'Pre-alerts' help fire service to speed accolade

Phil Clark has worked in the fire service for 31 years

A fire brigade has praised the "staff and technology" that has made it the fastest service for responding to fires in homes.

On average, Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service has a response time of five minutes and 58 seconds.

Phil Clark, the area manager for mobilising and digital transformation, believes it is its "unique pre-alert system" that puts the brigade on top.

As soon as operators have the location of a fire, the control room alerts the nearest fire station before taking any further details.

"It cuts a number of seconds off the ultimate time it takes us to get there," Mr Clark said.

"It gives [firefighters] time to put their equipment back on the appliance if they’ve been training and get their fire kit on and get ready to go, which then cuts down the attendance times."

Video stream plan

The control room in Washington answers about 35,000 emergency calls each year year, with fire engines sent to about 18,000 callouts.

However the service said it wants to "become more efficient".

It is launching a new mobilising system next year which includes a video function where 999 callers receive a link to their phone and can video stream the incident.

Mr Clark says it will help the service "decide how best to support them in their time of need".