Submitted by SWFBU on
FIRE BRIGADES UNION
IMMEDIATE RELEASE 20th September 2011
FBU urges Fire Authorities not to make the same mistake twice on Fire Control Rooms
South west news desks:
The Fire Brigades Union in the South West today responded to the publication of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) report into the bungled FiReControl project, by urging local authorities in the South West to learn lessons from the Regionalisation of Fire Control project and work with the professional voice of the Fire Service, the FBU.
The report from the PAC states that “This is one of the worst cases of project failure that the Committee has seen in many years” and goes on to report that a minimum of £469 Million was wasted on the project with consultancy costs at £68.6 Million. This could have been avoided if the Government chose to listen to The Fire Brigades Union back in 2004 rather than marginalize these professionals in the Fire and Rescue Service.
The South West FBU is urging all Authorities in the region to engage earlier with Control Rooms staff and their elected representatives to ensure any proposals for the future of this central part of the Fire Service does not see a repeat of the fiasco that was FiReControl.
Tam McFarlane, National Executive Council Member for the South West said “ This failed project has been the most scandalous example of Government incompetence and waste that I have encountered in 20 years in the Fire service. This project failed because ministers wouldn’t listen to the professionals and as a result hundreds of millions of tax payer pounds were squandered. As a result of this incompetence Fire Services have been left with systems that require upgrading at a time when Government are making huge cuts in budgets. We want the people responsible for this mess to be held accountable and we demand that the money still being wasted is reinvested in upgrading our local control rooms where it is desperately needed.”
John Drake, Regional Secretary of the South West FBU said “The Government cancelled FiReControl and has handed the issue to local authorities and Chief Fire Officers, the same Chief Fire Officers that supported FiReControl. We cannot and will not let the same mistakes be made again, the public and those working in control rooms and fire stations expect better of their politicians on matters of such importance”
Media contact
John Drake Regional Secretary 07813 170755
Tam McFarlane Executive Council Member 07813170279
