Firefighters in Cornwall are encouraging the public to get behind their fight to keep the 999 control centre for the service in the Duchy.

The plan to axe the control centre was described by Cornwall councillor for Callington Andrew Long this week as ‘a retrograde and dangerous’ step for the people of Cornwall which was ‘nothing to do with efficency and everything to do with cost cutting.’

A protest was set to take place outside New County Hall in Truro this morning (Thursday) ahead of a meeting to discuss the plan.

Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service (CFRS) has said that it needs to make efficiencies and told staff last month that it was considering closing the 999 control centre and sharing the service with either another emergency service in Cornwall or outsourcing it to another fire service outside the county which could be as far away as Cumbria in the north west.

However, the council insists that no decisions have yet been made, despite staff claiming that they have been told that the centre could close at the end of March and that staff would be redeployed elsewhere in the service.

The Fire Brigades’ Union (FBU) has said that Cornwall Council should be ‘ashamed’ to be considering the move and said that it objects to the proposals on the grounds of public safety. The union is now urging people in Cornwall to get behind the fight to retain the control centre here.

Today (Thursday), Cornwall Council’s neighbourhoods overview and scrutiny committee will give councillors the first opportunity to discuss the plans with chief fire officer Kathryn Billing, who is set to make a presentation to the committee at County Hall.

A report going to the committee has a recommendation that ‘the proposal to establish the most effective and efficient critical control centre for Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service be continued’. The report also requests a full business case for ‘partnership model options’ and that members of the committee undertake site visits to help them make an informed decision.

Under the outsourcing options being considered by the council are having 999 calls handled by services in Thames Valley, the North West or a partnership involving Devon, Somerset, Wiltshire, Dorset and Hampshire.

The FBU invited members of the public to join them in a lobby event ahead of the committee meeting.

Guy Harrington, FBU regional secretary, said: ‘Firefighter control staff use specialist skills and knowledge to save the lives of the public. Now they’re calling on the public to back them as the fire service looks to shut their service down completely.

‘Their highly specialised skills and knowledge are irreplaceable. Simply bundling in these calls with another emergency service would result in a far worse service. It would likely result in lives lost, and it would certainly result in longer attendance times, greater risk to the public, and greater risk to firefighters.

‘This is a purely financial decision – it’s simply about cost-cutting, but it hasn’t even been properly costed. There is an alternative option: proper investment in local fire control and a formal partnership contract to provide future resilience during large scale incidents and extremely busy periods, such as the heat wave in August.’

The lobby event was set to take place this morning outside New County Hall in Truro.

Cornwall councillor for Callington Andrew Long said: ‘This is retrograde step which is nothing about improving efficiency and everything about cost cutting.

‘It’s a dangerous step for the people of Cornwall. Local knowledge is vitally important, especially in Cornwall, there are language issues and place names are different. You need people who understand it.

‘The Fire Brigades’ Union, members of the fire service and many councils are saying no to this. Callington Town Council and St Dominic Parish Council are among them.’