Case Study:

Prioritising at risk households

South Wales Fire through mobile mapping capability
and Rescue Service

Client
By applying Experian’s Mosaic Public Sector
segmentation system and Micromarketer Xpress
mapping tool, South Wales Fire and Rescue
Service now has a targeted approach towards
helping those most at risk of a dwelling fire, and a
structured methodology that dramatically improves
communications between fire stations in the area.

Challenge It provides a detailed and accurate

Figure 1: Each fire station was given a mobile data
device to view Mosaic Public Sector data on a
map, so that they could view where they should be
carrying out Home Fire Safety Checks
Figure 2: By using Experian’s Micromarketer Xpress
to visualise the locations of specific Mosaic types,
the South Wales Fire and Rescue Service are able to
save time and increase effectiveness
The South Wales Fire and Rescue
Service (SWFRS) required a
classification system to determine
which households were most at risk
of a fire, and could subsequently
receive a free home fire safety check.
Given the large geographical area
that SWFRS covers, they also wanted
visual representation of which areas
should be targeted, to save money
by visiting multiple houses in close
proximity as opposed to carrying out
one visit at a time.
Solution
Experian combined two systems,
Mosaic Public Sector and
Micromarketer Xpress, to help
SWFRS understand the needs and
characteristics of their population
and develop a targeted approach to
home fire risk assessments. These
were piloted and feedback gauged to
ensure that the correct approach was
adopted.
Mosaic Public Sector is the UK’s only
classification designed specifically
for use by the public sector and
focuses on the needs of citizens.
understanding of each citizen’s
location, their demographics,
lifestyles and behaviours.
The insight available through Mosaic
allowed SWFRS to understand which
message to target to which group of
the population, and in what way to
deliver the message. This approach
meant that SWFRS could proactively
engage the public to help reduce risk
and ultimately prevent fires.
Micromarketer Xpress is an easy-to-
use mapping system with no need
for GIS training, available through an
internet connection and which can
display Experian and service-specific
incident data. Each fire station was
given a mobile data device to view
the relevant Mosaic Public Sector
data on a map, so that they could view
where they should be carrying out
their Home Fire Safety Checks.This
use of Micromarketer Xpress was
particularly useful for field operatives,
as the interactive guide could be
viewed prior to visiting a household
or area.
 Cardinal Place
80 Victoria Street
London
SW1E 5JL
T 44 (0) 203 042 4000
F 44 (0) 207 746 8277
www.experian.co.uk/publicsector
“With the ever increasing
diversity and risk that
our crews face, Mosaic
has been an invaluable
asset to our organization.
Within Community
Safety and Partnerships
the introduction of Mosaic
and Micromarketer
Xpress has created a
fresh and entirely more
accurate approach
to targeting, allowing
us to engage with the
more vulnerable in
our communities and
ultimately undertake
quality High Risk Home
Fire Safety Checks. The
potential of the data
involved and the profiling
and reporting measures
that support that data
will benefit all functions
within Community Safety
and Partnerships.”
Martin Henderson
SWFRS Area Manager
Head of Risk Reduction
For more information, please contact Jo Munton:
T 07966 01 0953
jo.munton@uk.experian.com
Embankment House 160 Dundee Street
Electric Avenue Edinburgh
Nottingham EH11 1DQ
NG80 1EH T 44 (0) 131 228 8030
T 44 (0) 115 941 0888 F 44 (0) 131 228 8040
F 44 (0) 115 968 5003
www.experian.co.uk
Station personnel from one
designated watch at Penarth Station,
with a target of 18 home fires safety
checks per month, visited 201
addresses between 15/07/10 and
09/01/11. As a result they completed
113 High Risk Home Fire Safety
Checks with a success rate in excess
of 50 per cent.
Results
There have been a number of
benefits to SWFRS as a result of this
programme. These include:
• A full understanding of the
community within South Wales
and visibility of the highest risk
groups, as well as the ability to
identify any significant patterns
between residential fires and socio-
demographic type
• Analysis using Mosaic allows
SWFRS to predict the level of
fire risk by individual household
and underpin efficient resource
allocation
• Tailored messaging will ensure that
the resources of the fire service
are not wasted on untargeted
communications activity
• Increased efficiency has led to
time savings and a reduction in
paperwork, freeing resources to
accommodate other aspects of fire
stations’ Community Safety remit
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