433:
workforce, which was of major concern to the directors and ministers. Members of the fire brigades union had grave concerns about the diversion of money to the project, and questioned the feasibility of having 30% fewer control staff available to answer emergency calls across the country during spate conditions. There were fears that the regional control centre 999 system would become swamped with calls and come to a complete standstill, and the loss of local knowledge amongst call takers was considered a significant risk. Chief fire officers feared they would have less control over service delivery in their county, which they felt might be a concern to fire authorities around the country.
63:
control staff who used computer-aided mobilising systems to locate the nearest available, appropriate resources and mobilise them to the incident. The control staff maintained contact with the fire crews, in most cases by voice radio, whilst on their way and during the incident to provide current information and respond to critical requests.
432:
The Fire
Brigades Union, which represents firefighting personnel and control staff at all levels within the fire and rescue service across the UK, launched a campaign against the regionalisation of emergency fire control rooms. The union stated that the project had virtually no acceptance amongst the
66:
Some fire and rescue services supported each other with additional resources. Although the control rooms relied on different technologies and operational procedures and were not physically networked, they supported each other by taking calls and giving advice to callers from outside their area. Then
346:
Cut over was planned to happen gradually with groups of fire and rescue services moving from local control centre to RCC in batches. This was intended to make it easier to identify, isolate and address any problems that arise without affecting the quality of service provided to the public. It was
62:
At the time that FiReControl was proposed, each fire and rescue service in
England was responsible for accepting and processing emergency fire calls in its own local authority area and, with agreement, emergency calls from other fire and rescue service areas. These were answered by dedicated fire
53:
The original plan was for 46 current control rooms to be combined into nine regional control centres (RCC), but this plan was thrown into doubt in May 2010 when the government announced that fire services would not be forced to reorganise. The plan was formally scrapped in
December 2010.
358:
By 2008, regional local authority controlled companies had been set up in the North East, North West, East
Midlands, West Midlands, South West and the South East. London did not need to set up a local authority controlled company because of its unique arrangements.
101:
However much of the technology was said to be becoming obsolete before it had even been installed due to progress in technology and delays to the project. Some fire services already had some of the proposed equipment some three years before the final RCC goes live.
67:
the information was passed to the relevant fire service via telephone, fax or radio, whichever was quickest. There were at the time about 1,500 control staff employed in
England, with 350 on duty at any one time under the current county system.
970:
355:
Each RCC would have been run by an organisation known as a local authority controlled company. This company was to be jointly owned by all the fire and rescue authorities (FRAs) in that region.
347:
planned that the first regional control centres would go live in spring 2011, with the full system expected in place by the end of 2012, but the May 2010 announcements put these plans in doubt.
491:
440:
published a policy green paper in April saying that they would cancel the regionalisation of fire control as part of their decentralisation/localisation policy, and confirmed following the
1070:
871:
845:
705:
679:
801:
897:
731:
974:
460:
368:
88:
Providing each RCC with caller identification location technology – which means the location a call is coming from will be identified automatically.
410:
85:
Ensuring each RCC will have access to the same information and the ability to manage and deploy resources on a local, regional or national level.
580:
1157:
498:
273:
Hampshire, Royal
Berkshire, Oxfordshire, Kent, East Sussex, Buckinghamshire, Isle of Wight, Surrey and West Sussex Fire and Rescue Services.
79:
Networking each of the nine centres so they will be able to automatically back each other up in times of increased call pressure or failure.
1100:
1018:
1044:
122:
649:
606:
1078:
372:
875:
441:
849:
709:
461:"Firelink: Improved fire and rescue service radio communications - Fire and resilience - Communities and Local Government"
683:
805:
170:
Essex, Norfolk, Cambridge and
Peterborough, Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire and Luton and Suffolk Fire and Rescue Services.
901:
996:
735:
39:
923:
392:
464:
757:
406:
380:
311:
Staffordshire, West
Midlands, Shropshire, Hereford and Worcester and Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Services.
421:
399:
1142:
829:
444:
that forced reorganisation was to be abandoned. In
December 2010, the programme was officially scrapped.
