Firefighters ‘unable to respond to emergency calls’ amid budget cuts 

Firefighters have been “unable” to respond to emergency calls every day amid budget cuts, a union has said.

The Fire Brigades union has said that years of budget cuts and a recruitment crisis results in as many as 150 retained crewed fire appliances being “off the run” and unable to respond to emergency calls.

Retained firefighters are required to make themselves available for 80 to 120 hours a week and be able to attend their nearest fire station within five to eight minutes of a call.

Scottish Fire and Rescue Service cover 80% of the country’s landmass with 3000 retained firefighters working out of over three quarters of Scotland’s fire stations serving urban and rural communities every day.

The union said that the average £6,000-8,000 annual salary for retained firefighters has forced many to get second jobs to make ends meet.

Low pay and the pressures of having to take time off their principal job is thought to be a major contributory factor in the service having a 29% vacancy rate with 11% leaving the service in 2022/23 alone.

John McKenzie, Scottish secretary of the Fire Brigades Union said: “Scotland’s retained fire service is in crisis. Retained firefighters play a vital role in keeping our communities safe.

“They serve the central belt and huge swathes of rural Scotland and the islands but a decade of budget cuts has resulted in an exodus of staff, almost a third of vacancies left unfilled and 55,000 instances of fire appliances off the run over the last year alone.

“This situation is completely untenable.

“The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service consultation on the future of the service must address the crisis in the retained service.”

Scottish Fire and Rescue Service has been contacted for comment.