Firef ighters’ future role? They should just stick to fighting fires
IT was a major consultation exercise designed to help Scotland’s fire service devise a plan for the future.
But the answer to the burning question it posed was perhaps all too predictable: most people want firefighters to keep fighting fires.
The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) organised a consultation asking the public, including its own workers, about what it should be doing.
An analysis of the responses published yesterday said: ‘When asked about the “single thing most important to you about the SFRS”, most individual respondents mentioned responding to fires quickly and saving lives. This was seen as SFRS core business and was a nearly universally held view.’
It continued: ‘There were suggestions that the SFRS should stick to responding to fires.’
The Your Service, Your Voice consultation called for views on proposals that would see the role of firefighters ‘change and expand to do more for communities’.
There were 1,563 responses from members of the public, SFRS staff and other ‘stakeholders’.
Firefighters are being asked to take on a wider role which includes dealing with medical emergencies such as heart attacks until paramedics reach the scene.
Critics say slower ambulance response times are a result of ‘mismanagement’ by the Scottish Government and insist firefighters should not have to take on the expanded role.
Only 44 per cent of respondents agreed ‘firefighters could be trained to take on roles that would reduce the burden on other public services’. Responses included ‘stop trying to justify your jobs by taking other people’s’.
The analysis said these critical responses ‘appear to be from individuals employed by the Scottish Ambulance Service’.
Among other findings ‘most respondents indicated that the single most important thing about SFRS is the ability to save lives in emergency situations and mentioned specifically a speedy and reliable response to fires’.
The SFRS insisted the responses ‘showed overall support for the vision for transformation’. This included ‘overwhelming support for proposals such as the use of latest technologies and improved pay for firefighters to respond to new risks as part of an expanded role’.
Dr Kirsty Darwent, chairman of the SFRS board, said: ‘We are fully committed to ensuring our people, communities, partners and stakeholders are given a clear voice in shaping our future.
‘It comes as no surprise to us we are seeing overwhelming support in some areas while there is a need for further discussion in others.
‘We are already working on an action plan to directly address these very areas, as it is vital that we are able to show how we will deliver a transformed service.’
‘Stop trying to justify your jobs’