GAFIRS is a registered charity, independent of the Royal National Lifeboat Institute (RNLI). Its volunteer crews are on call 24/7 and, each year, respond to over 130 requests for help from HM Coastguard Marine Rescue Centre.
Those calls range from accidents and incidents at sea to fires and even unexploded bombs left over from the Second World War.
The service’s headquarters – where the boats and rescue equipment are kept – are unmanned, and therefore demand high levels of security. A remotely monitored video surveillance solution was the basic requirement.
Following a major extension to the hq last year, and as part of a winter maintenance project, GAFIRS duty officer Colin Davey turned to Xtralis to see if ADPRO technology could help.
Security has taken a back seat
“As a charity we rely heavily on public donations,” explained Davey. “Since all of the money we raise goes towards the purchasing and upkeep of our equipment, security has always had to take a back seat. We do have a number of cameras at the site, but it has not been possible to monitor them remotely. False alarms have also been a problem.”
Davey continued: “Now, thanks to the ADPRO solution, we’ll be able to access images from the cameras on the web, at any time, anywhere so that if an alarm is triggered we can see precisely what’s happening without having to visit the site in person.”
The ADPRO technology is also able to better integrate with the existing intruder alarm system and thus yield a much more inclusive and efficient security solution year-round.
Davey was previously head of asset protection for Scottish & Southern Energy plc, and worked as an independent security consultant.
“In both of those posts I specified Xtralis’ ADPRO technology and knew that it was precisely what we were looking for. We’re all absolutely delighted that they’ve agreed to help, and thank them for their generous support.”
Early warning fire detection and security solutions
As a company, Xtralis specialises in the provision of powerful, early warning fire detection and security solutions that help detect threats before life safety, critical infrastructure or business continuity is compromised.
Indeed, the company provides very early warning detection systems for more than 10,000 customers in 40 countries around the world.
Solutions include Xtralis VESDA Very Early Warning Fire Detection and Control, Xtralis ICAM Flexible Fire and Environmental Solutions, Xtralis ADPRO Detection and Analytics Security Products, Xtralis ASIM Traffic Management and Control and Xtralis Security Solutions IP Security Portfolio.
For further information on GAFIRS and Xtralis click on the dedicated web links provided on the right hand panel of this page
