West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service has taken delivery of its new mobile incident command unit

The new mobile HQ, based on a Ford 4.25T GVW Transit Jumbo, has been prepared for West Sussex Fire & Rescue Service (WSFRS) by commercial vehicle enhancement specialist Bott. The vehicle will be used by WSFRS to co-ordinate the activities of emergency vehicles and personnel at incidents in the area.

Bott managed the overall conversion process and worked with specialist equipment providers to ensure the project was completed on time to provide WSF&RS with a single point of contact.

Tim Smart, resource & development manager at WSFRS, says: “This replaces our existing Incident Command Unit with an upgraded vehicle with better facilities to help us co-ordinate activities at local incidents.” He adds: “We worked with Bott because they had delivered good service to other emergency services in our transport officers group. They have been really helpful throughout the project and delivered a vehicle which is suited to its purpose.”

Bott attended a briefing with representatives of WSFRS and Ford Special Vehicle Preparations, which supplied the basic vehicle with emergency service lights, to agree a detailed specification. The multi-tasking role of the vehicle required a range of facilities to support officers’ ability to respond rapidly and co-ordinate actions of emergency vehicles and personnel at incidents. This included electronic, communications and computing equipment that enables the rescue service to receive, process and view images and information from multiple sources.

Power for the on-board services is initially provided by an integrated onboard generator system driven by the vehicle’s own engine but a separate generator is used after the first 20 minutes. To avoid the risk of electrical interference with sensitive equipment the generator must ideally be positioned away from the vehicle. Bott devised and installed a plinth that slides out from the vehicle and presents the generator at the right position for safe handling to a suitable location. The vehicle can also connect to a nearby mains supply, if one is available, via an on-board transformer.

The interior of the vehicle includes workstations and seating for three officers and a commander. Bott also installed lighting, air-conditioning and specialist storage equipment including drawer units from its standard Normline range and special bespoke units that it created for TV, computing and radio equipment.

One of the biggest challenges during the enhancement was to install the numerous electrical circuits and sockets needed to power the various pieces of equipment.

To the exterior Bott installed an awning complete with removable front and side panels that effectively doubles the size of the available accommodation. It also fitted stabiliser legs that are interlocked with the ignition to prevent the vehicle being moved until they are safely retracted. The company sourced additional specialist equipment for WSFRS including special thermal imaging systems with remote viewing capabilities.

Bott co-ordinated with the computer and radio suppliers to arrange a suitable time for them to visit and install their own equipment. For example, separate radio systems are required for WSFRS to communicate with its own sites and vehicles as well as those based in neighbouring counties. Additional equipment installed by third parties includes flat panel screens that allow officers to view images and maps showing the location of appliances.

All of the enhancement work was completed at Bott’s facility in Ashby. Regular meetings between the various parties ensured the specification was reviewed and modified right up to the point when the vehicle was ready for delivery. In this way Bott provided a single point of contact for the customer that simplified the overall project management and supply of the vehicle.

Smart concludes: “Bott took on board our suggestions at every stage and couldn’t have been more helpful. The build quality was really good and they delivered a vehicle which is matched to our requirement.”