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Dec 15, 2011 -- The move of the fire service's 999 call centre to Cambridgeshire moved a step closer yesterday (Wednesday) after it was discussed at a meeting of the Bucks and Milton Keynes Fire Authority.

The plan has already received critisism from local councillors, as reported in MK NEWS on December 7, and the Fire Brigades Unions.

But the authority has assured the public the move, from its current location in Aylesbury, will not affect response times.

Fire authority chairman Councillor David Rowlands said: "We are confident that by joining an already established and successful control room partnership in Huntingdon, and with adequate funding support, this proposal can be delivered by April 1, 2013."

He said Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes Fire Authority would make every effort to redeploy control room staff affected by the proposal.

Councillor Rowlands added: "The collaboration presents a unique and innovative opportunity to promote inter-regional working while providing increased interoperability and resilience and the introduction of common ways of working.

"The move could potentially generate savings of £600,000 a year without compromising the safety of the public or our firefighters.

"A geographically remote control room will be able to alert staff and mobilise our vehicles and officers in line with the agreed response standards and community risk management arrangements.

"While local knowledge is useful, it is not essential for a mobilising centre to be successful. The size and geography of the area served by Buckinghamshire Fire & Rescue Service means that any individual control room operator may have little knowledge of some of the areas to which calls are directed.

"Local knowledge is far more relevant to fire crews, and local topography and risk information continues to be an important aspect of a firefighter’s role. The use of telephone number-recognition technology will greatly assist in caller identification and location."

A final decision on the proposal to move the control room to Huntingdon is expected early next year.

Posted by Veronica Silva Cusi, news correspondent
Source: http://www.mk-news.co.uk

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