At least two control room staff suspended from Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service are facing disciplinary hearings, a union chief said today.

Alan Tranter, of the Fire Officers Association (FOA), said that two members of the union were currently being represented by union officials as cases against them were being heard.

A total of five members of control room staff have so far been suspended from duty.

Mr Tranter said he could not give any details about the allegations they faced or the circumstances surrounding the disciplinary hearings but revealed they should be completed by the end of the week.

And Matt Lamb, from the Fire Brigades Union, said some of its members were also facing disciplinary hearings in connection with the investigation being carried out. But he said he was unable to reveal how many individuals it concerned.

Paul Raymond, deputy chief fire officer at Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service, said it was the brigade’s policy not to comment on disciplinary matters.

Mr Tranter added: “We’re now at a point where people are being dealt with from those suspensions. Some are facing disciplinary hearings but what we don’t do is make comments prejudicial to those proceedings.

“Two members of the FOA are facing disciplinary hearings as a result of the investigations. They are in progress. Our two members are being represented by the FOA, but what I can’t speak for is how many staff in total are facing disciplinary hearings.”

Mr Lamb said his union was also supporting members that were affected.

He said: “Some of our members will be facing disciplinary hearings. We are in the process of supporting them and we will be representing them.”

Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service employs 17 control room staff.

The news comes as former fire control officer Peter Jones, who worked in Shropshire for more than 30 years, today criticised the service for its lack of information over the suspensions.

The 65-year-old, who worked at Shropshire Fire and Rescue for 33 years and retired in 2003, said he was worried that nothing had been released surrounding the internal disciplinary investigation. Five control room staff at the headquarters in St Michael’s Street, Shrewsbury, were suspended in February.

He said: “We have a right to know because we pay for them.”

By Russell Roberts