Kirkcaldy fire station’s height appliance was unable to attend a second fire at the former Kitty’s nightclub on Wednesday as its keys have been removed.
The fully-equipped appliance is still at the Dunnikier Road station, two minutes away from the town centre building.
However, firefighters have been told it’s officially off the run and can no longer be used.
Instead, a height appliance travelled 15 miles from Dunfermline to help tackle the 7am blaze.
Gregg Campbell, Fire Brigade Union branch secretary for Kirkcaldy, said: “It’s scandalous.
“It’s just sitting there doing hee haw when Kitty’s is on fire again.
“It’s in the station without the keys.”
Kirkcaldy height appliance has full tank of diesel but can’t be used
The Kirkcaldy height appliance’s last job was the massive inferno which destroyed Kitty’s on Sunday.
Gregg added: “I was the last person to use it at the Kitty’s job and we were stood down at 12.30am.
“It’s ridiculous because we could have stayed there all night.
“But the Crew Toll appliance from Edinburgh had been on stand-by at Dunfermline for about four hours.
“They brought them in and released us.
“The Kirkcaldy one is now sitting there fully-equipped with a full tank of diesel but the firefighters have been told not to go anywhere near it.”
‘Nobody knows when Kirkcaldy height appliance will be removed’
The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service was due to remove the appliance on Monday as part of an £11 million cut to its budget this year.
Second appliances at Methil and Glenrothes are also temporarily withdrawn.
However, all three vehicles have so far been left in situ but with the keys removed.
Gregg says firefighters have not been told when they will be taken away.
“The Kirkcaldy height appliance was due to go off the run at 8am on Monday but senior management are really nervous about it after the Kitty’s incident.
“It’s now unloved and unused waiting to go but nobody knows when.”
Firefighter morale low across Fife
Crews from Glenrothes were also involved in Sunday’s blaze, along with appliances from surrounding areas.
FBU east area vice-chair Lewis Clark said: “Fife has now lost fire appliances from Methil and Glenrothes, along with water rescue personnel, a height appliance from Kirkcaldy and 15 firefighter posts from Dunfermline.
“Now there will be an increased response time to attend these large-scale incidents.
“Morale is low across the area. Our members are on the frontline of these cuts and are taking it hard.
“This hasn’t been helped by the approach of some areas of the service management.
“Regardless, our members will continue to fight for their service.”
Fire appliance withdrawals ‘based on robust data’
Second appliances have also been withdrawn from Kingsway East in Dundee and from Perth.
The fire service says the move is temporary following a “robust review of data”.
It must find £11m in savings this year, rising to £36m over the following three years.
And managers have picked the fire stations where the removal of one appliance will have the least impact.
Assistant chief fire officer David Farries said: “This decision is based on robust data which tells us how busy these appliances are and the types of incidents we attend.”
Once the withdrawals are complete, the fire service will turn to other budget savings, including a review of fire stations.
However, Mr Farries insists public safety is always the primary concern.
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