Hundreds sign petitions to stop cuts to local fire engine numbers
The number of appliances will be reduced from two to one in various stations across the west
A series of petitions have been launched to try and stop the number of fire engines from being temporarily cut in various stations across the west.
Signatories are worried about the impact on communities after the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) announced it would be reducing the number of appliances in Hamilton, Govan and Maryhill.
In some stations, it will mean the service only have access to one fire engine instead of two.
The SFRS is projected to receive a flat cash budget settlement from the Scottish Government for the next four years and is subsequently having to make roughly £36 million pounds of cuts over this time.
'Risk lives'
However, the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) is worried that the cuts will risk lives.
The Govan petition, which currently has more than 800 signatures, reads: "This will increase the risk to our communities and firefighters, and will cut 10-15 firefighter jobs if this goes ahead.
"This is a totally unacceptable decision for the Govan area which includes significant high-profile premises including the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, BAE Systems shipbuilders, three subway stations, the Riverside Museum, BBC and STV studio buildings and The Partick to Govan Footbridge which is currently under construction in this area.
"The proposed appliance withdrawal is also a key resource covering major entertainment venues such as Ibrox Stadium, Bellahouston Park, The Hydro & The SECC.
"Govan and the surrounding area is also one of the most densely populated areas in Glasgow with more housing currently being developed, these flats will sit alongside numerous tenement flats and high-rise buildings already in existence."
'Overstretched'
The Hamilton petition, which currently has more than 600 signatures, reads: "The loss of these firefighter jobs means those left will be overstretched to carry out all the requirements of their role within the community.
"This will put the safety of firefighters in Hamilton at great risk as they need to wait for support from surrounding stations.
"It also means that those surrounding station areas, including Bellshill, Motherwell and Larkhall will lose vital support they require at larger incidents."
'Protecting communities is a priority'
Assistant chief officer, David Farries, is the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service's Director of Service Delivery.
He said: "Protecting communities is a priority and we need to modernise our service to deliver value for money.
"We have identified a number of vehicles we can temporarily remove with the least impact on our service. These are second or third appliances, which can at times be unavailable for a number of reasons causing unplanned disruption and ultimately comes at a cost to the service.
“Following a review of our resources, we are also bringing Polmadie into line with all our other specialist water rescue teams in Scotland. This means that along with responding to water rescues they can also attend other emergency incidents.
“As a national service we operate as a network and our Operations Control staff will always work to mobilise the closest and most appropriate appliances so that we can continue to attend every emergency.
"We will monitor the impact of all of these changes and review our position moving forward."
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