A plan for Fife to possibly share a chief fire officer with Lothian and Borders was an idea being considered by council bosses.
Reports have revealed that Fife Council decided to press ahead with the recruitment of a chief fire officer for Fife Fire and Rescue Service, despite suggestions the region could share a fire chief with their Lothian and Borders counterparts.
It is understood the idea was mooted when former Fife fire chief Jimmy Campbell left to take the top job at Lothian and Borders in April.
While any move towards a shared fire chief post could have saved thousands of pounds, both authorities eventually decided that they needed a separate full-time figurehead and Fife ultimately went on to promote Mr Campbell’s deputy Neil McFarlane into the vacant position.
Fife Council chief executive Ronnie Hinds said, “Fife Council considered a range of options in relation to the filling of its chief fire officer post. This included discussions with Lothian and Borders Fire Authority, with the inclusion of the Scottish Government.
“Having taken all factors and circumstances into account, it was decided to proceed with the appointment of a chief fire officer for Fife and to continue with ongoing collaboration with neighbouring fire services on a range of initiatives for shared services.”
Any move towards a single fire chief would have instantly brought savings, with Mr Campbell understood to be on a £122,000 salary and Mr McFarlane paid more than £103,000.
Community safety minister Fergus Ewing told members of Fife’s police, fire and safety committee in June that “painful” decisions will be needed in the coming years to help balance the books, pointing out that it could take between 13 and 15 years for public expenditure to recover to last year’s levels.
However, he suggested councils should not shy away from imposing cost-cutting measures and said he would back whatever action Fife Council as a police and fire authority felt was necessary.
With that in mind, Kenny Moran, from Fife Fire and Rescue Service, told The Courier that all fire services are actively looking at how savings can be made and how things can be done more efficiently.
“Everything is being considered and nothing is being dismissed,” he said. “We’re in very challenging times and we’ve got to consider all the options, not just at a local level but at a national level as well.
“We should be compelled to explore these options, whether that’s having a fire chief for Fife and Lothian and Borders or looking at the types of fire engines we drive.”
Councillors have already backed plans which will see Fife, Tayside and Central Scotland’s brigades share equipment and specialist staff to save money.
Fife has also backed plans to join the Fire and Rescue Scotland scheme, which will provide the country’s fire and rescue services with a single centre of procurement for specialist gear.
It is hoped the move will help fire services generate cash savings and realise improvements as it means that instead of individual fire brigades putting services out to tender themselves, one may hold a national contract on behalf of all Scottish fire and rescue services.
In relation to the single fire chief issue, a Scottish Government spokeswoman said, “The appointment of chief fire officers is a matter for local fire and rescue service authorities. Recently both Fife and Lothian and Borders explored all options around leadership during this challenging time for public services before reaching individual decisions to appoint new chief officers.”
Fife has also set up an efficiency board that is looking at ways in which services could be streamlined without adverse effects.