FIRE officials have condemned Government plans to create a central command room for every brigade in the North-East, warning people's lives were at risk.

Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott believes a single control centre would be effective.

Supporters of the idea said it would be invaluable in the event of a major incident.

They believe the North-East is ideal for the plan because of the threat posed by a blaze on Teesside, home to one of Europe's biggest petrochemical complexes.

But the idea is being strongly resisted by fire chiefs.

The Chief and Assistant Chief Fire Officers' Association (CACFOA) said it would not make a significant contribution to tackling major emergencies.

It also said it was unlikely the control centre could be opened next year, and warned the cost of the shake-up could fall on cash-strapped fire authorities.

The Fire Brigades Union (FBU), which represents firefighters, said the changes would be dangerous and could cost lives.

The union said one control room would be an attractive terrorist target, and that response times would be worse, because of the loss of local knowledge.

Mr Prescott said single control rooms must be set up because individual brigades could not cope with major disasters or terrorist atrocities.

In the North-East, it would merge Durham, Cleveland, Northumbria and Tyne and Wear.

The location has not been decided.

A control room in Yorkshire would direct services in North Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire and Humberside.

Opposition to the plans are revealed in responses to a consultation document launched by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.

CACFOA said: "There is great concern over the timetable and the ability to deliver to the timetable. Some regional controls will need to be live in 2005."

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, it is a dangerous move, which could result in deaths for the public and firefighters."

The Government said technology to enable control rooms to pinpoint the location of callers and vehicles made the importance of local knowledge a "myth".

The creation of regional control rooms is separate to a proposal to merge fire authorities to create one brigade across the North-East and Yorkshire.

Mr Prescott said he expects that to happen if voters back regional assemblies in October's referendums.