REPORT REFERENCE NO.	CSCPC/17/5
MEETING	COMMUNITY SAFETY & CORPORATE PLANNING COMMITTEE
DATE OF MEETING	21 APRIL 2017
SUBJECT OF REPORT	VIRTUAL REALITY HEADSETS FOR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
LEAD OFFICER	ASSISTANT CHIEF FIRE OFFICER – SERVICE DELIVERY
RECOMMENDATIONS	That the report be noted.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY	A Water Safety Film has now been produced and the Service is awaiting the finished product to release nationally to coincide with the national CFOA Be Water Aware campaign.
RESOURCE IMPLICATIONS	At the moment the Service has purchased four complete sets, a complete set is – Samsung S7 phone - £410 Occulus Headset - £57 Films will be produced and shared from other FRS, this is being coordinated nationally through CFOA. The additional films should be available at no extra cost to the service. The decision is whether to purchase additional sets to allow us to deliver to a complete class or larger groups.
EQUALITY RISKS AND BENEFITS ANALYSIS (ERBA)	Has been completed and submitted for review
APPENDICES	None.
LIST OF BACKGROUND PAPERS	None.

INTRODUCTION

1.1	Virtual Reality (VR) is a general term for immersive display and input technology that creates the feeling of being present in a computer-generated place, Apps as we know them exist on screens. In VR, the app is a space you can visit. This has immediate and obvious benefits for Community safety education, and is highly useful for engaging and demonstrating dangerous situations or places that would otherwise be limited by real-world constraints, resources, time or money.

1.2	The Community Safety Education Department has been working on a project to introduce Virtual Reality (VR) technology into Devon & Somerset Fire & Rescue Service (DSFRS) as a tool to engage with the community in a number of different areas. The idea was started by Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service who produced a VR road traffic collision film. This was at a cost of £15000, they have been prepared to share this film with us and also nationally with other Fire and Rescue Services.

1.3	CFOA have taken a national interest in this and are now coordinating the production and coordination of the films to ensure people aren’t duplicating films and put people in touch if they would like to work together on the films to reduce costs.

1.4	The aim is to have a hub where all VR films produced can be accessed by Fire and Rescue Services that contribute and wish to use VR for community engagements; DSFRS will have access to this hub through producing a VR Water Safety film.

INTRODUCTION OF VR INTO DEVON & SOMERSET FIRE & RESCUE SERVICE

2.1	The Service’s Community Safety Education Department currently has four sets of VR technology; this consists of 4 Samsung S7 phones and accompanying Occulus Headsets. The Service also has a copy of Leicestershire’s Fire & Rescue Service virtual reality road safety film that they have shared and are happy for us to use. The picture below is an example of what one of these looks like.

2.2	The Community Safety Education Department is in the process of producing a virtual reality water safety film which will focus on some of the key issues the Service is facing in Devon and Somerset as well as nationally. The Service is looking to highlight the dangers of Drink Drowning, Cold Water Shock and Peer pressure. This will go a long way to show that we are seriously committed through partnerships to deal with the real issue the Service is facing with accidental drownings.

2.3	The Community Safety Education Department are working closely with our partners such as: Royal National Lifeboat Institute, Royal Life Saving Society, Police, South West Ambulance Service Trust and Coastguard to produce an Immersive educational film. The filming has now been completed; the final product is being produced and will be ready to release nationally to coincide with CFOAs Water Safety week in April. It will be shared nationally/internationally and then utilised to deliver educational packages to 16-30 year olds, however this will be appropriate for all adults to use.

BENEFITS OF VR

3.1	The added benefit of producing this film is it will provide Devon & Somerset Fire and Rescue Service access to the additional films that are being produced, developed and coordinated by other Fire and Rescue Services and CFOA.

Filming of Water Safety Film

3.2	The film will be shown to the Committee at the meeting for information.

ALEX HANSON

Assistant Chief Fire Officer – Service Delivery