Perth firefighters are raising the alarm over a plan to permanently remove the city’s third appliance.
It follows two major blazes in recent weeks – the fatal fire at Scott Street on June 14 and the fire which destroyed the vacant Balhousie Primary School last Sunday.
David Evans chairs the Fire Brigades Union Perth branch.
He says colleagues are being stretched “almost to breaking point”.
And he says the permanent loss of this third appliance – crewed by 10 firefighters – will leave them dependent on help from elsewhere, which is not always available.
“The firefighters at the recent Scott Street fire performed heroically,” he said.
“But I cannot overstate how dangerous, stressful and overwhelming it is to respond to an incident with insufficient numbers and to have to wait for appliances from Dundee or Blairgowrie, for example, for assistance.”
Perth part of national fire service cuts programme
The proposal is contained in a new Scottish Fire and Rescue Service review.
Fire chiefs are consulting the public on proposals, which include closing and merging stations across the country.
Perth lost its third appliance, and 10 firefighter positions, in 2023 as part of a “temporary withdrawal”.
The previous combined pump with height appliance was supposed to be replaced with a dedicated height appliance.
But crews are still working with the old machine, minus its ability to pump water.
Fire chiefs want to make the change permanent now.
But Mr Evans says the loss of the old pump is already being felt.
“There has been less ability to respond to emergencies in the area and an increasing reliance on on-call firefighters in the surrounding towns and villages who can take 30 minutes to respond, if they are even available,” he said.
The on-call system can’t always be relied upon for back-up, he claims.
And if the proposed review goes ahead, there will be 166 fewer firefighters spread even more thinly across the country.
“The problems that having fewer firefighters creates has been in evidence over recent weeks and months as major fires have stretched an already hard pushed workforce almost to breaking point,” Mr Evans added.
He is urging Perth and Kinross residents to take part in the consultation and help to protect their local fire service from further cuts.
Fire service ‘needs to spend money wisely’
The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service says it needs to ensure resources are matched to operational risk and demand across the country.
Chief Officer Stuart Stevens announced the 12-week consultation on Wednesday.
He said: “We have a duty to ensure that the right resources are in the right locations to meet new risks that exist within today’s communities.
“We also need to spend public money wisely.
“We have a backlog of repairs in our buildings, fleet and equipment that would cost more than £800 million to address and this just isn’t an option available to our service.”
Balmossie Fire Station at Broughty Ferry is among the sites slated for closure.
The public consultation can be accessed here.
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