Members of West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service staff have travelled to France to learn more about a £3.6m new call-handling system which will see 999 operators transferred from Birkenshaw, Bradford, to Leeds.

The Telegraph & Argus has previously reported how WYFRS operators will be transferred to the service’s Safety Central building on Stanningley Road in Bramley as part of a cost-cutting move, which will see 999 call handlers from West Yorkshire and South Yorkshire answer each other’s calls at peak times.

The new equipment for receiving 999 calls and mobilising emergency vehicles is estimated to save £40,000 a year.

The fire authority has approved up to seven visits by project staff to the headquarters of French company Systel, which is providing the new call-handling system.

It said so far five visits have been made, usually consisting of four or five members of staff, adding: “Visits have been very productive.”

The document also reveals that alteration work to create the new ‘control suite’ and other offices in Bramley finished five weeks early in July.

All fire safety and operations departments have now moved to the building and the control room is expected to be fully operational by July next year.

The update on the scheme says staff have agreed to a new duty system, which will be implemented in January.

A Joint Ways of Working group has also been set up with South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue’s control staff so they can share elements of training, policy and procedure.

The project has been funded by a £3.6 million grant from the Department of Communities and Local Government to West Yorkshire and South Yorkshire fire authorities, although each authority has had to agree to provide additional funding to cover an expected overspend.