Balmossie fire station will not be downgraded for at least the next two years but it should be considered for closure after that, according to the chairman of Tayside Fire and Rescue Joint Board.
Councillor Ken Lyall’s claim has re-ignited another blazing row between himself and the Tayside Fire Brigade Union after it emerged overnight crews from Balmossie Fire Station had only been called out to four major fires in the past three months.
The station, on the border of Broughty Ferry and Monifieth, has been continually under the spotlight since chief fire officer Stephen Hunter made two failed attempts to downgrade it from whole-time to part-time.
Mr Hunter had hoped the fire board would back a plan to reduce night cover at Balmossie to increase provision at Forfar and Perth but the proposal was vetoed for a second time in the spring after a long-running public campaign.
However, Mr Lyall told The Courier on Thursday night the board had “missed the point” when they made their decision. He said, “After the board’s resistance to any change to Balmossie in the past two years it is not looking like it will come up this year or next.
“However, the joint board totally missed the point and these figures highlight Balmossie as the quietest full-time station by a long way.
“If we continue on down the road of cuts currently being embarked on it is inevitable Balmossie will come up again some time in the future and not just to change the night shift but possibly to close it. The point is the stats paint the story and the stats show it is the quietest.”
Statistics requested from Tayside Fire and Rescue by The Courier show appliances were called out to serious fires just twice in each of July and August and not at all in September.False alarmsCrews from the station responded to a total of 36 calls over the three-month period, 24 of which were false alarms.
However, FBU secretary for Tayside Ron Costello disputed the figures, claiming they don’t show Balmossie’s full value. He did claim the low number of call-outs show the educational programmes run by Balmossie are having a positive effect on fire safety in the local area.
“We have always had debates about the stats because they don’t show activity outside the Balmossie area or the value it has to the whole brigade,” he said.
“The stats also bring in the success of home fire safety visits. Prevention and intervention is the message the brigade goes for. I think this shows the success of the visits and that we are educating people about what they should do.”
He added, “Mr Lyall’s comments are very surprising. Does he know what cuts are coming? No one knows and both times (attempts were made to downgrade the station) they weren’t about saving money.
“Is he now saying if Balmossie was closed it would save money? That’s what people fought to keep at the last campaign.”