193:
Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire, and
Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Services.
97:
Rationalise mobilising policies and procedures across all existing Fire and Rescue Services in England.
31:
94:
Mobile data terminals – will be installed in cabs so firefighters have constantly updated information.
584:
292:
Devon and Somerset, Dorset, Avon, Cornwall, Wiltshire and Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Services.
945:
650:"Progress on Fire Service new technology projects - Corporate - Communities and Local Government"
437:
91:
Providing satellite positioning equipment – which will monitor the whereabouts of each vehicle.
1022:
250:
Cumbria, Cheshire, Lancashire, Greater Manchester and Merseyside Fire and Rescue Services.
8:
1048:
388:
330:
West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, Humberside and North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Services.
1019:"FRS Circular 3/2010 - Fire and Resilience Programme Highlights - January/February 2010"
657:
610:
75:
The regional control centres were expected to improve on the existing arrangements by:
1094:
110:
872:"Yorkshire and Humberside - Fire and resilience - Communities and Local Government"
184:
1021:. department of communities and local government. 26 February 2010. Archived from
1114:
833:
554:
528:
418:
414:
226:
188:
23:
581:"FiReControl project - Fire and resilience - Communities and Local Government"
1151:
417:
CEO and Roger Diggle Project Director, EADS. The committee was chaired by Dr
376:
306:
136:
43:
105:
In support of the new control rooms an additional government project called
34:
for fire services and authorities. Presently there are 46 control rooms in
898:"Project schedule - Fire and resilience - Communities and Local Government"
396:
27:
680:"East of England - Fire and resilience - Communities and Local Government"
50:– is being developed and built that will be compatible with FiReControl.
38:
that handle calls from the local public for emergency assistance via the
846:"West Midlands - Fire and resilience - Communities and Local Government"
706:"East Midlands - Fire and resilience - Communities and Local Government"
403:
384:
245:
16:
2004 project to reduce the number of control rooms for emergency calls
802:"South East - Fire and resilience - Communities and Local Government"
325:
268:
165:
129:(now Airbus Defence & Space) had been awarded an eight-year £200
70:
1118:
924:"FiReControl - Communities and Local Government Committee Contents"
558:
532:
231:
Durham and Darlington, Tyne and Wear, Cleveland and Northumberland.
106:
47:
761:
826:
732:"London - Fire and resilience - Communities and Local Government"
375:
heard evidence on the project. Called to give evidence were Cllr
287:
264:
82:
Providing purpose built, secure and resilient modern facilities.
35:
971:"FBU denounces failing fire control project as 'the worst ever'"
783:
207:
133:
million contract to supply the IT infrastructure for the RCCs.
126:
57:
1143:
National Audit Office: The failure of the FiReControl project
497:. HM Government, United Kingdom. 20 May 2010. Archived from
137:
Regions and locations of proposed regional control centres
350:
341:
1115:"Control room scrapping 'will help Devon and Somerset"
973:. tribunemagazine.co.uk. 19 March 2010. Archived from
529:"South West fire control in Taunton could be scrapped"
121:
In March 2007, then fire and rescue service minister
644:
642:
640:
638:
636:
634:
632:
630:
628:
555:"Regional fire brigade control centre plan scrapped"
109:
was initiated to deliver a new digital radio system
625:
369:Communities and Local Government Select Committee
71:Proposed arrangements in regional control centres
1149:
523:
521:
519:
758:"Welcome to the FiReControl North East Website"
411:Department for Communities and Local Government
547:
409:, Shona Dunn Director for Fire and Resilience
516:
492:"The Coalition: our programme for government"
116:
58:Prior arrangements in existing control rooms
486:
484:
482:
424:and attracted significant media attention.
