Stretching approximately 70 miles north to south and 70 miles east to west and incorporating the bleak and beautiful Dartmoor National Park, Devon, in south west England, is the 3rd largest county in England. It owns approximately 8,790 miles (14,064km) of road and incorporates a sparse population barely totaling one million people - approximately half of which live in the three main urban centers of Plymouth, Torbay and the County capital of Exeter.

For a county fire brigade, incident support is always a logistical challenge! Adding to the difficulties imposed by great distances is the problem of radio communication. With hills and valleys interfering with transmission and an, as yet, thin cellular phone network, it is little wonder that communication can sometimes be unreliable.

A need for timely information
This was the situation facing the Devon Fire and Rescue Service (DFRS) back in 1998 when it decided to research a mobile data capability. Geoff Strawbridge, Operational Safety Project Manager at DFRS explained:

"All fire services have a pressing need for accurate, timely and relevant information if they are to fulfill their job efficiently and safely. Devon is no different, yet we have the added problems of distance and remoteness."

Mr. Strawbridge went on to explain how an emergency call-out could be anywhere in the county and Fire Fighters and Officers must be equipped with as much information on the nature of the emergency as possible.

Paper-based system
DFRS, as with most other county fire services until recently, relied on a paper-based information system.

"We would gather information on buildings in our towns and cities through safety visits and previous fire call-outs. Much of that that information would be hand-written and included in a report," continued Mr. Strawbridge. "Those reports were then physically taken to any emergency."

A review of electronic data systems
But paper reports can get damaged, misfiled and lost in the heat of an emergency. Mr. Strawbridge believed that it would be much better having the information electronically available in the cab of the fire engines as they speed towards the situation. Working with Worcestershire-based Geodeysis Ltd a high quality, proven Mobile Geographical Information System specialists, Mr. Strawbridge undertook a review of electronic mobile data systems. The idea was to develop a solution which would enable DFRS to specify and tender for service-wide implementations.

The result was the Tempus Mobile Data System currently being tried in 15 of the 115 fire vehicles in the Devon Fire and Rescue Service fleet. Anthony Burley, Sales Manager at Tempus Computers LTD, the Birmingham IT electronics and engineering company, took up the story.

"We responded to the Devon Fire and Rescue Service tender with the best mobile data solution available based on the in-cab Tempus VMDS touch screen computer and ruggedized Pentax PocketJet black and white printers from RGI Mobile Solutions in London - Pentax Technologies' UK distributor."

RGI Sales Director, Mike Gerschel, understood the criticality of a robust printing element for the Fire Services mobile data solution. The ability to print out relevant and timely information in sometimes extreme conditions at the scene of the emergency would enhance the Fire Brigade's capabilities a hundred-fold and could mean the difference between life and death for Fire Fighters attending a fire.

Direct thermal printing technology There were several printer options available based on unsuitable ink-jet and thermal dye-transfer technology. But in the sometimes harsh physical environment of fire engine, typified by extremes of temperature, humidity and physical motion or vibration, these technologies have their limitations.

Pentax Technologies' PocketJet™ family of mobile printing solutions uses direct thermal printing. Direct thermal printing differs from thermal transfer printing by producing a printed image directly onto thermal paper instead of heating a dye substrate onto the paper from a polymer film. This is a similar process to that used in fax machines for many years. As a result, no messy and expensive ink dyes are used.

The advantages of direct thermal printing also include the ability to build a very compact device with just one moving part - the paper transport roller.

Pentax makes two models of PocketJet™ printers - the PocketJet™ II (300dpi) and the PocketJet™ 200 (the lower cost 200dpi option). Both are barely wider than an A4 piece of paper and have an end profile of just 30 x 55mm. Furthermore, they weigh less than half a kilo, including an internal-fit rechargeable battery.

Ruggedized
"Not that we stopped there," added Mr. Burley at Tempus. "With the Pentax PocketJet, we were taking the best on the market and adapting it to suit the particular requirements of the Fire Service."

For Tempus, this meant connecting it to the Tempus computer using a rugged, reliable military cable that would eliminate possible power spikes from the fire engine's battery - as well as housing the printer in a robust case and beefing up the paper delivery system.

"Now, fire and command officers can access critical emergency information on the Tempus system and print out the relevant pages on the PocketJet to help them make decisions while actually at the scene of the emergency."

Information for every contingency
The mobile information now able to be delivered to every emergency includes the entire Devon Fire Service intranet site. This is a regularly updated database that is downloaded once a month onto the in-cab Tempus system, ensuring fire fighters are equipped with the latest information.

"The information is delivered on three layers," explained Mr. Strawbridge. "Firstly, we carry a Geographic Information System (GIS) which provides location maps to help us find the address of the emergency. Then we drill down to retrieve street and facilities information - such as the availability of fire hydrants, lakes, swimming pools and any other source of water. Finally, fire fighters need to know about the building itself. They can now get that from our detailed files on the Tempus and print it out on the PocketJet while they are traveling to the scene."

Detailed location information
This final layer is the information collected and entered by the fire safety inspectors on their routine (and emergency) visits. As Mr. Strawbridge emphasized, the ideal would be to have information on every building in the county, but the realities of time and manpower dictate that they have to prioritize the most 'at-risk' locations. This is a huge job. It means inputting floor plans, the locations of fire exits and fire extinguishers as well as the presence of hazardous materials and animals ("You'd be surprised how many times we have come across large startled animals such as pythons and alligators at domestic fires!")

Legal information is also supplied by the Fire Brigade's comprehensive intranet database for those situations where a breach in the safety regulations may have been identified. With the PocketJet supporting the Tempus system, it is easy to print out and physically hand the legal requirements to the occupier at the scene. This may even be used as evidence should a case go to prosecution.

The future
Today, written reports are being keyed in manually, but Mr. Strawbridge looks forward to the time when it can all be input digitally on-site and downloaded electronically to the central database.

"We are moving towards having the entire radio and data systems integrated so that we can transmit information between headquarters and the fire engines in real time," Mr. Strawbridge concluded. "Then, we will be taking significant steps towards ensuring the safety and efficiency of our Officers and Fire Fighters."

(End)