People calling the emergency centre of the Brussels fire brigade can now share live images of the incident they are calling about via their smartphone. It is the first Belgian rescue zone to facilitate this.
From Friday 1 March, the Brussels Fire Brigade's emergency call centre is using new technology, spokesperson Walter Derieuw announced. It allows live images of an incident to be shared between the caller and the emergency response – both in the call centre and the team responding to the incident.
"A picture or video says more than a thousand words," Derieuw said. He explained that people calling 112 to report a fire will now be asked if they want to give access to their phone's camera. "The operator will first ask for your agreement. You will then receive a link on your smartphone to enable emergency services to see the situation while you keep talking."
Preparing resources and firefighters
Derieuw points out the advantages: "When a fire or accident is suspected, we always send out help. But which resources we deploy depends on the situation. If people share their video with the emergency services, it is easier to send the necessary resources."
"Sometimes a caller in distress cannot accurately provide their location. By sharing location and images on the spot, response teams can immediately drive to the right location." Finally, the video footage during the rescue operation can also be forwarded to fire engines en route, so they can tactically prepare for what they will find at the site.
The technology can be used 24 hours a day but for now, will only be requested in fire interventions where it may be useful to see images. The idea of livestreaming was adopted from abroad with the Brussels Fire Brigade the first rescue zone to implement it.
The video below shows the technology in action.
