SWEEPING reforms of Scotland's Fire and Rescue Service could see stations closed and firefighter numbers cut, it has emerged.
Documents being circulated to senior Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) management have said the current service could not last beyond the end of the financial year.It has been suggested that some city-based staff could switch to an on-call rota similar to that used in rural areas, while the number of full-time posts will be reduced.
Fire and Rescue chiefs have said there will be no compulsory redundancies, but Labour has called for an urgent debate at the Scottish Parliament saying that First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has repeatedly "ducked" questions about cuts to the service.
The Fire Brigades Union Scotland told the BBC that dozens of fire engines were already unusable because there were not enough crews to take them out.
In response, Scotland's fire chief said the service needed to be "transformed".
The internal report says: "The Scottish Fire Service is operating against a backdrop of both significantly changing risks and the greatest financial challenges seen in decades."
It said the service has to "re-balance" firefighter numbers and review its "station footprint".
The document briefs SFRS managers on how to prepare staff for discussions on change. "Staying as we are is simply not an option," it said.
The document goes on to talk about "more effective deployment of resources in urban areas where we have an historically high concentration of stations".
Chief Fire Officer Alasdair Hay said he was "unequivocal" that there would not be compulsory redundancies but admitted numbers could be reduced.
He said he wanted to "re-balance" the number of full-time posts alongside on-call officers.
Mr Hay said: "The document talks about the potential to reduce the number of full-time posts but it also talks about what we might call 'urban on-call'.
"So at times of quieter periods, in terms of emergency response, could we provide that service in the cities with on-call staff alongside full-time colleagues?
"It is no different to how we provide the service in parts of rural Scotland."
The Fire Brigades Union Scotland's Chris McGlone said: "I think what the documents show is that there are significant changes coming."
He added: "Routinely at the moment the fire service is required to remove fire engines from operational availability and that is because at the moment we don't have enough firefighters.
"In the whole-time service we think it is up to six on any given day - in the retained service it is 50, 60, 70 at times."
Labour Justice spokesperson Claire Baker said: “These proposals will shock people across Scotland. With fire safety so fresh in our minds following the tragic events of Grenfell it scarcely seems believable that our Fire Service has to make further cuts.
“Labour has put the issue of protecting the Fire and Rescue budget directly to Nicola Sturgeon at First Minister’s Questions, only to see her dodge the question. Now we know why.
“Our emergency services should not bear the brunt of further austerity. These proposals should be published as a matter of urgency and Michael Matheson should explain what is going on to the Scottish Parliament today.”
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