Fire service IT failures put ‘lives at risk’

 Lives are being put at risk due to failing IT systems in fire control rooms, according to a report which claims 999 call handlers have resorted to using pen and paper.

Problems include handlers being unable to dispatch fire engines because the system cannot recognise locations.

The Fire Brigades Union report Losing Control said the service had reached crisis point. “Control members are working under extreme pressure, using systems that constantly fail.”

In the past six years, a quarter of UK fire control operators and local control rooms have been lost as a result of budget cuts.