WIREDGOV

A new state-of-the-art communications system will enable Scotland's eight fire and rescue services (FRS) to communicate directly with incident command centres, police colleagues and other fire vehicles throughout Scotland and the rest of Great Britain.

Fergus Ewing, Minister for Community Safety, today launched Firelink which is being installed in over 1200 fire and rescue service vehicles and eight regional control centres across Scotland.

The Minister was in Dumfries, the first area in Scotland to get the new system which will replace eight outdated analogue radio systems currently used by the FRS.

The new system will cost £37 million over three years and is due to be operational in every fire appliance in Scotland by the first half of 2010.

The system will deliver significant improvements in quality and reliability to Scotland's 8,000 frontline firefighters. It will also include a "priority call function" which will allow fire appliances to call for urgent assistance in circumstances such as when they are being attacked.

Fergus Ewing said:

"Firelink represents a significant investment in the safety and security of Scotland and its communities.

"It will further enhance the ability of our emergency services to work effectively together on major incidents and will for the first time allow the blue light services to communicate directly with each other, no matter how remote the location.

"This is another example of the Scottish Government's commitment to ensuring our emergency services are skilled and equipped for the 21st Century."

David Wynne, Chair of the Chief Fire Officer's Association Scotland and Chief Fire Officer of Dumfries and Galloway FRS said:

"It is critical that firefighters are able to communicate effectively with other crews and other emergency services. This new system significantly improves the ability of fire and rescue services to coordinate a response to any incident."

The decision to introduce Firelink was taken following the September 11 and July 7 terrorist attacks, which highlighted the need for a single, reliable communications system linking all emergency services.

As well as enabling emergency services to better coordinate their response to major incidents the new digital system will also provide Scotland's firefighters with a step change in sound quality, reliability and functionality.

Firelink will deliver a geographical coverage of some 90,000 square miles from urban to the most remote rural communities. It is also being introduced throughout England and Wales ensuring one common system for every emergency response vehicle in Great Britain.

The system is due to be operational in every fire appliance in Scotland by the first half of 2010.