Strategic Projects and Specialist Response
FiReControl...
FiReControl is the project to create a national network of nine Regional Control Centres.
There are currently 46 separate control rooms - one for each FRS - to deploy fire and rescue services' resources to emergency calls. Although they already provide a good service to the public, FiReControl will improve on this by providing an integrated national network of nine Regional Control Centres. The new control centres will be resilient, capable of dynamic mobilisation, and will also be integrated with the new digital radio system being delivered by FireLink
The Government recognises the critical importance of protecting public safety and increasing the nation's resilience. This is why it is investing over £350 million in a nationally linked network of control centres across England. This is known as the FiReControl project.
It is part of a much wider investment by the Government in giving the fire and rescue service resources and specialist equipment it needs to meet the challenges of today's world such as industrial accidents, terrorist threats and weather related incidents.
The FiReControl project will provide an integrated and modern network of nine Regional Control Centres (RCCs). They will be able to receive calls and mobilise resources across the country.
The RCCs will form part of the Critical National Infrastructure and as such will have to meet stringent security and resilience requirements.
Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service is part of the South East Region.
The South East (SE) region encompasses an area roughly from Milton Keynes in the north to the Isle of Wight in the south, and Ramsgate and Andover in the east and west respectively. The following fire and rescue services comprise the SE region:
The SE Regional Control Centre is located at Kites Croft, Fareham
Photographs of the South East Regional Control Centre taken in June 2008, showing (1) an exterior view, (2) control room floor, (3) control room viewing gallery and (4) the machine room:
(1) 
(2) 
(3) 
(4) 
Each Regional Control Centre (RCC) will be run by an organisation known as a Local Authority Controlled Company (LACC). This company is jointly owned by all the Fire and Rescue Authorities (FRAs) in that region.
South East Region Authority Members |
|
|---|---|
| Cllr Andy Dransfield | Buckinghamshire |
| Cllr Ted Kemble | East Sussex |
| Cllr Roger Price | Hampshire |
| David Williams | Isle of Wight |
| Cllr Bryan Cope | Kent and Medway Fire and Rescue Authority |
| Cllr Rodney Rose | Oxfordshire |
| Cllr Angus Ross | Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Authority |
| Cllr Maurice Neighbour | Surrey |
| Cllr Peter Jones | West Sussex |
The purpose of the company is to provide strong, effective and accountable leadership with responsibility shared fairly between all the FRAs in the region.
The local authority company model enables a high degree of local flexibility, with each region making its own decisions such as how the company runs, working out its key human resources decisions and deciding how costs are fairly apportioned within the region.
Communities and Local Government has produced guidance to help regions to set up their companies and continues to work with all regions to support the process.
To date, regional local authority controlled companies have been set up in the North East, North West, East Midlands, West Midlands, South West and the South East. London does not need to set up a local authority controlled company because of its unique arrangements.
The senior management structure of the LACCs includes a RCC director, to whom a Senior Operations Manager (SOM) and a Service Support Manager (SSM) report. The SOM is responsible for control room operations in the RCC, while the SSM is responsible for the support services such as security, facilities management and human resources.
Matt Goodwin commenced as South East Regional Control Centre Director in May 2008.
After graduating, Matt started his career working in the field of logistics for an IT services provider. A move into Royal Mail then cemented a firm commitment to the public sector. This was followed by a period at Portsmouth City Council, predominantly as manager of the Housing Benefits Service, which administered over £60m of benefits to more than 18,000 people. Matt then joined the Central Police Training and Development Agency (Centrex) as the Corporate Business Planning Manager, before taking up a post as General Manager for Orthopaedics, within Royal Bournemouth and Christchurch Hospitals NHS Trust.
firecontrol & firelink
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