Czech Fire Service Adopts LiveU For Real-Time Video Command

The Fire Rescue Service of the Czech Republic has introduced LiveU's bonded IP live video across active operations, moving beyond radio-only voice to deliver real-time situational awareness.

The service credits the shift with shortening wildfire response times and improving command decisions as conditions evolve rapidly on the ground.

Supplied through LiveU's Czech partner Smart Informatics, the system integrates LU-REQON1™ and LU800 units with drone operators, thermal field cameras and fixed PTZ cameras at incident sites. Feeds are sent in real time to the Czech Republic's National Operational Centre, centrally managed and redistributed simultaneously to on-site commanders and senior officers. For national disasters and other major incidents requiring public updates, the LiveU Matrix IP distribution platform enables the service to deliver live video directly to public television — a capability already proven in the field.

The approach was tested at scale during a major wildfire in Bohemian Switzerland National Park, where more than ten LiveU units operated concurrently alongside 2,581 firefighters, 356 pieces of specialist equipment (including vehicles and drones) and up to eight helicopters using Bambi buckets for aerial firefighting. Thermal-equipped drones tracked the fire's spread from above, while stationary PTZ thermal cameras pinpointed hidden hotspots overnight. The blaze was brought under control in ten days, with the rescue service citing real-time video intelligence as a direct contributor to the outcome.

A far larger fire in the same area in 2022 exposed a critical operational gap and prompted the service to seek a technical solution. Tasked with delivering high-quality video from remote terrain with weak mobile coverage, Smart Informatics developed a deployment unprecedented in Czech public safety — one the partners say sets a new European benchmark for situational awareness.

"Before LiveU, commanders in the operational center made decisions based only on voice communication over radio. Now they see exactly what we see, in real time, from every point of the incident. That change in situational awareness has made us faster, more precise, and more effective –and in a wildfire, every minute we save matters. The system is also remarkably simple to use under field conditions –our crews activate it in seconds with no technical setup at the scene. When you are responding to an emergency, you need technology that works without getting in the way," said Col. Jiří Studnička, Head of the Communications Department, General Directorate of the Fire Rescue Service of the Czech Republic.

LiveU units bond multiple links simultaneously — 5G, LTE, WiFi and, where needed, Starlink satellite — maintaining continuous video even when individual networks fail or congest, with no dependence on a single connection. For a service operating across national parks, highland forests and disaster zones, that resilience is essential. Live feeds flow from field units to the National Operational Center, back down to commanders on the ground, and out to senior officers who can monitor on a mobile phone, tablet or desktop — wherever they are.

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