During the tenth Archimedes Roundtable event in Paris, France, Dominique Taudin, Vice President Euralarm and Chairman Fire Section, presented Euralarm and the PEARS and Smart Cities topics. The event was focused on Urban Security. Both topics are Euralarm’s current main focus points and are of great importance to urban security.
Funded by the European Union, this Archimedes Roundtable consisted of three subtopics, namely: Security in urban environments, Security of large-scale urban events and Critical infrastructures facing urban disasters. During the latter, Dominique Taudin presented Euralarm’s statements, findings and suggestions. He started off with a general presentation of Euralarm and addressed all important factors that can contribute to a safe and secure Europe.
This general introduction was followed by the PEARS project. This is a Public Emergency Alert and Response System to which fire and security systems have to contribute to reach the broader public. Tens of thousands of systems are already installed in commercial buildings and millions in private homes. Many of these systems are connected to public and private alarm monitoring stations, which employ personnel who are trained in crisis management which are used to react in crisis situations. By using these existing fire safety and security systems, a very broad public can be reached in crisis situations, without enormous implementing costs for new systems. These systems are also already resilient against power failures, because European Norms require a battery back-up of at least 24 hours. These are all reasons why fire safety & security systems should be an integral part of any public alert system.
The PEARS project was followed by urban security and resilience for Europe’s Smart Cities. This topic has become increasingly relevant during the last decade in the European and international policy arena, in the market place and in standardization. Truly smart urban processes, people and infrastructures rely on safety and security as key pillars underpinning the Smart City and keeping it functional at all times. The European Innovation Partnership Smart Cities and Communities (EIP SCC) is a very important step forward to make Europe a leading player in the international Smart Cities context. This gives access to a broad community of urban stakeholders and it links to Horizon 2020. However, EIP SCC also needs safety and security to be truly holistic and that is why Euralarm is ready to support the initiative and its stakeholders with their expertise.
