Telex takes 45 seconds off running time
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IN the Greater London area all fire service calls are directed to the control room at the Embankment Headquarters, and this is where the first sign of the essential speed of operation becomes apparent.
Situated in a sound-proof control room beneath the level of the Thames, men, who must rate as some of the most imperturbable in the country, dispatch units at a rate of more than 200 a day; their proud claim is that between receiving a call and units arriving at the fire only five minutes elapses. By linking the control rooms to the station on a teleprinter network the Brigade has reduced its call-to-answer time by about 45 seconds.
As the message from the caller is transmitted on the landline it is intercepted by an officer who ascertains the unit deployment from a master control board and almost simultaneously alerts the nearest available station. As he is depressing the switch the alert bell in the station sends the crews to their vehicles and while they are still getting aboard he transmits other relevant information by teleprinter.
Within eight minutes of the call having been received at central control the officer in charge at the fire is sending back a radio-control message which either stops further action, passes information on the incident or requests further support from other stations. Central control has direct landlines with both police and ambulance, and all area controls have landlines to headquarters.
The sets installed in Fire Brigades are to a Home Office specification and differ from normal commercial equipment in that each unit can hear both sides of all conversation on its own channel. This means that a unit proceeding to a fire may hear a stop message and although it must act only on the instructions of the controller, the officer in charge of the vehicle can make preparations for returning to base before the message is transmitted, thus perhaps saving a few vital seconds.
All Fire Brigade radio equipment is tested each day to Home Office instructions. LS.