Staff shortage hits fire truck availability

Staffing shortages have led to fire service vehicles being unavailable for use, new figures have revealed.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) statistics show appliances were unavailable for an average of 3.83% of the time between November 2017 and November 2018.

With a total of 632 fire engines and other appliances in operation, this equates to around 24 vehicles.

The figure was highest in the east region, which recorded 4.72% of appliances unavailable, while in the west it was 4.58%. The north of Scotland was lower at 2.19%.

Liam Mcarthur, justice spokesman for the Liberal Democrats, who obtained the figures, said: “While people should be reassured that there weren’t any incidents that the SFRS failed to respond to, staff have expressed concern about having too few firefighters to staff its appliances.”

SFRS assistant chief officer Lewis Ramsay said the resources needed for the front line were continually reviewed.

He added: “Where we identify any resourcing needs we will work with our local teams to cover that requirement and minimise any disruption in a number of ways.

“The SFRS continues to attend at every emergency.”

A Scottish Government spokesman said operational decisions on resources were a matter for the SFRS.