GMFRS wins innovation award for high tech gaming assessments

The nerve centre of the GMFRS XVR Suite – an advanced virtual environment capable of recreating serious emergencies

High tech gaming style assessments have ensured Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service (GMFRS) has been hailed as one of the most innovative services in the UK.

The Service won the Innovation Award at the British Quality Foundation Awards for advances it has made in training and assessing firefighters using a virtual environment.

GMFRS has been using XVR software to assess incident commanders since 2013. The software allows firefighters to be assessed in a pre-built virtual environment similar to a computer game.

Assessors can create a range of realistic scenarios from severe fires to explosions and large scale chemical leaks.

The system reacts to an incident commanders decisions in real time, giving them the chance to control multiple fire engines without having to use any of GMFRS’ actual pumps.

Assessing commanders in this way saves money, keeps the process consistent for each candidate and ensures officers are assessed in private.

Head of Operational Training, Area Manager Mark O’Brien, was joined by Watch Manager Kirk Cornwall and Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Authority member, Councillor June Hitchen, at a ceremony in London on Thursday 13 October.