FIREFIGHTERS in Hampshire will be the first in the country to use a new piece of kit.

Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service are preparing to offer body worn cameras to their officers.

Fire chiefs called for the new gear to launch first in Hampshire in a bid to give firefighters a more complete picture of incidents after leaving the scene.

Now 70 of the cameras are being rolled out to stations. They will to be attached to a firefighter’s helmets and will be used to evaluate and reflect on their performance.

It comes just over a year after Hampshire Constabulary announced they would be giving all front-line police officers body worn cameras to record when they attend incidents and fire chiefs say this is why they were inspired to use the technology.

Now the fire service will is jumping on board using a Reveal model camera.

The lightweight, compact pieces of kit have already been used on a selection of major incidents in the county so far, including the Fireworks Factory explosion in Southampton last month.

But the cameras will now be used regularly by firefighters and the footage will be used atto large or sensitive incidents and help with investigations.

Footage will then be reviewed by other firefighters and managers to give an “enhanced” level of advice and debrief.

Just like Hampshire Constabulary the HFRS hope that their video footage could also be used to record evidence to help with investigations.

Footage will also be used for training and as a media resource to offer the public new insight sinto how firefighters work on the scene of a major blaze.

Operational Technology Manager Alex Rhodes said: “It is about seeing more and understanding more. Everyone in the service strives to be better. If a picture paints 1,000 words, a video shows 1,000 pictures.

“New body worn cameras are going to help every firefighter be the best they can be and embrace the fact we are, as all fire services are, a learning organisation.

“That is what the introduction of this new technology is all about; trying to make an already excellent service even better.”

A pilot was carried out with nine cameras and the digital evidence management software (DEMS) system in October last year, before the current roll-out to middle-level and senior officers.

The footage collected during that period has since provided video evidence of a suspected arsonist and been used in an investigation into a boat fire.

There have also been numerous other occasions when officers have realised that such a recording would have been useful.

Assistant Chief Officer Andy Bowers added: “The introduction of helmet-mounted cameras for HFRS incident commanders is a really positive innovation for us.

“We will use them for reflective learning, training, incident analysis and fire investigation. There are many applications.

“Having these cameras will demonstrably improve the way we collate situational awareness, carry out incident assessments and make command decisions.They will make the public and firefighters of Hampshire safer.”

The cameras will be encrypted to ensure security and so that, if lost or stolen, footage cannot be viewed by unauthorised people.

Footage will be held for a minimum of 30 days after it is recorded.

Anything that could be used for training purposes can be kept for a year, while footage that helps evaluate equipment or techniques will be held for two years.

If the video has evidential value it may remain on the system for seven years, and footage relating to health implications will be kept for 50 years.