Tim supports local fire-fighters and raises concerns about the Government's FiReControl Project.
After this morning's announcement of the new location of the South East Regional Fire and Rescue Service Control Centre by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, East Worthing and Shoreham MP Tim Loughton has thrown his weight behind local Fire Officers who have who have expressed serious concerns for the future effectiveness of emergency responses by fire crews.
The Government are aiming to replace Local Fire Control Rooms with a network of Regional Control Centres and today they revealed that the South East's Control Centre will be situated in Fareham, Hampshire. West Sussex Fire Officers have said they are worried that the new proposals will mean the knowledge of local geography, topography road conditions and other factors that the Local Fire Control Rooms use to manage the mobilisation and deployment of resources in an emergency will be lost.
Martin Burrell, West Sussex Chief Fire Officer, said today, "We remain unconvinced that the FiReControl project will deliver the benefits envisaged by government."
Tim has previously visited the West Sussex Fire Service control centre at Chichester, to show his support for the current system and today he commented:
"West Sussex currently has an average call response time of 45 seconds and I find it hard to believe that a new regional Control Centre will be able to better this. I have called on the Deputy Prime Minister to scrap altogether his plans for regionalising fire controls.
"'The Government's blind pursuit of its regionalisation agenda, without enough thought being given to the consequences of moving fire prevention and fire-fighting away from genuine local control, is at best foolish and at worst dangerous. I have not found anyone outside the Government who supports these proposals.
"I fear that taking away local control could compromise safety particularly in such a large and spread out rural county as West Sussex and for no gain. 'If it ain't bust don't fix it' is a maxim which the Deputy Prime Minister would do well to heed here."
ENDS
Note to Editor:
1) To find out more about the ODPM's announcement this morning and see picture of the proposed site please visit https://www.firecontrol.odpm.gov.uk/.
2) To find out more about the West Sussex Fire and Rescue services opposition to the proposals, please call their media office on 01243 752488
©, Tim Loughton MP , 2005
