Country Fire Service

The South Australian Country Fire Service (CFS) operate under State Government legislation. Consisting of approximately 13,500 volunteers, over 144 staff, responsible for 425 brigades and a fleet of over 800 vehicles scattered throughout the state.

The Challenge

As the CFS is made up of mainly volunteers, it was very important to provide an intuitive solution that would stand up to the harshest of environments that can be experienced in Australia. CFS fire fighters can find themselves in punishing conditions, creating the ultimate test for any critical communication solution. It was made clear by the client that the Fire Ground Radios are responsible for keeping people safe and ultimately saving lives, meaning only the best product would be supplied.

Integration remains highly important and the need to have interoperability between operational requirements meant that significant flexibility was required. To ensure frontline demands were met the two way radio communication solution was required to include imperative voice and data transmissions, and dependable and exceptional high audio quality for noisy environments, however, it was not all about the product.

As one of the largest emergency services operations based in South Australia, the CFS demanded a localised support team that could guarantee the highest level of technical services around the clock. A large 24/7 call out team would be required to support this agency every day of the year, with the capacity to support the challenging demands placed on communication equipment and infrastructure to keep our brave fire fighters safe and allow them to focus on what they do best, saving lives.

The project also involved fitting a fleet of over 500 fire trucks across the State, meeting a strict installation schedule so as to ensure continuous emergency fire response.

The Solution

CSE Crosscom had a holistic approach, providing a solution which would guarantee quality and exceed the client’s expectation with cutting edge technologies. The solution delivered local 24/7 support from our technical team in Adelaide, providing the ability to facilitate flexibility, which is essential to manage the everchanging needs of the high-speed emergency services agency.

CSE Crosscom are proud to support our fire fighters in South Australia with Critical Fire Ground radios. Our partnership with the CFS has seen us provide:

• Installation of new mobile radios across a wide range of different vehicles: Fire appliances, command vehicles, bulk water carries, rapid response, and many more all across South Australia.
• Customising unique solutions for very demanding requirements, based on location, operational needs, and departments; while always providing interoperability with other agencies.
• Optimising communications with Rapid Deployment Communications Trailers to interface VHF and UHF repeaters, with the outcome of ensuring alternate connections via GRN, HF, 4G or Satellite technologies ensuring the communication path is always available no matter what the circumstances.
• Developing and delivering a series of training packages on the use of P25 and DMR radios, which are used for new recruits, refresh courses, and new installations.
• Streamlining local support to the thousands of volunteers in SA with a technical help desk approach for assistance.