NEW FIRE CONTROL CENTRE LOCATIONS ANNOUNCED - ODPM
Plans to set up a new national network of control centres for the Fire and Rescue Service which will deliver the best possible service to the public came one step closer today when the first seven locations were named.
The control centre network is part of the Government's major investment in modernising the Fire and Rescue Service to equip it for the demands of the 21st century. Nine control centres will replace the existing 46 local fire service control rooms across the country. The locations of the seven named sites are:
* Belmont Business Park, Durham
* Lingley Mere Business Park, Great Sankey, Warrington, Cheshire
* Cambridge Research Park, Cambridge
* Willow Farm Business Park, Castle Donington, Leicestershire
* Wolverhampton Business Park, Wolverhampton
* Paragon Business Village, Wakefield, West Yorkshire
* Blackbrook Business Park, Taunton, Somerset.
Discussions with developers are being finalised in the South East and it is hoped to make an announcement shortly on the location of the South East centre. London already has a regional control centre which will be integrated into the national network in time for the Olympics in 2012.
Today's announcement was made by ODPM Minister Jim Fitzpatrick MP, who has responsibility for Fire. He said:
"There is a compelling need to modernise and rationalise the control rooms in England, as part of the overall modernisation agenda. In the post-9/11 world, and in the wake of the events of 7th July, we need control centres that are resilient enough to deal with a terrorist attack or any natural disaster.
"London's experience on the 7th July showed that only a regional control centre can deal effectively with an event of that scale particularly in terms of the specialist management required for inter-agency liaison and on-going communications to synchronise plans and deployment when the Fire and Rescue service is not the prime service on the scene.
"While existing control rooms do a good job, they are not designed to deal in a co-ordinated way with major regional or national incidents - they need improvement and investment.
"The new national network will provide the Fire and Rescue Service with a modern, effective system that will better protect the public. The centres will use the latest proven technology which will not only enable firefighters to respond more quickly to incidents but improve their safety by providing accurate information before they reach the scene. The network will deliver a service that is resilient and capable of responding to anything from a small house fire to a large scale national emergency. It will also be much more efficient, which will free up resources for other Fire and Rescue Service work, such as fire prevention."
All sites were selected taking into account factors such as accessibility (for both people and services), demographics, vulnerability to threats such as flooding and suitability for development.
Mr Fitzpatrick, himself a former firefighter, said:
"We recognise that establishing the new network will inevitably result in change for staff. We are working very closely with the national employers so that staff are treated well, and will continue to work hard to keep staff informed of developments as they happen.
"As it is for the Fire and Rescue Service, public safety is our priority. We will work with them and other stakeholders to take this important project forward. This is all about improving public safety and improving the Fire and Rescue Service."
Today's news was welcomed by Tom Carroll President of the Chief Fire Officers Association who said:
"CFOA is delighted that the ODPM has announced the locations of the new control centres today. CFOA has supported the FiReControl project from the outset, and this is a significant milestone. We are also delighted that ODPM is investing so much in the Fire and Rescue Service. Establishing this national network of nine centres will be a huge step in the modernisation of the Service. It will provide a better service for the public and will greatly improve resilience, particularly important in the light of recent events."
In some cases, work on the new sites will begin within six months. Work is currently underway to procure the infrastructure that will provide state-of-the-art technology for the new control centres. The national network should be fully operational by 2009.
