FIRE chiefs and firefighters have joined forces to attack government plans to create a single control room for all brigades in the North West.
The Chief and Assistant Chief Fire Officers Association warned the move "would not make a significant contribution" to tackling major emergencies.
It threw doubt on the timetable for regional control rooms to be "live" next year and warned the cost of the shake-up could fall on cash-strapped fire authorities.
The Fire Brigades Union went even further, claiming the changes would be dangerous and could cost the lives of either members of the public or firefighters.
A single control room would be an attractive terrorist target and response times would worsen because of the loss of vital local knowledge, the FBU said.
Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott insists all-powerful control rooms must be set up because individual brigades cannot cope with major disasters or terrorist atrocities.
In the North West, it would merge the operations of Merseyside, Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Cumbria at a single headquarters. Its location has not been decided.
However, both Merseyside and Cheshire fire brigades individually appeared to be out of sync with their own association and the FBU.
A spokesman for Merseyside Fire Brigade said: "We are not against the proposals. The government has told us we are to merge into a single control unit and we will follow that policy.
"We are simply waiting for instructions now on what to do next. Local knowledge lies with firefighters at local stations which is fed into a system available to everyone so I don't agree with the FBU when they say response times will worsen. The system will work because it has to."
Steve McGuirk, chief fire officer at Cheshire Fire Brigade, added: "The FBU is unfairly trying to scare people.
"From a Cheshire perspective, it will benefit our brigade to be part of a bigger system as we will be able to access better technology and therefore offer an improved service. There will also be greater opportunity for staff development." The fierce criticisms by the FBU and the chief officers' association were revealed in responses to a consultation launched by the office of the deputy prime minister.
The FBU said: "Loss of local knowledge particularly when dealing with calls from mobile phones would hamper the ability to deal with calls and locate incidents.
"One can only feel that it is change for change's sake, with no benefit for the public or the service. In fact a dangerous move."
The government has insisted new technology to enable control rooms to pinpoint the location of callers and vehicles makes the importance of local knowledge a "myth".
