Fire and Rescue NSW implements online training solution

Fire and Rescue New South Wales (FRNSW) has chosen the telecommunications carrier Vertel to implement Beaconsim — a Finnish-based operative field communications simulator provider — to deliver enhanced training for first responders.

Firefighters work in hazardous conditions and are exposed to a much greater risk of injury and death than most other workers, so firefighter safety is of paramount importance to FRNSW. Every fire department must have appropriate measures for firefighter safety, including proper training.

FRNSW recognised the need to invest in an online training solution that offered flexible and remote learning opportunities for its firefighters and used real-life scenarios that could strengthen and refresh pre-existing skills. It also had to be accessible from personal devices, including laptops, desktops and mobile phones.

Paul Barnes, Director IT Operations & Communications, FRNSW, said the simulation is specifically tailored to FRNSW. Vertel and Beaconsim spent a week onsite looking at the operations and taking videos and recordings to create the best, most relevant online interactive training program. The program is designed so responders must walk through the training step-by-step before they can move on to the next part of the training.

The solution ensures that FRNSW receives quality training in a safe, low-stress environment, especially for its first responders who want to increase their level of knowledge. Once training is completed, they can leverage those capabilities in real-life situations where effective communication is sometimes the difference between life and death.

Elina Avela, Beaconsim CEO, said, “Ultimately, it doesn’t matter what technology is implemented; if the responders don’t know how to use it, the whole operation is in jeopardy. That’s why comprehensive and user-focused training programs are so important, along with reliable networks.”

Barnes said that since implementing the radio command and control dispatcher simulator, approximately 20% of FRNSW firefighters have participated in and completed the course, which is also available to new recruits and any firefighter who wants to refresh their knowledge.

Image credit: iStock.com/EvgeniyShkolenko