 Firefighters fear the new centre may mean job cuts |
Firefighters may stage their own independent strike over a new emergency control room in Wiltshire. The Devizes-based control room will be shared by the fire, police and ambulance services and has cost �7m.
It is due to open in May under a plan to bring ambulance, fire and police control teams together for the first time in one room.
But on Friday Fire Brigades Union (FBU) members across Wiltshire will be balloted for strike action.
Tam McFarlane of the FBU said: "We have not got guarantees over job security for our members in control and we have not got guarantees for the safety of this system.
Control centre
"We are fighting on two fronts - jobs for our members and safety for our members and for the public."
The Wiltshire Fire Brigade maintains there will be no job losses, response times will improve and the control centre will open - regardless of this dispute.
Andy Gilchrist, general secretary of the FBU will be in Swindon on Thursday to discuss this issue.
His union says that after negotiations it has no objections to a tri-service control centre opening in Gloucestershire later this month.
The strike action in Wiltshire would be independent of any impending national walk-out.
One-Minute World News 
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