Date: 22nd February, 2017
Below is our response to todays news coverage regarding our control system.
Assistant Chief Fire Officer John Aldridge said: “The Vision system has been used in Wiltshire since 1 July 2015, and has also been used for Dorset fire calls since August 2015. Since that time, all 999 calls have been answered.
“Every control room in the country has robust back-up systems and resilience arrangements in place to ensure that there is absolutely no interruption to our ability to answer and respond to emergency calls.
“In addition to this, our partnership with Hampshire and Devon & Somerset Fire and Rescue Services has provided significantly improved local resilience and a far more effective use of one another’s resources.
“The project with Capita is not yet closed down – a huge amount has been achieved to date and, while there have been issues, the partnership is working closely with Capita to address these and further develop the system. We are also working on improving network resilience across the partnership.
“The initial issues were very stressful for our staff, but we have put robust processes in place to support them and we have regular engagement meetings between staff, managers and Capita to ensure that progress is monitored and maintained, and concerns aired. There is certainly nothing for the public to be worried about – if you need the fire service, call 999 and we will respond.”