FEARS over a possible terrorist attack could prove key to the location of a North-East-wide fire-control centre, The Northern Echo has learned.

The three-storey headquarters, which will replace control rooms serving the region's four fire brigades, is likely to be one of three, as yet un-named, locations.

A shortlist of developers are currently bidding to build the centre.

Strict guidance has been issued over the location for the centre, which will be expected to take into account:

l Its vulnerability to an attack on local power supplies;

l Access by air;

l Proximity to possible risks such as chemical hazards.

Developers will be expected to help meet the multi-million pound cost of building the centre, which they will own and rent back to fire and rescue services, while additional funding will come from the Government.

Last night, John Burke, the director of support services at Cleveland Fire Brigade, and project director for the North-East, said the centre would not be in existing premises because they did not meet "functionality and security requirements".

He said some fire control rooms in the region could be disposed of, but that would be at the discretion of individual fire authorities.

He said: "The overriding aim of this project is to provide a nationally resilient infrastructure for the fire and rescue services.

"Part of that is to facilitate efficient management of the resources we have available in times of national stress."

He declined to comment on how many people would be required at the centre, nor if job losses would result from the merger.

Mr Burke, who also dismissed suggestions that the plans could lead to fire and ambulance calls being handled in the same building, said: "There will be econom-ies of scale, but the actual numbers are not known yet.

"What we can say is that this is not just a building and technology project - it is very much a people project, and they are a key component of it."

The North-East is one of the first places to get regional control centres, and the headquarters is due to be open by November 2006.

The decision on the centre's location will be taken by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) following input from a regional management board representing the North-East's fire authorities, and could be made public next month.

An ODPM spokeswoman said: "Everything is subject to commercial confidentiality at this stage, and no decisions have been taken."