One in three firefighters consider quitting in 'decade of neglect'

Between 700 and 900 fire staff and supporters from across the nation converged on Edinburgh in what union leaders said was a "powerful message" that the cuts should end.

Fire Brigades Union Scotland has warned that there is an increased 'threat to life' through the cuts which has meant that the number of uniformed Scots firefighter staff is being slashed by nearly 1500 in a decade.

Now it has emerged that a union survey of 1500 staff has raised new concerns over the impact of cuts on the service and firefighters in the future.

READ MORE: 'Risk to life' warning over a decade of Scots firefighter staff cuts

Some 39.31% agreed that they had recently considered leaving the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service for alternative employment.

The number of full-time equivalent uniformed staff has already been cut by 1,119 from 7,162 in 2012/13 to 6043 now.

And fire chiefs have warned of further cuts to firefighters amid a cash crisis this year which union leaders say will see a 20% cut in numbers in a decade.

The survey found that 80.37% agreed that they had personally experienced or witnessed mental health challenges among firefighters.

The damning study also found that 42.35% agreed that their workplace was in a poor or very poor condition. Just 2.67% said the condition of their workplace was excellent.

Colin Brown, FBU Scotland executive council member said there was a "recognition" that after 10 years of the single SFRS, the voices that are missing from the conversation about service development and where the future of the service were those on the front line manning fire appliances.

"We recognise the crisis in the SFRS is the result of underinvestment over the last decade.

"Firefighters are extremely proud of the job they do in servicing communities but they are struggling under the pressure of sustained underinvestment.

"The morale in the service is under pressure because people feel that they are not able to provide the service they want to provide."

The rally demanded that MSPs provide urgent investment to protect jobs and services.

"The message is either we have a serious conversation about the funding of the service going forward or the decision makers sitting within the Scottish Parliament who decide the budget resources are willing to see it decimated and communities put at risk," said Mr Brown.

Some 40 people died in fires in Scotland in 2021/22 - 13 more than in 2019/20, the year before the pandemic.

The service has said it now has an “insurmountable backlog” in capital spend requirements and needs “critical investment” to ensure its 357 stations, 1,620, and “tens of thousands of items of operational equipment” are “fit for the 21st century to support evolving community risk”.

And it warned that due to having core capital funding fixed at £32.5 million for the last seven years by the Scottish Government, it now needs a “minimum” of at least £60 million per year.

Service executives say a projected five-year flat cash budget until 2027 has removed ten full-time fire engines, while 150 retained fire engines are regularly unavailable due to significant recruitment and retention issues.

The SFRS has announced that its own projections mean it will need to save a minimum of a further £14m next year, which would result in the loss of a further 339 firefighters and 18 fire engines, with more to come.

The Scottish Government said that as of March 31, 2022, there were 11.3 firefighters per 10,000 population in Scotland, compared to 6.1 In England and 8.4 in Wales.

The FBU is currently consulting with its members ahead of a ballot on industrial action over the cuts. If approved it could lead to the first firefighters' strike in Scotland in two decades.

And the union said the numbers turning up for the protest will pile pressure on the government to reverse its five year, flat cash budget allocation.

Meanwhile Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar told the First Minister that cuts were putting lives at risk saying the fire service was suffering from a "decade of neglect".

He quizzed Humza Yousaf in the Scottish Parliament about funding cuts to the fire service after two major fires in the past week - one in Lochgelly and one in East Kilbride.

"First Minister, why can't you see cuts are putting lives at risk?" he said.

Mr Sarwar said the FM was “burying his head in the sand” and said he was not listening to the concerns from frontline firefighters.

Mr Yousaf said that despite the UK government's policy of austerity, the Scottish government still increased funding to the fire service.

Mr Yousaf that over the last 10 years the number of recorded fires had dropped by 14% in Scotland.

But Mr Yousaf said there are reforms being made to the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.

"I trust the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service to make those changes and do so in a way that keeps people safe," he says.

"I'm not sure why Anas Sarwar doesn't."

He added: "We continue to invest in our fire service and I want to thank and pay tribute to the FBU and to our firefighters on the ground," he says.

"And I'll continue to give them a promise that so long as we are in government we'll continue to insure that they get the investment they need to keep our public safe."

SFRS chief officer Ross Haggart said: “The safety of our communities and firefighters will always be of paramount importance to the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.

“We remain committed to working in partnership with the FBU...

“We are also committed to continuing the good work we are jointly progressing in relation to training, decontamination and on call recruitment and retention.”

He added: “In terms of the future of the service, we have been clear that we must modernise to ensure we are best placed to meet the changing risk and demand we face across Scotland, while also addressing our ongoing financial challenges.

“This is undoubtedly a challenging time for the public sector in Scotland and we are not immune to this – we’ve been clear that difficult decisions will have to made without investment.

“However any permanent changes now or in the future will only be made following full engagement and consultation with all our stakeholders, including the FBU.”

A Scottish Government spokesman said: “Firefighters play a vital role in protecting our communities and the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) has continued to deliver the high standard of services required to keep Scotland safe. That is why, despite difficult financial circumstances due to UK Government austerity, we are providing SFRS with more than £368 million this year, an increase of £14.4 million on 2022-23.

“Whilst the allocation of resources, along with the recruitment and retention of firefighters, is an operational matter for SFRS, we are maintaining front-line services, with a higher number of firefighters in Scotland than other parts of the UK.

“Ministers will continue engaging with the FBU to discuss their concerns.”