IT experts at Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service have been working with the Service’s incident command team to create a fully-automated system using electronic tags to help keep track of firefighters, vehicles and equipment.

It follows well-documented difficulties, they say, in implementing a successful system using other technology, namely, global positioning systems (GPS) and inertial navigation systems (INS).

Paul Turner, who is developing the system, told info4fire: “INS works fine on a plane, but if you put it on a person the system can’t always pick their movements up. A human rotates a lot faster.

“Originally we had dismissed RFID because it was too simple,” he added. ”But we find it to be reliable.”

Once the new system is in place, firefighters will be issued with two electronic tags, both holding identification details. The first tag will be used to swipe a nominal role board based in the command vehicle at the incident site. A second tag will be used to swipe boards at each sector of the site, so that control officers know where each firefighter is situated.

A spokesman from Hampshire Fire and Rescue said: “RFID is a huge step forward from where we were and I am aware of a number of fire and rescue services that are also working towards a solution. Ultimately we would like to have a valid GPS or INS in place, but these are still some way off. RFID is a simple solution, but a step in the right direction.”