The FireGrid cluster aims to establish a cross-disciplinary collaborative community to pursue fundamental research for developing real time emergency response systems, using the Grid, beginning with fire emergencies.

The challenges are:

* Sensing: Data collection from the emergency location with instantaneous and continuous relay to the emergency response system (involving a large array of sensors communicating with each other as a network and with the response system via the Grid);

* Modelling: Simulation tools runnin g in a predictive mode to model the evolution of the fire, establish its impact on the structure (and therefore predict the collapse), while also analysing the intervention alternatives and evacuation strategies;

* Forecast: All simulations, analyses and communications to be achieved faster than the evolution of the emergency in real time;

* Feedback: Processing of the continuously updated sensor and simulation data relayed back to the active response systems at the emergency location and to the emergency services to assist their intervention;

* Response: Effective co-ordination of all intervention by a command and control system using an intelligent execution support aid.