Fire scheme will make a £14m saving

The plan to consolidate 42 local fire control rooms into nine regional centres will save £14m a year, according to government figures released last week.

The £200m eight-year technology deal for the FiReControl scheme was signed with supplier EADS last month, and the first upgraded control room will go live in October 2009.

Once the national network is operational, running costs will be about £66m per year, compared with the current £80m.

‘Providing nine networked centres will represent value for money, balancing forecast costs against future resilience and operational benefits, and secure significant operational cost savings,’ says an information note sent out to local Fire and Rescue Services (FRS) last week.

Individual FRS saving levels will vary according to the level of technological development.

Up-front costs, including new control rooms, technology, data migration and training costs, will all be met by central government, says the Department for Communities and Local Government. Once the regional controls are up and running, newly-created local authority companies will take over the running costs.

The FiReControl programme will provide standard features across the country, including:

* Caller location to identify members of the public telephoning the fire service.

* Satellite positioning to inform operators which engines are located nearest to the incident.

* Computer-aided systems to automatically mobilise the correct response.

* In-cab displays including maps showing the quickest route to the incident and details of known hazards in the area.

See also:

Fire agreement fails to allay cost concerns

Transition costs could push project’s £200m price tag higher still  15 Mar 2007

Fire IT project fears reignited

Financial and staffing concerns remain, say local fire authorities  18 Jan 2007

Fire project costs spiral

£70m increase blamed on unrealistic early estimate  14 Dec 2006

Fire IT delays stoke up costs

Consolidation to nine regional centres at least two years behind  09 Nov 2006

Fire service radio deal finally signed

National communications network was originally scheduled to go live in 2005  31 Mar 2006

IT delays pose a threat to fire service's ability to function

Senior managers say government's interim solution is 'a dog's breakfast'  09 Feb 2005

Fire Service radio plan raises concern

Fire service managers say government's communications strategy is a step backwards  02 Feb 2005

Fire service system hit by more delays

Problems with rationalisation of control rooms adds to burden  13 Jan 2005

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