Fire control merger to go ahead (From The Oxford Times)

Fire control merger to go ahead

6:10pm Saturday 11th February 2012 in Headlines

Oxfordshire County Council is set to press ahead with plans to merge its fire control centre, despite Buckinghamshire pulling out of the Thames Valley-wide project.

County councillor Judith Heathcoat is set to back plans to create a joint Oxfordshire-Berkshire control room at a yet-to-be-decided location.

The move follows the collapse of earlier plans to create one centre for the Thames Valley by 2015.

Last October, the Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes Fire and Rescue Authority pulled out of the scheme, instead moving handling of its emergency calls to Cambridgeshire.

In November, Oxfordshire and Berkshire submitted a joint bid for £3.6m of Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) funding in November. A Government decision is due this month, and a business case is set to be presented to the council’s cabinet in July.

Mrs Heathcoat told the Oxford Mail: “It is exploratory at the moment, and we have to keep options open.”

Deputy Chief Fire Officer Colin Thomas added: “Our goal is to increase our ability to provide 999 call receipt and mobilising services while we maintain or enhance existing service levels to the public and our firefighters.”

Under the plans, a secondary fall-back control room and a ‘buddy’ arrangement with another fire service would be set up in case of major emergencies.