Union concern as numbers of part-time firefighters fall
UNION leaders have raised new concerns about the state of the retained fire service after it emerged that 136 part-time firefighters have been lost in one year.
Details published in the latest official statistics show that the number of retained firefighters dropped by 4.4 per cent to 2,940 in March 2014 from 3,076 the previous year.
The drop follows the creation of the new Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) in April 2013.
There were 4,001 firefighters in the year to March 2014 compared with 4,151 the previous year.
The figures also show a five per cent decline in control-room staff and a 12 per cent drop in support staff.
By March last year, total SFRS staffing had fallen from about 8,964 to 8,484.
Stephen Thomson, Scottish regional secretary of the Fire Brigades Union said: “We are aware that the RDS ( Ret a i ne d Dut y System) in its current form does not deliver the service the people of Scotland deserve.
“This is not necessarily due to the budget cuts, as the RDS system has been failing for some time with most of the former services facing difficulties in recruiting and retaining staff.”
He said the service were embarking on a recruitment drive in the spring, but also, in conjunction with the FBU “looking at longer term solutions”.
“One thing that is very clear is that the RDS needs investment, not cuts, to deliver the service deserved by the rural communities in Scotland.”
“The reduction in the number of whole-time firefighter posts is a concern.”
Assistant chief officer Lewis Ramsay, SFRS director of prevention and protection, said the communities were better served by the new service in fire prevention and cost savings.
“These reductions have been achieved through effectively streamlining and deploying staff where and when they were needed throughout the country.”