Fire service head allays closure fear
One of the heads of the Scottish fire services has said no stations in Perth and Kinross are set for the axe.
But he declined to rule out the possibility of staff levels being reduced.
It comes after fears were raised by the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) who obtained data earlier this month which highlighted over 3500 people were rescued by Scottish firefighters last year, a four per cent rise on the previous year. Despite that the FBU is still fearful the service may “face further cuts”.
The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service’s budget has fallen by 12 per cent since 2012/13 and the union fear that trend could continue.
Firefighter jobs in Scotland have also been cut by 15 per cent since 2012/13.
Chris McGlone, FBU Scotland executive council member, said: “While firefighters continue to protect their communities from fires, these figures show that their role has vastly expanded.
“Firefighters are rescuing more people year on year.
“It’s the hard work of firefighters that is propping up the service.
“These figures make it clear that fire and rescue cuts put the public at risk to more than just fires. Fire and Rescue Service’s David Farries, deputy assistant chief office for the north of Scotland, said there were no plans in place to close any stations across Perthshire and Kinross.
“This is a matter of public safety.” Speaking on behalf of the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, David Farries, deputy assistant chief office for the north of Scotland, said: “There are no plans in place to close any stations across Perthshire and Kinross.
“The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service continues to recruit both wholetime and retained firefighters and attend at every emergency.
“We are now looking at how the SFRS needs to develop to meet the new and emerging risks facing Scotland and we will work with our people, partners and communities to ensure they have a voice and help to directly shape a shared vision for a service of the future.”
When the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service was approached by the PA to expand on whether cuts are a possibility for Perthshire
fire services in the near future, it declined and referred us to Mr Farries’ comment.
Fire Brigades Union (FBU), a trade union in the United Kingdom for wholetime firefighters, has around 44,000 members.
The figures it obtained also showed that seven times more people were rescued from non-fire incidents than from fire incidents in Scotland.