FiReControl North East is part of a national project to create a network of nine regional fire control centres that will use the latest technology to handle all emergency calls from people needing fire and rescue services in England.

The North East will be one of the first regional control centres to go live in 2011, alongside the East Midlands and South West.

There are many benefits. The North East centre will focus on the needs of the region but will also be able to take calls and mobilise resources throughout the country - and the other centres will be able to do the same. This will help improve national capacity to deal with ‘spate’ situations such as major floods and terrorist attacks.

Here, you can find out more about the project and the North East Fire Control Company, meet the team,  take a look inside the regional control centre – and find out what will happen when someone calls for help in an emergency after the centre goes live.  We are currently redeveloping this site, but hope you find the basic information here useful.

- Kevin Robson, Regional Control Centre Director

See below for information on:

• What is FiReControl?
• What's happening in the North East?
• When will it happen?
• When you call for help...
• Inside the Regional Control Centre

What is FiReControl?

FiReControl is part of the national Fire and Resilience programme, where the Government’s Communities and Local Government (CLG) department is investing £1 billion to increase resilience and capacity in England’s fire and rescue services.

FiReControl improves the way emergency calls are handled and resources are mobilised when incidents happen.

Nine regional control centres are replacing 46 control rooms around England, which currently all have differing levels of technology and risk management systems, as well as different ways of working.

The regional control centres will all use the same technology, processes and systems. They will also be networked together so they can manage and deploy resources on a local, regional and national level. This will deliver a stronger and more effective emergency response across the country.

The other parts of the Fire and Resilience programme are New Dimension – providing special equipment and training to the Fire and Rescue services to deal with a range of major incidents; and Firelink – a new radio communication system for the Fire and Rescue Services.

What’s happening in the North East?

The North East Regional Control Centre was completed in 2008 and is expected to be one of the first in the country to go live, in May 2011.

It works to support four Fire and Rescue Services – Cleveland, Durham and Darlington, Tyne and Wear and Northumberland, and covers the whole North East from the borders with Scotland and Cumbria down to Teesside.

Once operational, control room operators at the centre will handle emergency calls from people needing the fire and rescue services, and deploy resources to deal with incidents.

Information provided by EISEC – the Enhanced Information Service for Emergency Calls – and ALSEC, the Automatic Location Service for Emergency Calls, gives control room operators the billing address of the phone from which an emergency call is being made. For mobile phones, the technology can identify the network cell from which they are calling.

GPS technology in the cabs of fire appliances also allows the operators to see where each one is, so the nearest and most appropriate can be deployed rapidly to tackle the incident.

When will it happen?

The project is well underway. The North East regional control centre has been built and equipped, its local authority controlled company – North East Fire Control Company Ltd ­- is operational and its senior management team is in place. A number of staff work in the building, which also hosts a range of internal and external meetings.

The North East will be one of the first wave of centres to go live in May 2011 – alongside the South West and East Midlands. The other centres will be phased in, and all are due to be live during 2012.
A selection process will identify existing control room staff who will transfer to the North East RCC. The first are scheduled to transfer in time to allow for training on the new systems prior to go-live. The planned cut-over order in the North East is:

May 2011               Tyne & Wear FRS
July 2011              Durham & Darlington FRS
September 2011   Northumberland/Cleveland FRS 

When you call for help…

Your 999 call is taken by a BT or other company operator who puts it through to the right emergency service. If the fire and rescue service is needed in this region, the call will go to the North East Regional Control Centre (RCC) once the centre is live.

A highly-trained RCC operator will take the call, and information provided by EISEC – the Enhanced Information Service for Emergency Calls – and ALSEC, the Automatic Location Service for Emergency Calls, will show the billing address of the phone from which you are calling. For mobile phones, the technology can be used to identify the network cell from which they are calling.

The operator will talk to you to get more details and will make a speedy but well-informed decision about which resources to deploy to tackle your emergency. The operator can see on another screen where all the fire appliances in the region are – each vehicle has GPS positioning technology in the cab.

The operator will then send the nearest most suitable resources to deal with your emergency as rapidly as possible.

• In times of major incidents such as huge fires, terrorist attacks or serious flooding, other regional control centres will be deployed to help the nearest centre deal with the high number of calls without delay.

Inside the RCC

Built to high resilience standards, the building can continue to operate during a crisis, such as a major power failure. It has alternative power supplies and additional water supplies and can be self-sufficient for seven days if necessary.

The building was also built with green standards in mind, and it has been certified as meeting the Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM). Construction methods were chosen to minimise the carbon footprint, and the building has other green aspects such as environmentally-friendly insulation and lights that turn themselves off. Rainwater and waste are also recycled.

Inside the control centre, space is shared between the control room and offices and facilities for staff. The control room has been fitted out with a large screen, consoles with positions for the control room operators, and the equipment they will be using.

Although there are not yet any control staff on site, the building is already in use. As well as being fitted out with all the equipment that will be required once the RCC goes live, it is occupied by company and project staff planning and working towards the changeover. Regional meetings are hosted on site, as well as visits to ensure control staff are familiar with the building.

The control room has a galleried area above, which could be used as a command point in a major incident, and is also used for meetings.  The room contains consoles for control room operators and team leaders, and a supervisory desk. At the front of the control room is the large screen, which is 7m by 4m and made up of 20 smaller screens.

A section of the control room can be partitioned off for training purposes or as an additional space in spate conditions when a particularly severe incident causes a high level of calls.  People working here will be able to see the same display that is being shown on the large screen.

Each operator position will have three screens. The screen on the left is for voice communication such as telephone and radio. The centre screen is for mobilising appliances and the right-hand screen will display the mapping.

As well as the control room, the building also contains other facilities. There is a secure area, which includes the IT system, water tanks and back-up power supplies. There are also locker rooms, shower rooms, multi-faith room, a restaurant and kitchen, as well as meeting rooms and offices.