Fife’s fire chief has admitted some appliances went to emergencies with fewer firefighters on board than is recommended.
Safety guidelines demand five firefighters must be in the first fire engine to reach a blaze.
They must be supported by a crew of four in the second appliance.
However, Fife chief fire officer Neil McFarlane has admitted ”we were below target” in the first six months of financial year 2011/12, often running a four-plus-four system.
To reach recommended crewing levels for the second six months of the year Mr McFarlane has introduced an overtime policy ”to make up shortages of staffing appliances at a cost of £119,000 to the service”.
An Accounts Commission report released on Thursday warns discrepancies in crewing levels across Scotland’s eight brigades could be a major challenge ahead of forming a single Scottish fire service in April 2013.
Fife is singled out as an area where crewing levels have fallen below acceptable levels.
The report states: ”Most services aim to crew their full-time appliances at ‘five and four’, with the first fire engine having five firefighters and the second having four.
”This is based on many years of experience of the number of firefighters needed to manage a significant incident.”
It goes on to say: ”In contrast, because of financial pressures, Fife Fire and Rescue has been forced to crew at ‘four and four’ around 40 per cent of the time.”
The Fire Brigades Union (FBU) has campaigned for more firefighters in Fife, claiming a reduction in numbers from 392 to 348 posts has compromised safety.
The Secretary of Fife’s branch of the FBU, Scott McCabe, said: ”The report supports the concerns the FBU have been raising about the number of firefighters on our frontline appliances.
”The report also states this reduction is solely down to financial pressures. We are currently working with Fife Council on these issues.”
Council leader Councillor Alex Rowley confirmed talks are ongoing with the FBU.
He added: ”This seems to be down to previous budget cuts. We are looking at ways to address this.”