MSP Jackie Baillie has called on fire chiefs to back down on a “reckless” plan to revamp crewing in Helensburgh.
The politician hit out after figures emerged which revealed that Helensburgh’s on-call appliance crew were only available 30 per cent of the time in a year-long period.
Data for availability in the West Service Area, obtained using Freedom of Information law, shows that Helensburgh’s on-call team responded just 30 per cent of the time in the period between April 2023 and March 2024.
Scottish Fire and Rescue Service bosses want to switch Helensburgh to a ‘Day Crewing’ model.
Under the blueprint, up for consultation, crews would be placed on-call after hours – a move which fire chiefs admit would increase response times.
As part of the Service Delivery Review, a crew would be based at the site between 8am and 6pm daily.
Out with those hours, appliances would be on-call only and crews would require to be scrambled from elsewhere.
Currently a crew is based at the South King Street station 24/7, backed by a second on-call appliance.
If the planned cuts go ahead, the service would switch to an entirely on-call model between 6pm and 8am and at weekends.
But the data reveals that Helensburgh’s retained crews were ‘off’ 70 per cent of the time.
MSP Jackie recently attended a public meeting on the plans, organised by the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service at Victoria Halls, Helensburgh.
The event was designed to gauge public opinion on plans to slash provision at the town’s fire station.
But at the meeting, Scottish Fire and Rescue Service chiefs admitted that having sufficient retained fire crews in the area is an issue.
Jackie had earlier attended a similar event, held by the Fire Brigades’ Union.
Jackie blasted the proposed changes, saying: “I am clear these cuts are undesirable and will increase response times.
“This data demonstrates that relying on retained fire crews is not just a problem in Helensburgh, it is a problem in Garelochhead and throughout the area.
“Downgrading Helensburgh Fire Station to more of a retained crewing model will simply not work and will not provide the area with the cover required.
“The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service has admitted in public that there are also existing problems with recruiting retained fire crews in Helensburgh & Lomond.
“The plan to downgrade Helensburgh Fire Station is reckless and must be stopped in its tracks.”
She added: “Make no mistake, these measures are cuts by any other name and result from the SFRS’ need to save money.
“It is about time that the Scottish Government properly funded our public services to prevent the public from paying the price.”
The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service faces a battle to balance the books, after facing £57m worth of cuts between 2013 and 2023.
In 2023/24, the service was forced to find another £11m of savings, resulting in cuts which saw ten appliances slashed, the number of high-reach vehicles reduced from 25 to 14 and the loss of the dedicated 24 hour water rescue team on the River Clyde.
Hundreds of frontline firefighter posts were also scrapped.
Furious residents who voted at the public meeting to oppose the cuts, cited the need for resilience given that Faslane and Coulport naval facilities are in the area, the risk of traffic accidents on the A82 and the introduction of new housing and increasing population numbers.
A total of 17 staff will be affected if the measures go ahead.
MSP Jackie is also running a petition against the cuts, available online at: https://form.jotform.com/252052879866067
