How bonded IP video replaced voice-only reporting for the Czech Fire Rescue Service, giving commanders real-time visibility and helping crews bring wildfires under control faster.
For decades, commanders at the Fire Rescue Service of the Czech Republic managed emergencies through voice communications, relying on radio reports from the ground to understand rapidly changing conditions. In 2022, a major wildfire in Bohemian Switzerland exposed the limits of that approach. Dense forest, poor mobile coverage, and a fast-moving fire left commanders reacting instead of directing, becoming the catalyst for real-time video delivered directly from the incident to decision-makers in real time.
The Fire Rescue Service needed a way to get high-quality video out of exactly the terrain where connectivity is hardest to maintain – national parks, highland forest, and disaster zones with little to no fixed network coverage. The Service approached Czech LiveU partner Smart Informatics with the requirement, and the brief was clear: build something that had never existed before in Czech public safety, reliable enough to run a national emergency response on.
"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."
Col. Jiří Studnička, Head of the Communications Department, General Directorate of the Fire Rescue Service of the Czech Republic
Working with Smart Informatics, the Fire Rescue Service built a unified video command system around LiveU’s bonded-IP technology. LU-REQON1™ and LU800 units connect drone operators, thermal field cameras, and stationary PTZ cameras at the incident site, bonding 5G, LTE, WiFi, and – where needed – Starlink satellite simultaneously. If one network drops or gets congested, the feed keeps running on the others, with no single point of failure.
Every signal routes in real time to the Czech Republic’s National Operational Center, where it’s managed centrally and pushed back out simultaneously to on-site commanders and senior officers – viewable on a phone, tablet, or desktop, wherever they are. For major incidents that call for public communication, LiveU Matrix distributes the same live video straight to public television, a capability already tested and used in the field. Crews activate the system in seconds, with no technical setup required at the scene.
"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."
Col. Jiří Studnička, Head of the Communications Department, General Directorate of the Fire Rescue Service of the Czech Republic
The system was tested at scale in the same Bohemian Switzerland terrain that exposed the original gap, during a major wildfire involving 2,581 firefighters, 356 specialist vehicles and up to eight helicopters with Bambi buckets for aerial firefighting. More than ten LiveU units operated simultaneously.
From May to July 2026, LiveU units streamed around 640 hours and transmitted 1.7 TB of data.
The Bohemian Switzerland fire alone accounted for more than 250 broadcast hours and 627 GB of data, with one LU-REQON1 unit broadcasting for over 32 hours.
Thermal drones tracked the fire from above, while fixed PTZ thermal cameras detected hidden hotspots overnight. The fire was brought under control in ten days, with the Fire Rescue Service crediting real-time video intelligence for faster response and better command decisions. What began as a solution to one critical gap is now a core operational capability and a benchmark for other European public safety agencies.
"I have spent my career in broadcasting. When we moved into public safety, I understood very quickly that this is completely different. In broadcasting, if something goes wrong, you lose the picture. In emergency response, you can lose a life. This is the first time I have felt, with real certainty, that the technology I work with can directly affect whether people come home safely."
Tomáš Veselý, Managing Director, Smart Informatics
Commanders see exactly what crews see, in real time, instead of reconstructing the scene from voice reports alone – turning reaction into direction.
Bonded 5G, LTE, WiFi, and Starlink keep video running even when individual networks drop out or get congested in remote, poorly covered terrain.
Crews activate the system in seconds with no technical setup at the scene – technology that works without getting in the way during an active emergency.
Live video routes centrally through the National Operational Center and out to on-site commanders, senior officers, and – for major incidents – public television via LiveU Matrix.
