As the second largest fire service in the UK, London Fire Brigade employs approximately 7,000 staff, of whom 5,800 are operational firefighters and officers, and serves all 32 London Boroughs and the City of London.
Working to protect the capital’s eight million permanent residents and more than 15 million annual tourists from around the globe, London Fire Brigade attends a range of emergency incidents, including fires, traffic collisions and floods, as well as carrying out community safety initiatives.
In order to conduct life-saving work, London Fire Brigade needs to balance the requirement for users to be able to respond quickly to information with doing so in a secure way. Therefore finding a solution that was user-intuitive was essential.
“Egress Protect has been effective for London Fire Brigade as it integrates with our existing infrastructure. In particular, it works with our email client to provide a simple ‘one-click’ encryption solution, so that email content and any attachments are securely and easily shared with our partners.”
Vanessa Skinner, Safeguarding Lead, London Fire Brigade
The challenge
Vanessa Skinner, London Fire Brigade’s Safeguarding Lead, explains: “Fire prevention work is most effective when carried out in partnership with other organisations to support those most at risk from fire. As such, London Fire Brigade works closely with all 32 London Boroughs and the City of London, the Met Police, and care agencies, as well as other external partners, to identify those in need of support via a referral process. During a recent review of London Fire Brigade’s safeguarding processes and systems, our ICT Security staff identified the organisational benefit, particularly in line with local authorities, offered by the secure electronic transmission of confidential information to third parties. As a result, we deployed Egress Protect to meet this need.”
The solution
“Egress Protect has been effective for London Fire Brigade as it integrates with our existing infrastructure,” Vanessa Skinner continues. “In particular, it works with our email client to provide a simple ‘one-click’ encryption solution, so that email content and any attachments are securely and easily shared with our partners.”
Egress UK Sales Manager Kelly McCann comments: “The remit of fire services’ work includes not only attendance at emergency incidents but also fire prevention and community awareness, meaning that information must be shared with external organisations. Egress enables organisations to manage the secure exchange of electronic information with external third parties, and London Fire Brigade’s decision to adopt Egress Protect means that we are now providing encryption solutions to both of the UK’s largest fire and rescue services, following Scottish Fire and Rescue Service’s adoption.”