Calls have been made for ministers to tackle an emergency service crisis as the number of fatal and non-fatal fire casualties rose by 120 in a year in the midst of what has been described as a "decade of neglect".
Official data shows that the number of casualties rose from 844 in 2021/22 to 964 in 2022/23. The number of deaths in fires rose from 40 to 42.
New concerns over the future of Scottish Fire and Rescue Service surfaced as hundreds of firefighters from across the country to protest over cuts.
SFRS is expected to make £36.9m in cuts over the next four years.
The protest was aimed and putting pressure on the Government to reverse its five year, flat cash budget allocation which they say if left unchanged, would result in further widespread job losses and service cuts that will endanger the lives of communities they serve.
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.
Fire chiefs 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 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”.
SFRS said that while having a legal obligation to present a balanced budget its planning shows that they must make £36 million in savings over the next four years - including £11 million this year "to meet the financial challenges" outlined in the Scottish Government's Resource Spending Review. It says its projections show that they will be required to make a further £11.3 million in 2024-2025; £7.3 million in 2025-2026 and £6.9 million in 2026-2027.
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 would result in the loss of a further 339 firefighters and 18 fire engines next year, with more to come.
Alexander Stewart, Scottish Conservative MSP for the Mid Scotland and Fife region said the rise in casualties "illustrates the dangerous consequences of an underfunded fire brigade".
In the Scottish Parliament, victims and community safety minister Siobhian Brown defended the government's record in supporting the fire service financially.
She said: "Let me be clear that the Scottish Government is not in dispute with the Fire Brigades Union FBU). The FBU campaigns on behalf of its members as all trade unions do, and we share the aim of having an effective and Fire and Rescue Service to keep our community safe.
"The steady savings figure for 26/27 quoted by the SFRS... is based on various assumptions of inflation pay increases and future funding levels which can all change over time.
The RSR [Resource Spending Review] provides long term indicative spending plans for the Scottish Government based on the challenging financial situation we currently find ourselves in.
"While it is appropriate SFRS assesses its long term planning up to 26/27 on that basis, it does not replace the annual budget presented to Parliament. The actual amount allocated to SFRS in the annual budget will be based on a robust assessment of need, as was the case with 23/24 when we gave them an extra £14.4m."
The minister insisted that since 2017/18, there has been "substantial" year on year increases in funding to support and create a modern and effective fire and rescue service.
She said equivalent annual budget for SFRS for 23/24 is over £55.3 million pounds higher than it was in 2017/2018.
"This Scottish Government will continue to support SFRS to prioritize public safety," she said.
She said that fatal fire casualties per million of population have been in a "long term downward trend" since the early 2000s.
"We as a Scottish Government, continue to work with the FBU and SFRS to ensure they have the money they need to keep communities safe," she added.
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.
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