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Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service has recently introduced two new incident command units. Incident command units are critical to how we manage complex or large-scale emergencies.

Following a culmination of years of research and development, these vehicles have replaced the existing units and will lead to more effective incident management. The vehicles will be based at Fulwood and Blackburn fire station and attend protracted incidents across the whole county.

The units are fitted with Starlink satellite, alongside 4G/5G connection, a FreeSat TV system, the ability to broadcast from other devices, an awning for external briefings and a fixed camera system with thermal imaging capability. The camera system which will aide in maintaining situational awareness and provide feedback to the crews on the ground of the size and location of a fire.

Assistant Chief Fire Officer, Jon Charters said,

“We are proud of our continued investment into operational response capabilities, to ensure our firefighters are best equipped to protect and look after the people of Lancashire in the safest and most professional ways. The modern technology now available to support us when attending incidents is incredible and supports effective decision making by our incident commanders.”

The Service also introduced a new command support unit in November last year, to manage incidents on a smaller scale or those which become protracted. On-call crews from Bolton-le-Sands are mobilising to incidents with the unit.

With their enhanced resilience and cutting-edge technology, all three units will help in keeping Lancashire’s communities safe.