“There’s no smoke without fire,” so the saying goes.
And this week, there’s big black cloud hanging over our local fire services themselves.
Just weeks after two major fires in Perth – one of which, at Scott Street, was fatal – The Courier reported firefighters in the Fair City are facing major cuts, including potentially losing a third appliance.
They are at “breaking point”, Fire Brigades Union Perth chairman David Evans warned our reporter Morag Lindsay.
Personally, that’s not something I ever want to hear from the only people equipped to stop one of nature’s most devastating elements.
Fire doesn’t know about money.
Smoke isn’t bound by budgets.
And those who dedicate their lives to fighting these forces face casualty and death every day when they leave for work.
Yet pen-pushers at the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service are being forced to cut corners that leave their firefighters – and our communities – at risk.
Mr Evans is clearly sounding the alarm for his fireys, warning that when it comes to major incidents, the Fair City services are relying on help from surrounding towns and villages.
How absolutely disgusting that in 2025, lives risk being lost because the nearest on-call firefighter is 30 minutes away from Perth.
I urge the bosses making these decisions to decide if they could live with themselves if their children, parents or partners were hurt in a fire that should have been manageable – if only the fire crew hadn’t been so far away.
And that’s if there’s even one available.
Which is a growing concern, since the SFRS is also trying to shut one of the fire stations in neighbouring Dundee.
Dundee fire station at risk
Balmossie Fire Station has been earmarked for closure.
The thousands who have come out in opposition to the closure show just how big a mistake the public thinks this would be.
But I’m perplexed at the fact this is even a discussion.
Taxpayers help fund the fire service because it is an essential resource.
If it needs more money, the government must allocate more money to it.
Of course, part of the service’s job is fire prevention, as well as fighting blazes.
And if they’re doing the former well, the latter won’t be as frequent.
But they shouldn’t be punished for that success by executives manipulating data to justify fat budget cuts.
The point of an emergency service is to be there in an emergency.
But if appliances, stations and firefighters are being spread as thinly as possible to keep the budgets balanced, they’re being set up to fail in their primary function.
Keep going down that road, and firefighter numbers will drop. Already, trainees make only £26,852 per year, which works out at just slightly over minimum wage.
Imagine risking your neck every day as an underpaid trainee firefighter, only to realise you are bound by a failing system to get where you need to be too late, or not at all.
It would be soul-destroying.
The people that take this role on are heroes, and the least those behind the scenes can do is make sure they have the resources they need to do the job they’ve so bravely signed up for.
Who will deal with increasing wildfires?
And looking to the future, the picture is bleak.
Wildfires in the UK are on the rise due to climate change, with 2025 beating the record already for biggest area burnt in one year.
We’re only just halfway through.
Unless some hugely effective climate strategies are employed soon (and I’m doubtful of that), those numbers will only continue to rise.
I wonder what good that saved money will be when the flames reach decision-makers’ front doors?
Perhaps the Scottish Government will build us all a fireproof bunker?
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