Regional fire service control plans are axed
Tuesday 21st December 2010, 12:30PM GMT.
A multi-million pound scheme to replace 46 fire control centres across England, including the one for the Shropshire service HQ in Shrewsbury, with nine sites is to be scrapped.
The surprise move to “terminate” the 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 he had reached agreement with main contractor, Cassidian, to axe the project.
Although it is “business as usual” in Shropshire, the county fire and rescue service now has to consider how it can run a control centre in the long term.
The current centre was going to close when a £23 million regional complex became operational at Wolverhampton, directing not only the Shropshire service but the West Midlands, Staffordshire, Hereford and Worcester, and Warwickshire services.
It was built three years ago but has not been used, apart for meetings and training. It is estimated to be costing £1.7 million in rent, maintenance and security.
Shropshire’s deputy chief fire officer, John Redmond, said the service could continue to provide a control facility in the medium term.
It had invested in an interim system earlier this year, utilising some old equipment, which it was intended should run until the Wolverhampton centre became operational.
“We are now keen to find out how it is going to be replaced on a permanent basis,” said Mr Redmond.
The cost of the national project has been put at about £432 million. In a written ministerial statement to Parliament, Mr Neill said it was being “terminated with immediate effect”.
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I wonder if we’ll ever know exactly how money has been wasted on this project?
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and not only on that ;)
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Thank God common sense has prevailed. We can all sleep a little easier now.
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It makes you wonder doesn’t it?
There’s little evidence from around the UK that regionalised ambulance services have led to massive improvements – how many people and consultants have profited from saying that the fire service would benefit?
And I know for a fact that more than one member of the FireControl project team have been released from duty in their own fire control centres to work on this project. Makes you wonder what they were doing, for all the years that this project has been in development…. Were they saying it wasn’t going to work? And if not, why not?
And what is going to happen to the centres themselves, most of which seem to have been built and equipped?
Ineptitude on a shocking scale. And we’re paying for it.
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