Regional fire control scheme scrapped (From Worcester News)

Regional fire control scheme scrapped

4:55pm Monday 20th December 2010 in Local By David Paine, @davidpaineWN #worcsnews

A MULTI-million pound scheme to replace fire control centres in England with regional ones is being scrapped.

The surprise move to terminate the so-called FiReControl project follows a series of delays and increased costs since it was announced by the Labour government several years ago.

Fire Minister Bob Neill said today he had reached an agreement with the main contractor, Cassidian, to call a halt to the troubled project.

While nobody at Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service was available for comment, the move has been welcomed by Worcester MP Robin Walker who said the project had been used in the past to prevent authorities from getting upgrades.

“We’ve now got to look at how we get better software and better systems in place for the centres,” he said.

The Fire Brigades Union, which has been campaigning against the project since it was first announced, also welcomed the decision.

Peter Holland, president of the Chief Fire Officers Association (CFOA), said he wanted to meet with Mr Neil to explore the implications of the decision.