395:. The second session heard evidence from
479:
999:. Manchester Evening News. 1 April 2010
26:in March 2004, to reduce the number of
1150:
1099:: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (
351:Management of regional control centres
150:Control rooms proposed to be replaced
1158:Fire and rescue in the United Kingdom
1107:
342:Cut over to regional control centres
1045:"Campaigns: Out of Control - Index"
362:
13:
14:
1169:
1136:
926:. UK Parliament. 8 February 2010
379:and Cllr James Pearson from the
22:was a project, initiated in the
1063:
1037:
1011:
989:
963:
938:
916:
890:
864:
838:
820:
794:
776:
750:
724:
393:Chief Fire Officers Association
827:http://www.swfirecontrol.co.uk
698:
672:
599:
573:
453:
153:Original planned cutover date
1:
997:"Blast for 999 centre delays"
447:
427:
407:Chief Fire and Rescue Adviser
321:Yorkshire and Humberside (YH)
305:Wolverhampton Business Park,
381:Local Government Association
244:Lingley Mere Business Park,
7:
183:Willow Farm Business Park,
140:
10:
1174:
324:Paragon Business Village,
286:Blackbrook Business Park,
276:March 2012 – November 2012
206:Merton Industrial Estate,
333:July 2012 – November 2012
173:September 2011 – May 2012
164:Cambridge Research Park,
117:Delivering the technology
367:On 8 February 2010, the
234:May 2011 – November 2011
383:. Also giving evidence
253:January 2012 – May 2012
225:Belmont Business Park,
196:May 2011 – January 2012
654:www.communities.gov.uk
295:May 2011 – March 2012
1075:www.conservatives.com
442:2010 general election
314:May 2011 – March 2012
161:East of England (EoE)
878:on 29 September 2008
852:on 29 September 2008
808:on 29 September 2008
738:on 29 September 2008
712:on 29 September 2008
686:on 29 September 2008
951:. BBC. 2 March 2010
607:"Airwave: Homepage"
402:Fire Minister, Sir
389:Fire Brigades Union
212:London Fire Brigade
1121:. 20 December 2010
832:2009-04-03 at the
561:. 20 December 2010
438:Conservative Party
302:West Midlands (WM)
180:East Midlands (EM)
788:nwfirecontrol.com
764:on 20 August 2008
467:on 5 January 2008
339:
338:
1165:
1131:
1130:
1128:
1126:
1111:
1105:
1104:
1098:
1090:
1088:
1086:
1077:. Archived from
1067:
1061:
1060:
1058:
1056:
1051:on 21 April 2008
1047:. Archived from
1041:
1035:
1034:
1032:
1030:
1015:
1009:
1008:
1006:
1004:
993:
987:
986:
984:
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958:
956:
950:
942:
936:
935:
933:
931:
920:
914:
913:
911:
909:
900:. Archived from
894:
888:
887:
885:
883:
874:. Archived from
868:
862:
861:
859:
857:
848:. Archived from
842:
836:
824:
818:
817:
815:
813:
804:. Archived from
798:
792:
791:
780:
774:
773:
771:
769:
760:. Archived from
754:
748:
747:
745:
743:
734:. Archived from
728:
722:
721:
719:
717:
708:. Archived from
702:
696:
695:
693:
691:
682:. Archived from
676:
670:
669:
667:
665:
660:on 4 August 2009
656:. Archived from
646:
623:
622:
620:
618:
613:on 13 April 2008
609:. Archived from
603:
597:
596:
594:
592:
583:. Archived from
577:
571:
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566:
551:
545:
544:
542:
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525:
514:
513:
511:
509:
503:
496:
488:
477:
476:
474:
472:
463:. Archived from
457:
391:and John Bonney
373:House of Commons
363:Select committee
185:Castle Donington
141:
132:
1173:
1172:
1168:
1167:
1166:
1164:
1163:
1162:
1148:
1147:
1139:
1134:
1124:
1122:
1113:
1112:
1108:
1092:
1091:
1084:
1082:
1071:"Archived copy"
1069:
1068:
1064:
1054:
1052:
1043:
1042:
1038:
1028:
1026:
1017:
1016:
1012:
1002:
1000:
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990:
980:
978:
977:on 30 June 2012
969:
968:
964:
954:
952:
948:
944:
943:
939:
929:
927:
922:
921:
917:
907:
905:
904:on 22 June 2009
896:
895:
891:
881:
879:
870:
869:
865:
855:
853:
844:
843:
839:
834:Wayback Machine
825:
821:
811:
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741:
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579:
578:
574:
564:
562:
553:
552:
548:
538:
536:
527:
526:
517:
507:
505:
504:on 12 June 2011
501:
494:
490:
489:
480:
470:
468:
459:
458:
454:
450:
430:
419:Phyllis Starkey
415:Robin Southwell
365:
353:
344:
283:South West (SW)
260:South East (SE)
241:North West (NW)
222:North East (NE)
