The morale of firefighters in Dundee is at an all time low amid a wave of cuts impacting services, union members say.
As of today (Monday September 4), Kingsway East station has been left with just one appliance after its second appliance and crew were removed to save money.
The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) say the move is part of temporary measures to help plug an £11 million budget gap.
However firefighters say the cuts will affect response times and put crews and communities at risk.
Barrie McCourt, Blackness branch secretary of the Fire Brigade Union (FBU) said: “Morale at the moment has just been at an all time low.
“People have had to be moved because of the changes being brought in. With the Kingsway losing a machine, they’ve had members move to other stations.
“And this is not just in Dundee but in Fife as well. There’s been a lot of personnel movement that has maybe put people out.”
The removal of the second appliance at Kingsway East comes after a spate of fires in and around the Dundee area over the weekend.
On Saturday four appliances were called to an empty property on Dundee Road West shortly after 7pm. The building was reduced to a shell as a result of the fire.
And on Sunday, crews spent more than four hours battling a woodland blaze near Birkhill Park which at its height measured 100m by 100m – larger than a football pitch.
The reduction in the the number of appliances available in Dundee has led to fears from firefighters that their safety and that of the public could be compromised.
Barrie added: “If there is a house fire in the Kingsway area, they only have one machine that will initially turn up to that and they will need back-up from either Blackness, Macalpine Road or Balmossie.
“So it’s a fair bit of a drive to get there and it could be an extra few minutes before they have the back-up of a second appliance – that could be a long time if someone was trapped.
“It puts the public and firefighter safety at risk.
“And we realise that there is another £25 million worth of savings that will be required by the end of 2026/27.
“So we are worried about what next year’s cuts will come down to.”
Assistant Chief Officer David Farries, director of service delivery at the the SFRS has previously said they are modernising the service to ensure “they are best placed to protect the people of Scotland”.
He added: “We are set up based on historical risk and demand and must match our national network of resources to where they are needed most.
“We will always maintain fire cover and continue to attend every emergency.”
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