Firefighters to hold Clyde-side protest over Glasgow river rescue

As part of the reduction, the dedicated water rescue unit at Polmadie on the south side of Glasgow will see a change in staffing to fire fighters covering both water rescues and other emergency incidents.

This new "dual-crewed" approach is used at Swift Water Rescue stations in other parts of Scotland and, the SFRS has said, will not "remove any resources from the Clyde".

However, firefighters say they are concerned safety on the River Clyde will be put at risk by the changes and crews will not be available to respond to an incident as quickly as they currently do.

On Saturday fire crews will gather at the city's Squinty Bridge from 11am and are calling for public support.

Ross Pollock, FBU west region vice chair, said: "The demonstration was set up by Polmadie branch who are losing their dedicated water rescue unit.

"They wanted to try and get their case across because they believe the amount of water rescues they carry out justifies the water rescue being on the Clyde."

Fire crews at Polmadie have gained the support of the Glasgow Humane Society, a charity that carries out rescues on the Clyde, and Christopher’s Saving Lives Campaign, a charity founded by the parents of Christopher Spiers, who drowned in the river in 2016.

Mr Pollock added: "The fire service is cutting a resource that we think is a very important resource given the amount of lives it has saved.

"Members of Polmadie branch remain hopeful that someone will see sense and see the need for that resource to be available."

Members of the FBU have been writing to politicians in order to raise awareness of their concerns and are hoping for political support on Saturday.

Several politicians have said they will be in attendance, including Labour MSP Paul Sweeney, who is backing the challenge to the cuts.

Local councillor Dan Hutchison had previously called on the Scottish Fire and Rescue to reconsider cutting a fire engine from Govan Station.

The Govan area of Glasgow has Scotland's largest hospital, Ibrox football stadium, three motorways and sits on the banks of the River Clyde so it affected by the water rescue reduction also.

Mr Hutchison said: “The decision to cut an essential service from our community was one taken with no consultation from the community or from local elected members and Govan is the last place that needs a service cut.

"I’ve heard from all corners of Greater Govan with real concern and anxiety off the back of this proposals and I really hope the Chief Officer appreciates the specific concerns of our community and reverses this decision before it gets off the ground."

Mr Pollock added: "We hope they raise it at government level because the backdrop to this, of course, is the loss of appliances at other stations.

"Glasgow is losing three second pumps and we know that when we lose resources we do not get them back."

One firefighter told The Herald that valuable seconds are already being lost during water rescues by new guidance that says, for health and safety reasons, crews are being told not to change on route or at the station but to wait until they reach the river side.

This, they said, means that valuable seconds are being lost while a person is in the water.

Mr Pollock added: "When someone is in the water the number one factor is time.

"A dedicated rescue crew maintained that cover 24/7, 365 days so that as soon as a call came in they were headed to the water.

"Now, if the appliances are out, the crew have to come back to the station, change first and then head down to the Clyde - using valuable extra minutes.

"Somebody in temperatures like the Clyde, that time factor is to the power of 10 with regards getting them out of the water."

The SFRS is projected to receive a flat cash budget settlement from the Scottish Government for the next four years meaning, it has said, the SFRS must make £36 million in cuts, including £11m in 2023 and 2024.