New Dimension programme
Encyclopedia
The New Dimension programme, sometimes referred to as the New Dimension or New Dimensions, was started by the Department for Communities and Local Government
in the UK, for fire and rescue services
in England and Wales, following the 2001 terror attacks
.
It has provided equipment, training and standardised procedures to deal with terrorist attacks and major environmental disasters. By July 2004, the New Dimensions programme had provided £56m to various projects, a further £132m was promised for the period up to 2007
, it operates at a national, regional and local level, and while it does not apply specifically to Scotland
, a Fire and Rescue Service circular, published in 2007 noted that: "Officials in the Welsh Assembly Government and the Scottish Executive agree in principle that the general terms of the Mutual Aid Protocol should apply ‘cross-border’ between Scotland, England (and Wales)." New Dimension provides a co-ordinated approach across the emergency services, and local authority emergency planners and it has been supported and promoted by the Chief Fire Officers Association.
New Dimension is part of CLG's fire resilience programme, which also includes the FireLink
and FiReControl
projects. It has already delivered a range of equipment to the FRS to assist with handling large scale incidents. The vehicles supplied as part of the New Dimension provision will be fitted with the new FireLink digital radios, which will provide the foundations of a single wide area communications system in England, Wales and Scotland.
The purpose of New Dimension is to provide information and guidance for fire and rescue services on emergency response to the following specific types of incident:
The onus is on fire services to provide "New Dimension capability", and legislation for England, passed in April 2007, recognised a fire and rescue service's responsibilities for dealing with the above types of incident. The Fire and Rescue Services (Emergencies)(England) Order 2007 is a statutory instrument
which requires that fire services make provision for dealing with CBRN incidents and structural collapse. Money from New Dimension has been used (as one example) to provide fire services with new specialist Urban Search and Rescue
appliances and equipment. Previously, fire services were not specifically equipped to deal with largescale USAR incidents.
Department for Communities and Local Government
The Department for Communities and Local Government is the UK Government department for communities and local government in England. It was established in May 2006 and is the successor to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, established in 2001...
in the UK, for fire and rescue services
Fire service in the United Kingdom
The fire services in the United Kingdom operate under separate legislative and administrative arrangements in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales...
in England and Wales, following the 2001 terror attacks
September 11, 2001 attacks
The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks (also referred to as September 11, September 11th or 9/119/11 is pronounced "nine eleven". The slash is not part of the pronunciation...
.
It has provided equipment, training and standardised procedures to deal with terrorist attacks and major environmental disasters. By July 2004, the New Dimensions programme had provided £56m to various projects, a further £132m was promised for the period up to 2007
, it operates at a national, regional and local level, and while it does not apply specifically to Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, a Fire and Rescue Service circular, published in 2007 noted that: "Officials in the Welsh Assembly Government and the Scottish Executive agree in principle that the general terms of the Mutual Aid Protocol should apply ‘cross-border’ between Scotland, England (and Wales)." New Dimension provides a co-ordinated approach across the emergency services, and local authority emergency planners and it has been supported and promoted by the Chief Fire Officers Association.
The scope of the New Dimension programme
FireLink
FireLink or Firelink is a new wide area radio system being introduced in England, Wales and Scotland for the fire service. The system which supports both voice and data communication will replace a patchwork of analogue systems with a modern wider area digital system...
and FiReControl
FiReControl
FiReControl was a project, initiated in the UK in March 2004, to reduce the number of control rooms used to handle emergency calls for fire services and authorities. Presently there are 46 control rooms in England that handle calls from the local public for emergency assistance via the 999 system...
projects. It has already delivered a range of equipment to the FRS to assist with handling large scale incidents. The vehicles supplied as part of the New Dimension provision will be fitted with the new FireLink digital radios, which will provide the foundations of a single wide area communications system in England, Wales and Scotland.
The purpose of New Dimension is to provide information and guidance for fire and rescue services on emergency response to the following specific types of incident:
- Terrorist CBRNCBRNCBRN is an initialism for chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear. It is used to refer to situations in which any of these four hazards have presented themselves. The term CBRN is a replacement for the cold war term NBC , which had replaced the term ABC that was used in the fifties...
threats - Chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear incidents
- Industrial and domestic accidents
- Chemical spills and collapsed buildings
- Natural disasters
- Floods and earthquakes
The onus is on fire services to provide "New Dimension capability", and legislation for England, passed in April 2007, recognised a fire and rescue service's responsibilities for dealing with the above types of incident. The Fire and Rescue Services (Emergencies)(England) Order 2007 is a statutory instrument
Statutory Instrument
A Statutory Instrument is the principal form in which delegated or secondary legislation is made in Great Britain.Statutory Instruments are governed by the Statutory Instruments Act 1946. They replaced Statutory Rules and Orders, made under the Rules Publication Act 1893, in 1948.Most delegated...
which requires that fire services make provision for dealing with CBRN incidents and structural collapse. Money from New Dimension has been used (as one example) to provide fire services with new specialist Urban Search and Rescue
Urban search and rescue
Urban search and rescue involves the location, extrication, and initial medical stabilization of victims trapped in confined spaces due to natural disasters, structural collapse, transportation accidents, mines and collapsed trenches.USAR teams in different countries may be organised in a...
appliances and equipment. Previously, fire services were not specifically equipped to deal with largescale USAR incidents.