases at above-inflation levels, or as a result of the application of high levels of risk and contingency. TechnicalHow is availability and resilience being assured? As part of the bidding process Airwave demonstrated that they could meet the FRS resilience requirements. If Airwave fail to deliver to the contracted availability levels financial remedies will be imposed. Where necessary, the contractor may need to upgrade existing site facilities and services to provide the necessary level of confidence. All such upgrades will be subject to the normal regulations and planning consents. More information on the technical system can be found on the Airwave website. Is the Firelink system similar to a public mobile phone network? No. There is a fundamental difference between the two systems in terms of frequencies, demographic and geographic coverage. The Firelink project employs a professional mobile radio system, public mobile networks are usually based on a GSM product. What data will Firelink have the capability to support? Firelink data will have the capability to support:
Will Firelink work on the London Underground? Firelink replaces the radio communications between control centres and vehicles. At the scene of an incident the FRS uses a separate dedicated at-incident radio system. A special infrastructure provision available in the underground allows the London Fire Brigade to use their at-incident radio equipment. The TETRA system is currently being rolled out as a separate project called ‘Connect’ in the London Underground (LU), linking trains, stations and LU depots. Incidental coverage will be available for Firelink users; however the coverage is outside the standard contracted obligations. Critics say if Firelink crashes the whole mobilisation system fails, how does the solution address this? The solution has been specified to deliver a very high confidence level by building resilience into the design. For example, transmitter sites include Uninterrupted Power Supply. The FiReControl mobilisation system does not rely on Firelink, as this is only one method of contacting resources. Scenario planning for Firelink ranges from the loss of a Mobile Data Terminal to complete loss of Firelink. How will the Firelink system be protected against concerns such as sabotage and lightning?[ The new system is designed with resilience in mind. In addition to the dual routing of communications links and power supplies across geographically separate paths, critical sites will have standby power supplies that are capable of maintaining communications facilities without attendance for up to seven days. Why is the solution not satellite? The Firelink requirement was developed as an output based specification to encourage competition and avoid unnecessarily precluding potential suppliers from bidding. Bidders had free rein to select whichever technology they felt best met the requirement. Currently mobile phones are used as an alternative method of communication; has this also been considered? Yes, however this method has been evaluated and deemed inappropriate because GSM systems do not have the reliability and resilience required for the FRS. What is the planning process for any additional mast sites? Airwave already has a mature network infrastructure, including mast sites established as part of the police contract. If any additional sites are required, Airwave is responsible for ensuring it meets local planning requirements. How will you ensure the new Firelink equipment does not interfere with other electronic equipment used by the FRS? Individual equipment for the Firelink system will meet appropriate electrical standards and regulations. The installed system in each vehicle will be subject to the tests set out in 'A Code of Practice for Fire Service Mobile Equipment Installation' as part of the Phase B Vehicle Acceptance process. This will check that there is no interference with authorised electronic equipment on board at the time of installation. Fire and rescue services will be responsible for ensuring there are no adverse Electro Magnetic Compatibility (EMC) effects on the Firelink system if further (non-Firelink) equipments are installed at a later date. Will the Airwave Service cause any interference with airport systems? No, this is an established system currently being used by the police and many other users. The frequencies used by the Airwave Service are totally remote from aviation systems. How will the UHF system cope with the phenomenon of hydrographic masking in the Highlands? The Firelink solution will utilise frequencies in the Ultra High Frequency (UHF) band. In terms of propagation over large masses of water, there has been experience of signal ducting occurring, particularly over warm waters, in these frequency ranges. This causes anomalous propagation effects, sometimes enhancing propagation. In general through, propagation effects across a mixed land/water environment will not have a significant impact on the signal. What impact will hills have on the line of sight? For Firelink, the contractor is responsible for sitting base stations to ensure the provision of a reliable signal to the agreed standard against the contracted coverage maps for Great Britain. What system security will be provided for Firefighters using the cradle mounted hand portable terminals? The cradle mounted hand portable terminals may be secured and accessed by a PIN code. Local security operational procedures would also detail the process in terms of security, loss or being misplaced. Lastly, the system provides a facility to immediately ‘stun’ the terminal if it is confirmed that a terminal has been lost/stolen. CommercialWhat commercial solution has been selected? The Firelink solution is being delivered by Airwave Safety Communications Limited (Airwave) following a competitive European Union tender process. The system will be part of the Airwave Service provision. What service life is built into the Firelink system? It is designed for 10 years service life. What is the life span of the system? The contract will run for 10 years; however there is an option for a three year extension. Does the 10 years start from the contract signature? Yes, from 29 March 2006 Health IssuesIs TETRA safe? Studies to date suggest that the TETRA technology poses a similarly low level of risk to health than the use of standard mobile phones. The only effect on the body that scientific evidence points to is the heating effect. Exposure limits have been set by international standards bodies to provide adequate control of these known effects. FRS personnel will be aware that the Police already use TETRA radios. The operational use of the Airwave Service for each is very different. The FRS will generally use vehicle mounted radios, whereas the police have personal issue handsets. The placing of radios in vehicles (as opposed to wearing handsets) and the lower frequency of use mean that FRS personnel are likely to have minimal chance of exposure. What opportunity will I have to raise any concerns? Consultation will be carried out both nationally and locally with the representative bodies. In the first instance any queries should be addressed through them or direct to the Firelink Regional Delivery Manager. Communities and Local Government will produce a communication strategy and will look at how best it can provide the opportunity for two-way interaction, including hearing from recognised independent experts. How will you ensure the new Firelink equipment will not adversely affect the health of users? The Firelink system will be installed to, as a minimum, comply with all relevant national and international standards. Work is going on to review the information that is available on TETRA systems to see whether the Firelink project needs to commission any FRS-specific work. The Firelink system will be the subject of an appropriate risk assessment complying with relevant legal requirements. Interfaces with other projectHow are Firelink and FiReControl projects linked? In essence the Firelink project is the deployment of the communications network that FiReControl will utilise. The overriding priority during the Firelink project is to maintain the integrity of the emergency response radio capability. To ensure this, the Airwave Service will link into existing control rooms in order to transfer the vehicles of each fire and rescue service to the new network, prior to migration across to the regional control centres as part of the FiReControl project. This strategy is to minimise the risks that would be associated with a ‘Big Bang’ approach. If Firelink provides the new Mobile Data Terminal (MDT) hardware and FiReControl the MDT software, does this not add to the complexity and increase the risk? Firelink is a Great Britain wide procurement and so is best placed to provide the MDT hardware required to run data applications in Scotland and Wales, in addition to England. A single procurement enables financial efficiencies through volume sales and reduces vehicle installation risk because the Firelink contractor has sole responsibility for the complete fit. FiReControl has specified within the Firelink contract its technical specification for the MDTs.
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Article Date: 7th June 2007 |
