INA protects Brussels!

Together with our Leuven-based partner Gemsotec, we developed a new intervention application for the Antwerp fire zone in 2019: INA. Since then, the application has grown into an indispensable tool for hundreds of firefighters across Belgium. After successful implementations in various zones in the provinces of Antwerp and West Flanders, INA is now expanding to the capital. The SIAMU (Service d'Incendie et d'Aide Médicale Urgente de la Région de Bruxelles-Capitale) is responsible for protecting the 1.2 million residents of Brussels’ 19 municipalities, responding to no less than 14,000 interventions annually.

New features for complex firefighting

INA has recently been enhanced to tackle highly complex urban fires, thanks to the development of several new features in collaboration with fire departments. The application now includes an Incident Command System, allowing teams and sectors to be easily organized. Emergency services can annotate maps and add various Points of Interest (POIs) and shapes, such as the location of a command post or an evacuation zone.

Flexible for all types of interventions

Although firefighting is the primary association with fire departments, only 3,000 of Brussels' 14,000 non-medical interventions are fire-related. That’s why INA is designed to be flexibly deployed for all types of incidents. The map module offers various drawing options to accurately map out each situation. Additionally, special attention has been given to data security and confidentiality. A comprehensive permissions structure determines which profiles have access to specific information. A particular challenge in Brussels was bilingualism. Thanks to the latest updates, users can now seamlessly switch between Dutch and French as their preferred language setting in INA.

A fun fact to wrap up: With Brussels now on board, INA protects an impressive 25% of Belgians! Are we on the path to 100%?