The Control establishment is 38, made up of 2 managers and 4 Watches, each with 9 staff members. The Watches in Control follow the same shift pattern as operational crews.

On receipt of a 999 call from the BT Operator, Control staff will obtain the telephone number from BT before questioning the caller to obtain the location of the incident and the type of incident, before despatching a level of response which is appropriate to meet the needs of the incident being reported.

In the event of a house fire, the Control operator will obtain the address and if the occupier of the property is reporting the incident, the Control operator will tell them to leave the property.

When a caller is unable to leave the property, then the operator handling the call will give fire survival guidance until the crews arrive. The caller will be asked a number of questions to ascertain the number of people in the property and their whereabouts. This information is passed to the responding crews whilst they en route. Once the caller's whereabouts has been established, the operator will then provide advice which will assist in keeping those inside the property safe until the crews arrive.