England's Nationwide Fire and Rescue Emergency Response System to Use Intergraph(R) Public Safety and Security Solutions

HUNTSVILLE, Ala., April 20 /PRNewswire/ -- FiReControl, England's national fire and rescue emergency response infrastructure, will use proven incident response management solutions from Intergraph®, the world leader in public safety and security solutions, to enhance public and firefighter safety and provide rapid response for more than 50 million citizens.

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FiReControl will create a network of nine regional control centers to manage all fire and rescue resources across England for fast response times to save lives and property through a unified system providing advanced cross-regional interoperability and improved resource management.  The system will enable a higher level of public service by providing the ability to spread localized peaks in demand across the regional centers, and it will help coordinate coherent responses to large scale incidents, thereby addressing a key national security and resilience goal for England.

FiReControl will have one of the world's largest service areas for an Emergency Service encompassing 50,000 sq. mi. (130,000 km2).  Intergraph recently joined the consortium, led by European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co. (EADS) Defence and Security, responsible for delivering the project.

Control center operators at the nine regional control centers will use Intergraph's computer-aided dispatch (CAD) solution to record and manage the critical information needed for effective and efficient incident response. Control center personnel will benefit from interactive, real-time map displays of the location and status of incidents and nationwide resources, integrated with automatic call distribution and call handling software, action plans and pre-determined attendance plans for resource mobilization. The system will be directly linked to fire station equipment and mobile data devices in fire service vehicles.

In addition to the proven reliability of Intergraph's solutions which are used worldwide, decision-makers recently concluded that Intergraph's public safety technologies were best suited to meet FiReControl's scalability and 'virtual control room' network requirements for optimized response in day-to-day operations and large-scale, national response scenarios.  Intergraph's incident response management solution also fulfilled prerequisites for strategic security and emergency operations center (EOC) capabilities, which will enhance collaboration and information sharing, allowing fire and rescue emergency responders to work more cohesively when responding to large scale incidents.

"FiReControl will improve national resilience and bring unprecedented levels of cooperation and interoperability… For the first time, we shall have a national network with nine regional centers, all of which will be able to operate at peak times in a way that we have never seen before," said Shahid Malik MP, fire minister, Department for Communities and Local Government in a recent House of Commons debate.  

"As the world leader in public safety and security incident response management solutions, Intergraph technologies provide more than 2,500 public safety agencies around the world with multi-agency and multi-jurisdictional capabilities for optimized emergency response," said R. Halsey Wise, chairman, president and chief executive officer, Intergraph Corp. "Intergraph brings to FiReControl the extensive knowledge and success garnered from deploying nationwide emergency response systems in Belgium, New Zealand and Portugal, and we are honored to join EADS to support emergency preparedness and response initiatives throughout England."

One in 12 people in the world is protected by Intergraph public safety and security solutions. Intergraph solutions protect the largest and most complex cities and government sites in the world.

About The Department for Communities and Local Government

The Department for Communities and Local Government (CLG) is the UK Government department responsible for policy on local government, community issues including cohesion, housing, urban regeneration, planning, and fire and rescue services in England (part of the UK).  As part of their Fire & Rescue remit CLG work with local fire and rescue authorities to help prevent deaths, injuries and damage to property. CLG has also undertaken a 1.1 bn pounds Sterling ($1.7 bn) resilience program, working in partnership with the Fire and Rescue Service and other agencies to build national capability to deal with major emergencies, including terror attacks and natural disasters.  The vision for the program is to have an effective, resilient capability that will respond seamlessly in all situations, whether they are day to day incidents, large incidents needing a regional response, or major national disasters caused by terrorism, accidents or nature. FiReControl is a key element of this program. For more information, visit www.communities.gov.uk/fire/resilienceresponse/firecontrol/

About EADS Defence and Security

EADS Defence & Security is a systems solutions provider for armed forces and civil security worldwide. Its portfolio ranges from sensors and secure networks through missiles to aircraft and UAVs as well as global security, service and support solutions. In 2008, EADS DS – with around 23,000 employees – achieved revenues of euro 5.7 billion. EADS is a global leader in aerospace, defence and related services. In 2008, EADS generated revenues of euro 43.3 billion and employed a workforce of about 118,000.  For more information, visit www.eads.com/1024/en/businet/defence/defence.html.  

About Intergraph

Intergraph is the leading global provider of engineering and geospatial software that enables customers to visualize complex data. Businesses and governments in more than 60 countries rely on Intergraph's industry-specific software to organize vast amounts of data into understandable visual representations and actionable intelligence. Intergraph's software and services empower customers to build and operate more efficient plants and ships, create intelligent maps, and protect critical infrastructure and millions of people around the world.

Intergraph operates through two divisions: Process, Power & Marine (PP&M) and Security, Government & Infrastructure (SG&I).  Intergraph PP&M provides enterprise engineering software for the design, construction and operation of plants, ships and offshore facilities. Intergraph SG&I provides geospatially-powered solutions to the defense and intelligence, public safety and security, government, transportation, photogrammetry, utilities, and communications industries.  For more information, visit www.intergraph.com.

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