Have a say on future of service

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service is asking people in Renfrewshire for their views on the future direction of the service and how to make the region an even safer place to live, work and visit.

Chief Officer Martin Blunden launched a public consultation ‘SFRS – LongTerm Vision’ and asked people in the local authority area to take part and help influence the way the service evolves over the next ten years.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service is one of the world’s largest fire and rescue services.

It employs almost 8,000 staff and last year attended more than 91,000 incidents across the Scottish mainland and islands.

During the same period, the SFRS conducted almost 70,000 Home Fire Safety Visits.

The consultation comes against a backdrop of a steady decline in household fires since the service was formed almost ten years ago.

During the same period, Scotland has witnessed an increase in weather related events such as wildfires and severe flooding, both of which are linked to climate change.

One of the proposed priorities of the SFRS is achieving Carbon Zero status to reduce its impact on the communities it serves.

Speaking at the launch, Chief Officer Blunden explained why the consultation was needed.

He said: “While our immediate environment is changing and we need to respond to this in terms of the services we provide, I also want our fire and rescue service to evolve and have an increasingly positive impact on the health and well-being of our communities.

“I see opportunities to improve the SFRS through advanced technology that will enable us to work in smarter and more innovative ways, continuing our shift towards the prevention of risk of harm for households and communities, and, at the same time to work even more collaboratively with our communities and partners.

“As an employer, the wellbeing of our staff is a key priority and we want to do more to promote equality, diversity and inclusion, not just in our workforce but across the communities we serve as well.”

The consultation runs until July 18 and can be accessed at www.firescotland.gov.uk/ consultations/ long- termvision-consultation.aspx