FireServiceRota is proud to serve the firefighters at the CERN research facility
Many of the Fire and Rescue Services we serve have a personal touch to the working relationship. For Cor, founder of FireServiceRota, this is definitely the case for CERN. During his physics studies, he received a phone call from a local station commander, sparking the idea for what has now become FireServiceRota. Cor left the world of physics and research, dedicating himself to serving firefighters with the best technology possible to be on duty when needed, and free when possible. Now, 17 years later, the firefighters circle him back to the pinnacle of physics and research, at the renowned CERN research facility.
About CERN
CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, is one of the world's largest and most respected centres for scientific research. The work at CERN helps to uncover what the universe is made of and how it works. They provide a unique range of particle accelerator facilities to researchers, to advance the boundaries of human knowledge. To ensure the safety of the researchers and support staff, CERN has a wholetime fire crew providing 24/7 cover to the facility.
Visit to Geneva
The visit to CERN was amazing both from a personal perspective as well as a business perspective. Chief Fire Officer Sara Hansen gave us a tour around the facility, allowing us a view ‘behind the scenes’ only firefighters can get. We were impressed by the range of hazards the CERN firefighters face: electrical, chemical, radioactive, confined spaces, altitude and extreme magnetic fields. For this reason, CERN recruits from wholetime firefighters with at least 5 years of experience. They offer a unique international working environment and are still looking for firefighters from the UK or The Netherlands.
During our visit in November 2023, Tonnis and Cor built trust, confidence and knowledge with the team of CERN firefighters. We demonstrated the system and trained them to use the system to plan their shifts, manage shift exchanges and absences, and navigate contracts and working time policies. They are now ready to go live in early 2024, while FireServiceRota continues to support and optimise their system usage.
FireServiceRota provides real-time insight into the availability of on-call fire services and optimises crewing for full-time fire stations in one single system. We are proud to welcome the CERN fire service as a customer and provide them with the support and insight they need to ensure readiness.