139:
130:
125:announced that
119:
73:
60:
32:emergency calls
30:used to handle
17:
12:
11:
5:
1171:
1161:
1160:
1146:
1145:
1138:
1137:External links
1135:
1133:
1132:
1106:
1062:
1036:
1025:on 6 June 2012
1010:
988:
962:
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863:
837:
819:
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749:
723:
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263:Kite's Croft,
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215:September 2011
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189:Leicestershire
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42:system. A new
24:United Kingdom
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9:
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1102:
1096:
1081:on 4 May 2009
1080:
1076:
1072:
1066:
1050:
1046:
1040:
1024:
1020:
1014:
998:
992:
976:
972:
966:
947:
941:
925:
919:
903:
899:
893:
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867:
851:
847:
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835:
831:
828:
823:
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803:
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789:
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763:
759:
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737:
733:
727:
711:
707:
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685:
681:
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659:
655:
651:
645:
643:
641:
639:
637:
635:
633:
631:
629:
612:
608:
602:
587:on 5 May 2008
586:
582:
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560:
556:
550:
535:. 21 May 2010
534:
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386:
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377:Brian Coleman
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307:Wolverhampton
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45:
44:radio network
41:
37:
33:
29:
28:control rooms
25:
21:
1123:. Retrieved
1109:
1083:. Retrieved
1079:the original
1074:
1065:
1053:. Retrieved
1049:the original
1039:
1027:. Retrieved
1023:the original
1013:
1001:. Retrieved
991:
979:. Retrieved
975:the original
965:
953:. Retrieved
940:
928:. Retrieved
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906:. Retrieved
902:the original
892:
880:. Retrieved
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854:. Retrieved
850:the original
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810:. Retrieved
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787:
778:
766:. Retrieved
762:the original
752:
740:. Retrieved
736:the original
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714:. Retrieved
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688:. Retrieved
684:the original
674:
662:. Retrieved
658:the original
653:
615:. Retrieved
611:the original
601:
589:. Retrieved
585:the original
575:
563:. Retrieved
549:
537:. Retrieved
506:. Retrieved
499:the original
471:20 September
469:. Retrieved
465:the original
455:
435:
431:
397:Shahid Malik
366:
357:
354:
345:
123:Angela Smith
120:
104:
100:
74:
65:
61:
52:
19:
18:
1125:21 December
946:"FILE ON 4"
20:FiReControl
1085:13 January
664:13 January
448:References
428:Opposition
404:Ken Knight
385:Matt Wrack
246:Warrington
156:Reference
565:7 January
387:from the
326:Wakefield
269:Hampshire
166:Cambridge
147:Location
1152:Category
1119:BBC News
1095:cite web
1029:17 April
1003:17 April
981:17 April
955:17 April
930:17 April
830:Archived
559:BBC News
533:BBC News
107:FireLink
48:FireLink
1055:9 April
908:2 April
882:3 April
856:3 April
812:3 April
768:4 April
742:3 April
716:6 April
617:9 April
591:9 April
371:of the
288:Taunton
265:Fareham
144:Region
111:Airwave
36:England
784:"Home"
690:7 July
539:21 May
508:20 May
227:Durham
208:London
203:London
131:
949:(PDF)
502:(PDF)
495:(PDF)
1127:2010
1101:link
1087:2022
1057:2008
1031:2010
1005:2010
983:2010
957:2010
932:2010
910:2009
884:2009
858:2009
814:2009
770:2009
744:2009
718:2009
692:2009
666:2022
619:2008
593:2008
567:2012
541:2010
510:2010
473:2007
436:The
127:EADS
40:999
1154::
1117:.
1097:}}
1093:{{
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786:.
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