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North-East Brigades to build Regional Control Centre in Durham

FIRE control services in the North East will be provided by one of the first modern Regional Control Centres for the Fire and Rescue Service following the announcement by ODPM minister Jim Fitzpatrick MP, that the new centre will be built at Belmont Business Park, Durham. The new control centre will be built by Helios Properties plc and is expected to be operational in 2008.

The Regional Control Centre is one of nine, state-of-the art, centres which will replace the existing 46 independently operated local fire and rescue service control rooms in England. The control centres will form a resilient national network with facilities for regions to support each other in busy times. The North East control centre will be the first point of contact for members of the public seeking assistance through the ‘999’ system from fire and rescue services in Cleveland, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear and Durham and Darlington.

Regional Fire Control Centres are scheduled to become operational in the South West and the East Midlands at the same time as the North East, with the remaining regions expected to come on line during 2008 and 2009

In making the announcement, the Minister 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 7^th July, we need control centres that are resilient enough to deal with a terrorist attack or any natural disaster. 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 national network will provide the Fire and Rescue Service with a modern, effective system that will better protect the public. The control centres will use the latest proven technology which will not only enable fire fighters 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.”

“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."

The Regional Control Centre will be staffed by professional operators transferring from the existing individual fire and rescue service control rooms across in the region. A comprehensive training programme is being developed to support staff in their move to the new state of the art centre.

John Burke, Director of Support Services at Cleveland Fire Brigade and Director of the North East Regional FiReControl project said: “This is an exciting time for the fire and rescue service both locally and nationally. The Regional Fire Control Centre is an example of the significant investment being made to modernise and improve the service we provide for our communities.”

“FiReControl is part of the Government’s modernisation agenda for the fire and rescue service. It supports the shift of focus towards prevention and better targeting of resources to meet the wishes and needs of the community. It will help us to deliver a more effective response, deal better with high volumes of demand and respond to new challenges such as terrorist activity.”

“Existing control rooms were not designed to deal with major incidents on a regional or national scale and updating the existing provision would not have provided best value for our communities. Government reviews identified that a national network of regional fire control centres will provide more resilience and also realise major efficiencies. The outline business case for the project predicts a national reduction of 30 per cent in annual operating costs, allowing resources to be re-invested in the safety of our local communities.

Each Regional Control Centre will be identical in size and facilities to ensure the national network operates effectively. The project is being jointly resourced by local authorities and the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.”

“The new Regional Control Centres will provide an improvement to service to the public through improved technology, automatic back-up and support from other regions if required and the ability to mobilise the nearest appropriate appliance direct to any incident. Operational capability will also be enhanced through the use of a common control system and associated procedures.”

“I am pleased we have now reached a stage in the project where staff know the planned location. The regional project team is now looking forward to working closely with the ODPM, our own staff and their representative bodies to ensure that we deliver an operational regional control centre that provides an excellent service to the people of the north east.”

The North East Regional Control Centre building has been designed and procured by ODPM, with full involvement from the region. Councillor Peter Young, the Chair of the fire Regional Management Board, attended the final site selection meeting to scrutinise the process and ensure it was fair, transparent and well-managed.

For more information contact John Burke Project Director, Helen Bashford, Project Manager or Cassandra Tebb, Corporate Communications Manager on 0191 3324249 or 07767 311 302.

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