Surrey fire control room share plan debated

A plan for the Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service (IWFRS) to use Surrey's emergency control room is to be debated by councillors.

Surrey County Council said the IWFRS had an outdated control room that needed to be replaced.

It said the IWFRS would pay about £280,000 to cover the costs of the transition.

Councillor Kay Hammond, the cabinet member for community safety, said it was an "attractive proposition".

'Financial benefits'

Ms Hammond added: "Clearly there are benefits to be had by both Surrey and the Isle of Wight if we were to work together on this."

The proposal will be discussed by councillors on Tuesday.

Surrey's assistant chief fire officer Steve Owen-Hughes said the service had invested in a "state-of-the-art control centre".

He added: "The technology means we have spare capacity which could be used by another fire and rescue service with no adverse impact on Surrey.

"There are also potential financial benefits through sharing the costs of operating the mobilising control centre and upgrading technology in the future which could provide better value for money."