If you call the fire brigade in future, you may find yourself speaking to someone on the Isle of Wight.

Firefighters in East and West Sussex believe plans to regionalise control centres will mean the loss of local knowledge and could delay responses.

Brigades operate their own emergency control rooms but government plans would mean all calls in the South-East would be routed to one control centre covering Sussex, Kent, Surrey, Hampshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and the Isle of Wight.

Ian Smith, East Sussex Fire Brigade Union regional representative, said: "Control room staff have a local knowledge that would be lost.

"The plan is purely economically driven and will affect public safety and the safety of firefighters. Each brigade has differing procedures which reflect local risks.

"Staff in a regional centre would find it extremely difficult to deal with an incident in a different brigade. I believe it is extremely dangerous ... the public will have to wait longer for their 999 calls to be answered."

The nine South-East control rooms employ 240 people and the union believes the plan would lead to more than 100 job relocations or losses.

MPs in some counties have expressed concern but a Tory bid to oppose the plan was lost by one vote at Brighton and Hove City Council last month.

Labour councillors said it should be possible to run an efficient and effective fire centre at lower cost, using new technology.

The East Sussex Fire Authority will discuss the issue at its meeting in Eastbourne on Friday.

Firefighters in Sussex could bill homeowners hundreds of pounds for pumping out flood water - or even rescuing trapped pets.

And the flooding charge may apply if the deluge is caused by bad weather - not just by a tap being left on.

Powers have existed since 1947 to charge for attending incidents not involving a fire.

But most firefighters only charge for clearing up chemical spills or removing water from businesses.

Now the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is consulting on a new charging framework as part of the Fire and Rescue Bill.

Fire authorities would be encouraged to levy bills for clearing flood water, lift releases, "effecting entry" into buildings, saving people from sinking boats and rescuing animals.

With the exception of fires and road accidents, freeing people from lifts and helping people who have been locked out are the two biggest drains on fire service time.

If a lift gets stuck, the bill would be sent to the building's owner, rather than the person who is trapped.

But for flooded homes, pet rescue, sinking boats and helping people into their property the charge would be levied on the owner.

The price wouldl be up to the fire service but they would not be allowed to make a profit.

The Government is keen for fire authorities to investigate new forms of income after facing a bitter row over pay rises.