Closing control room is crazy, says fire service (From Worcester News)

Closing control room is crazy, says fire service

11:19am Monday 9th July 2007 in News By Sally Jones

PLANS to scrap Worcester's ambulance call centre have been slammed by fire staff fighting the closure of the city's fire control centre.

Local representatives of the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) say local knowledge will be lost and lives will be put at risk if either centre is closed.

"We fully support the ambulance service with its campaign," said Carl Horsburgh, Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service's FBU chairman. "It will have a devastating effect on the service given to the community if either the ambulance or fire control centres are closed."

West Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust wants to close the emergency operations centre at Bransford, along with one in Shrewsbury, in favour of two regional centre at Brierley Hill and Stafford, and a support centre at Leamington Spa.

It follows Government-led plans to replace England's 46 fire control centres, including the one at Worcester, with nine regional centres. It would mean 999 fire calls from Worcester will be taken in Wolverhampton, which will also field calls for Shropshire, Herefordshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire and the West Midlands.

In the past two weeks, since the planned closure of Worcester's ambulance call centre was announced, more than 700 people have signed the Worcester News' petition. To sign up to it, log on to www.worcesternews.co.uk/ news/onlinepetition/ or fill out the coupon on this page.

"This will be a complete disaster," said Mr Horsburgh, who is watch manager at Bromsgrove fire station.

"Our control staff not only take the calls but also support us throughout the incidents. Their local knowledge is crucial for us, which has been especially apparent during the recent floods."

Yvonne Eaton has been a call taker at Worcester's Deansway fire control centre for 27 years. "If either of these closures go ahead it is inevitable that we will lose local knowledge," she said.

"Yes computers and IT systems are great, when they are working. But when they are not then the experience and knowledge of staff plays a vital role."

Mrs Eaton said it was not yet clear how many jobs would be available for staff from Worcester's fire control centre at the new regional centre in Wolverhampton.

She said: "I don't yet know whether there will be a job for me. I have 27 years of experience covering Hereford and Worcester and know the area very well indeed, the same as many of my colleagues. But this could all be lost."

The fire control regionalisation plans were first announced in 2003 in the wake of the 9/11 terror attack in America. More than 10,000 people in Hereford and Worcester have so far signed a petition against the plans, which are expected to take place in 2009 - three years after it was first anticipated.