Crash-scene texts sent in safety drive

Graphic scenes of car crashes and house fires will be sent to mobile phones as part of a fire safety scheme being introduced in the Black Country.

Dudley is one of the first boroughs in the region to trial the Bluetooth messaging project introduced by West Midlands Fire Service.

Leading fire officers want to target young people who would not normally take in safety advice.

The messages appear if mobile phone wireless bluetooth connections are active within 33 yards of a signal box carried by fire crews.

Messages can be viewed if people receiving them accept the connection to West Midlands Fire Service.

People who connect to the link will see a short message - around 30 seconds long - which has moving graphics.

They show a series of images in a slideshow format accompanied by text.

One shows fire crews attempting to cut someone out of a car. Another shows the consequences of leaving a cooker on after returning home from a night out.

The system is in use in Coventry and Perry Barr but is now being introduced in other areas of the region.

Messages will be sent out at events where fire crews attend to talk to visitors such as fetes, festivals, demonstrations and other community events.

Target

Fire crews will also be visiting pubs, clubs and shopping centres over the next few months to target young people with the safety messages.

The signal is emitted from a small computer box carried by fire crews. Dudley's Operational Commander Steve Vincent said the service has been designed with younger people in mind.

"We had to engage with people in the community. If we give people a paper flyer, it gets lost or thrown away.

"These messages are meant to have impact when you see them."

Fire service community safety officer Andy Swift said the cost of the machinery could not be disclosed.

But the cost of creating the images was minimal and sending bluetooth messages was free, he added.

By Andrew Turton