FOCUS
Wildfire response
The first part of the testing phase involved partners practising the scenarios within their own countries, and identifying difficulties, problems and inconsistencies that needed to be fixed. The software company also tasked a number of professional testers with the role of trying to ‘break’ the system to find any other more deep seated programming problems. Three international exercises in three different countries were organised for the second key part of the testing phase. These were held in Portugal, Italy and the UK, and it was decided that the host partner would test their scenario during their exercise. The fourth scenario, developed by partners in France (involving ENTENTE and a small number of fire and rescue services from the South of France), was split into small parts, which were each tested during the other international exercises. A scenario developed by the French partners
involved a fire burning along an international border, spreading from one country into another. Commanders on both sides of the border were required to command their own resources by the incident, and to work together to successfully suppress the fire. During this scenario, the role of a liaison officer – an individual tasked with liaison with commanders from another country – was introduced and tested.
International collaboration
The first national exercise was hosted by Escola Nacional de Bombeiros in Sintra, Portugal, in November 2016. It involved incident commanders and civil protection officers from across the whole of Portugal, and incorporated cross border assistance in the form of aircraft from a neighbouring country. This exercise was extremely successful and was well publicised within the national news in Portugal. Feedback gathered from this was fed into the design of the next exercise. Corpo Nazionale dei Vigili del Fuoco in Rome,
Italy, hosted the second IGNIS exercise in May 2017. It involved fire officers from across the four corners of Italy and incorporated cross border ground assistance from Austria and Slovenia, both of which sent representatives to directly participate in the exercise. The scenario was based on a real life wildfire that occurred a few years previously in the border area between Italy, Austria and Slovenia. Again, the exercise in Rome was very successful, with some excellent constructive feedback being submitted by the Italian participants. This feedback, combined with that from the Portugal exercise, was used to further improve the design and delivery of the final exercise.
Final test
From 12 to 16 June 2017, the third and final national exercise was hosted by Northumberland Fire and Rescue Service in Cramlington, Northumberland. This three day wildfire scenario involved a simulated large wildfire in a very rural area threatening residential properties, a quarry facility and a sensitive military site. The fire also affected local transport routes, utilities and infrastructure, all of which required commanders to implement JESIP (Joint Emergency Service Interoperability Programme) principles and briefings. As for the previous international exercises,
wildfire stakeholders from around the UK were invited to attend a dissemination event held during the UK exercise. This event provided the opportunity for stakeholders from different sectors to learn about IGNIS, observe the exercise taking place, and network with the IGNIS partners and advisory board members. The UK exercise was also held in conjunction
with the Fire Times magazine’s Equipment Roadshow on Thursday 15 June 2017. Both events were held at Northumberland Fire and Rescue Services’ HQ, and delegates from around the UK commented that the co hosting of the two events at the same time was very beneficial. A comprehensive debrief meeting
concluding the exercise and dissemination event involved all of the partner organisations, members of the IGNIS Project Advisory Board and the software provider.
26 DECEMBER 2017/JANUARY 2018
www.frmjournal.com
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60
