About Service Control
Avon Fire Authority Command & Mobilising Centre is located
at:
Service Control (01), Lansdown Road, Lansdown, nr
Bath BA1 9DB
The building that houses Fire Control was built in 1989 for the
Royal Observer Corps. Avon Fire & Rescue Service purchased
the site with the building in 1993 and Fire Control was operational
from Lansdown in February 1995 after moving from its previous home
at service headquarters, at Temple Back, Bristol, where it had been
since 1974.
Control ground
Fire Control is responsible for incidents and fire coverage that
occur within the four unitary authority Areas of Bath & North
East Somerset, Bristol, North Somerset and South
Gloucestershire.
Control staff
Fire Control staff have a vital role and are trained to deal
with any 999 call that they might receive, from a house fire to a
serious road traffic collision or cliff rescue.
From their knowledge of the Avon area, Control staff help callers
identify their exact location, provide fire safety advice to
people who might be trapped inside a burning building and
continue to reassure callers until the moment firefighters rescue
them. They are also trained in dealing with other incidents,
including chemical, radiological, biological and nuclear
incidents.
When Control staff receive a call they assess the situation
the caller is in and then mobilise fire appliances to the
incident. Fire Control staff are then responsible for the
needs of the firefighters by dispatching further resources as
required, arranging relief crews, liaising with other agencies and
providing important operational information for the duration
of each incident.
Fire Control is staffed 24 hours a day. There are 30
Control staff working a four watch shift system that comprises of
two nine hour days and two 15 hour nights over an eight day
cycle.
Each watch consists of one Fire Control Officer, one Senior Fire
Control Operator, two Leading Fire Control Operators and three to
four Fire Control Operators.
Fire Control is managed by Principal Fire Control Officer Robert
Smith.
Total calls handled 2007- 08
Between April 2007 – March 2008 Fire Control received
26,074 calls.