Have your say on fire service

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service ( SFRS) is asking Buddies for their views on the future direction of the service and how to make the country an safer place.

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

The SFRS 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.

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 wellbeing of our communities.”

To have your say, visit www. firescotland. gov. uk/ consultations/ long- termvision-consultation.aspx