FIRE-IN has been designed to raise the security level of EU citizens by improving the national and European Fire & Rescue (F&R) capability development process. FIRE-IN addresses the concern that capability-driven research and innovation in this area needs much stronger guidance from practitioners and better exploitation of the technology potentially available for the discipline. We argue that this is to be achieved by practitioners more effectively coordinating on operational needs, on available research and innovation, on standardisation, and on test & demonstration and training. Further, we claim the need for the development of a common research culture that is to be achieved by better cooperation between practitioner and research/industry organisations. FIRE-IN addresses these objectives through four main areas of activity: (i) the identification and harmonisation of operational capability gaps based on the contribution provided by a significant and heterogeneous practitioner network, (ii) the identification of promising solutions to address those gaps through monitoring and screening of research outcomes and the continuous involvement of research and industry representatives, (iii) the definition of a F&R Strategic Research and Standardisation Agenda (SRSA) based on the previous elements as well as (iv) the development of a concept for more efficient use of test & demonstration and training facilities to support innovation and joint skill development. The overarching result of the project will be a proven process for organising F&R capability-driven research based on a wide practitioner and research and innovation network. The network will be linked at cross-domain and cross-border level and will feed harmonised operational requirements (or challenges) into national and EU capability development, i.e. research, innovation, procurement and standardisation programmes.

This project aims to build a dynamic, functional and sustainable pan European network of CBRN training centres, testing and demonstration sites (CBRN TC) strengthening capacity building in training and users-driven innovation and research, based on well-identified needs. We seek to better European preparedness, resilience and incident response to CBRN attacks and emerging threats through close multi- (stakeholders) and single-discipline (practitioners) interactions. This makes CBRN TC the perfect operational intermediary between all civilian and military CBRN actors, EU relevant bodies and policy-makers, as well as the best cradle for expansion of a CBRN network of professionals. Main pillars for the network and confidence building will be to pool and share resources, effective practices and lessons learned, to map and label EU CBRN TC based on their capabilities and specificities, and to use a dedicated web based information and communication platform for exchanges and dissemination. Rather than usual workshops that are of no interest for task-focused, busy practitioners, the CBRN TC network will organize joint activities, training and debriefing in well-adapted infrastructures, using real-life or simulated situations (e.g., field exercises, table top, serious gaming and simulations), with external partners, in order to foster the identification of genuine users’ needs with users-driven technological solutions. This network will also benefit to national and EU CBRN projects, thereby expanding network scope and size, fast-tracking innovations and dissemination. Whilst using efficiently investments made across Europe in demonstration, testing, and training facilities for practitioners, this novel concept will issue meaningful users-guided recommendations to the EU R&D programme, enhance CBRN product performance and competitiveness, and decrease EU market fragmentation. Only such an interactive and collaborative approach is expected to reach long term sustainability.

The main purpose of ASSISTANCE project is twofold: On the one hand to help and protect different kind of first responders’ (FR) organizations that work together taking into account the type of disaster/crisis they are mitigating in each moment and on the other hand, to enhance their capabilities for facing complex situations providing them advanced training based on Virtual Reality (VR), Mixed Reality (MR) and Augmented Reality (AR), tailored to their real needs depending on the type of incident. ASSISTANCE project will use novel technologies such as; UAV, Robots, drones’ swarms and advanced training based on VR, MR and AR for increasing the FR’s situation awareness (SA) taking into account their need in terms of data (e.g. real time video, persons and objects location, evacuation routes status, ad-hoc network coverage and so on). Different types of adapted SA modules will be developed inside a common SA framework capable of offering the sensor outcome needed by each FR organization (e.g. real time video and resources location for firemen, evacuation routes status for emergency health services and so on). Regarding training, an advanced training network based on VR, MR, AR and other novel technologies and methodologies (e.g. tailored curricula, immersive interfaces, adapted training methodology definition, etc.) will be established in order to share different VR platforms and scenarios for enhancing the current training capabilities and skills of different FRs organization. All the ASSISTANCE results will be tested under controlled conditions in three different demostration pilots. Solutions will be developed in compliance with EU societal values, fundamental rights and applicable legislation, including in the area of privacy and personal data protection. Societal aspects (e.g. perception of security, possible effects of technological solutions on societal resilience, gender diversity) have to be taken into account in a comprehensive and thorough manner.

SYNERGISE will design, develop, integrate, deploy, test, validate and demonstrate a Novel Integrated Toolkit for Collaborative Response and Enhanced Situational Awareness (NIT-CRES), at the service of response agencies which ensures an upgrade to managing of complex incidents. This will comprise a multitude of tools and services required for: 1) boosting situational awareness and sense-making by offering them the means to autonomously and synergistically perform indoor and outdoor exploration of incident sites towards victim identification whilst receiving at all times information about responders’ position and vitals as well as analyses of passive and active threats and hazards at the area of operations and 2) upgrading collaborative response and incident as well resources management by continuously sharing and updating the common operational picture across deployed teams, among the chain of command and between participating agencies. The NIT-CRES armors the FRs at all fronts by delivering novel, affordable, accepted, and customized response tools and services as part of their operational assets. Notably, the toolkit abides to privacy, ethical, security and legal constraints by design, considers an increased degree of inclusiveness for its operators and its set-up facilitates collaborative response addressing standard operating procedures. The NIT-CRES will be provided at the service of the search and rescue personnel, fire brigades, emergency medical, police and civil protection agencies for extensive testing, training and validation (at component and Toolkit levels) in the framework of a rich Integration, Testing and Validation Activities Programme – of Round Tables (RTs), Collaborative Lab Tests (CLTs), Technical Integration Workshop (TIWS), Component Field Tests (CFTs) and System Field Tests (SFTs) – towards empowering collaborative response and handling of complex incidents to its fullest.