No plans to alter fire service cover
Fire chiefs say there are no plans to reduce cover in Stirling after concerns were raised that one of the two appliances at the city’s station could be put ‘off the run’.
Stirling MP Stephen Kerr met bosses this week to discuss the fears – which were expressed to him ahead of the new ‘detached duties’ policy being implemented in October.
This comes in the week after one of the engines at Stirling Station was unavailable on a number of occassions due to “operational reasons”.
However there had been wider concern that one of the appliances, as of later this year, will be permanently unavailable as staff would be allocated to different stations to address manpower shortages.
During the meeting Mr Kerr sought assurances that this wouldn’t be the case and that, due to the strategic importance of the station, it would be fully staffed to use all its resource if needed.
He said: “It was extremely important to ensure the concerns raised with me were addressed as quickly as possibly so a meeting was arranged immediately.
“I am pleased with the clear assurances I have been given. Stirling is one of the most important stations in central Scotland as it provides a range of specialist services as well as two fully crewed appliances. It must remain fully operational at all times.
“The changes being made must make that easier to achieve rather than more difficult, and I have been told that will be the case.”
Fears were also expressed as to how changes to a new shift system would impact staffing availability.
However Roddie Keith, Scottish Fire and Rescue Service’s local senior officer for Stirling and Clackmannanshire, said: “We are committed to ensuring that the communities of Stirling and surrounding areas are adequately protected and have access to the right resources – in the right place, at the right time.
“There are currently no plans to reduce fire cover at Stirling Fire Station.”
Stirling MSP Bruce Crawford welcomed this news, adding: “I am pleased that, despite a number of concerns having been raised regarding fire cover in Stirling, the Fire and Rescue Service have confirmed that there will be no reduction.”
The Observer was told this week by a source that one of the appliances at Stirling had spent much of last week ‘off the run’ due to a lack of staff.
Mr Keith said: “During the past week appliance availability within the Stirling cluster area was over 94 per cent.
“Between July 23 and 29 one fire engine at Stirling Fire Station was unavailable on just five occasions for operational reasons, however extra capacity in our system allows us to flex and bend our resources to respond when needed.
“We are able to call upon robust stand-by measures to ensure that resilience and full operational capability is maintained at all times.
“The people of Stirling can be reassured that they are ultimately protected by the UK’s largest fire and rescue service, and can call upon its vast combined resources and over 7000 firefighters.”
This news comes the week after fire crews from the Stirling area had to attend Gillies Hill in Cambusbarron on three consecutive days to extinguish a fire in a section of scrubland.
Crews were first alerted to the flames at around 2.30pm on Wednesday and four fire engines attended the scene.
Firefighters worked for almost six hours to extinguish the fire before leaving at around 8.15pm.
All four then returned just after 11am the following day after reports that the fire had spread in the area and they spent most of the day tackling the flames – remaining at the scene until after 9pm.
And on Friday morning, at 7am, fire crews returned to the scene for the third time in three days to eliminate any remaining hotspots before leaving in the afternoon.
A spokesperson for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service confirmed that there were no casualties.