Aberdeen and Inverness fire control room closures considered

Scotland's fire service is considering closing its control rooms in Aberdeen and Inverness and building a new centre in Dundee.

A spokesman for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service said it was just one proposal being considered as part of a strategic review of facilities.

He said there would be no compulsory redundancies if the move went ahead.

Control room staff across Scotland are being briefed on the plans.

The proposals for the north and north east will be discussed by the service's national board when it meets in Aberdeen on Thursday.

'Locally based'

A spokesperson for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service said: "We are carrying out internal briefings with staff today and it would be inappropriate to comment or pre-empt the discussions, which will be looking at long-term proposals for service's assets."

The move comes after the merger of eight brigades into one in April this year.

Martin Greig, an Aberdeen Lib-Dem councillor and chairman of the Aberdeen Community Safety Partnership, described the proposals as devastating.

He told BBC Scotland: "We need to have fire officers and staff who are locally based and who know the area."

Eight ambulance control rooms across Scotland were merged into three several years ago.