The campaign week is in its second year and participating control rooms came from the UK, India, Australia and even the remote island of St Helena.
International Control Room Week, organised by APD Communications, recognises the role control room employees play in keeping society safe and secure, as well as dealing with traumatic and distressing incidents every day.
It ran from Monday 21st to Sunday 27th October and involved teams from police, ambulance, fire and coastguard services, as well as critical control operations serving airports, local authorities and utility companies.
During the week, control room teams and supporters took to social media to raise public awareness of their vital work. Almost 7,000 posts about the campaign were shared from over 3,000 social media accounts, reaching nearly 17 million people.
International Control Room Week also raised funds for two mental health charities, Mind and Scotland’s Association for Mental Health. Several emergency services organisations also staged their own fund-raising initiatives, ranging from bikeathons to cake sales, each raising hundreds of pounds for Mind.
After seeing dozens of photographs shared on social media last year, APD decided to add two light-hearted photo competitions to run alongside the event.
Isle Of Man Communications Division took the prize for “Best Dressed Control Room”, winning a pizza drop for the team, while Cara, the Urban Search and Rescue Dog from West Midlands Fire Service, claimed a VIP doggy bag as the winner of the “Best Emergency Services Dog” photo.
APD is a software supplier to the emergency services, public safety and control room markets. It provides mission critical communications and control solutions to UK police forces as well as transportation hubs and airports, including Gatwick and Dubai international airports and the London Underground.
Above: North Wales Police control room staff raise public awareness of their vital work.
