A FIREFIGHTER has warned West Fifers they’ll face longer waits for crews after an announcement which will see three fewer firefighters on every shift in Dunfermline.
Budgets cuts have resulted in the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service confirming a shake up of crews across the country.
Ten fire stations will be affected, including Dunfermline, and the changes will see one out of three fire appliances taken away from the base in Pitreavie.
One city firefighter, who did not want to be named, said: “It is one less appliance that can be used for a standard house fire.
“It is the west end of Fife that it will have the biggest impact on.
“Dunfermline is quite unique in it had three appliances and that was all part of when they closed the old Dunfermline station and closed Rosyth, they put the station at Pitreavie in between the two.
"The big impact when the stations moved was Dunfermline West, so Oakley, Saline, places like that, they have a very long wait to get a fire engine as things stand.
“It is a long way to those places if a house is on fire or you are stuck in a car after being in a smash.”
The firefighter said they have been told the third fire appliance will be replaced with a “height” appliance which requires a smaller crew and is used for blazes such as the recent one at Khushi’s in Dunfermline.
“I know we are interested in Dunfermline but Methil, Glenrothes and Kirkcaldy losing appliances is very significant because it all has a knock on effect,” he added.
“If all Dunfermline appliances are out at a good-going house fire, it relies on cover but there is going to be one less appliance in these places. The height appliance cannot get anyone out of a car or attend any standard fires.”
Chris Murphy, from the Fire Brigade Union, said: “These are significant cuts for and ultimately it makes the community less safe. It doesn’t matter how the fire service butters it up. It makes firefighters and the community less safe.
“Recently, Dunfermline has had a number of high-profile incidents which required early intervention to prevent further damage or loss.
“Mother and two children rescued from a house fire in Frederick Crescent, the recent Khushi’s restaurant fire as well as Woodmill High School fire some years ago.
"All these incidents required a prompt multi-resource response to prevent further loss.
“We will strongly oppose these cuts and are hoping for a significant community and political lobbying of our local councillors and MSPS to take that fight back to the government.”
And he cast doubt on any of the vehicles being removed every being returned. Mr Murphy added: “We are under no illusions that very few mothballed vehicles have ever come back onto the front line. The likelihood is these appliances will be removed indefinitely.”
READ MORE: Concern over working conditions for Dunfermline firefighters
Mid Scotland and Fife MSP Alex Rowley has written to Siobhan Brown, the Scottish Government minister responsible for the fire service, and is concerned about the impact of the “unacceptable” cuts.
He stated: “This is causing much worry in the community and it is not clear to me on what basis this decision has been made other than to cut the budget.
“It is my understanding that staff were informed last Friday that Dunfermline is to lose one of its appliances. This will see each watch have three less firefighters. With five watches that means 15 in total.”
SFRS assistant chief officer, David Farries, said: “Following a robust review of our data, we have identified 10 fire stations where we can temporarily remove an appliance with the least impact on response times.
“This also reinforces our commitment to ensuring a full crewing model for our existing resources.
These are second or third appliances, which can at times be unavailable for a number of reasons. When this is the case, we have to increase our use of overtime or bring firefighters from other stations to cover absences.
“This represents an unplanned disruption and ultimately comes at a cost to the service.
"We are also reducing our fleet of vehicles that can operate at height, on a phased basis, taking ageing vehicles off the run and redeploying or introducing a series of modern, specialist vehicles dedicated specifically to dealing with such incidents.
"This decision is based on robust data which tells us how busy these appliances are and the types of incidents we attend.
“As we strive to modernise our service, it’s right and proper to identify efficiencies to deliver value for money while maintaining operational resilience. We will continue to review our position moving forward.”
A Scottish Government spokesperson said operational decisions and decisions to do with budget were down to the SFRS.
“These changes are temporary and are prioritised in a manner that minimises community risk.”
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