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The fire brigades union has called for the immediate halt of government plans to move to nine regional control rooms by 2009. The call comes after a parliamentary answer, from fire minister Angela Smith, showed the number of 999 calls regional controls could handle at the busiest times would, according to the FBU, be “disastrously low”.
The parliamentary question, raised by John McDonnell MP, asked for details of the average hourly call handling capacity and the maximum capacity of control centres under the FiReControl project. Providing a breakdown of the projected capacities, the minister said they were designed to meet or exceed the current CFOA performance targets for call handling. These are: 85% of calls answered within seven seconds; 95% answered within 10 seconds; and 98% within 20 seconds.
“We are stunned by how few 999 emergency calls a regional control could handle in a busy period,” said FBU general secretary, Matt Wrack. “Only one regional control outside London could handle more than 200 calls an hour, and most far less than this. Many single brigade controls have to handle this number on their own during busy periods in their own fire service area. Yet these regional controls are meant to handle the work done by up to nine existing control rooms, across vast regions.
“These figures will send a shudder down the spine of anyone who has any understanding of the real life strains being placed on the fire service, he added. “They have not just got this disastrously wrong, this is bordering on criminally wrong. The government is trying to run 999 emergency command and control rooms like call centres.”
Meanwhile, a report commissioned by the FBU from the Institute of Public Finance says more work is needed on key areas of the FiReControl plan. This includes revisiting whether regional control centres are the best option and, if so, whether nine centres are really enough. Since resilience is now a major factor, the report says, just nine control centres may be insufficient in cases such as co-coordinated terror attacks.
The IPF report also questions whether the plans will result in overall savings. It says that the figures for savings produced so far “can only be regarded as indicative” because of unknowns on the costs of the technology infrastructure and of London’s control centre. Greater transparency and accessibility is needed in the business cases for the measures, and there is confusion about the true vision of the project, the report adds.
For the full parliamentary answer on projected regional control centre response times, go to http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm/cmhansrd.htm
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