Fife firefighters are planning a day of campaigning in Glenrothes town centre as they fight “devastating” service cuts.
Crews will take to the streets to gather support for their bid to halt plans to remove four of the region’s fire appliances.
The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service is to strip one pump from both Methil and Glenrothes in September as part of an £11 million budget cut.
And a Dunfermline pump is also being axed, along with Kirkcaldy’s height appliance.
Petitions against the move have already been signed by almost 4,000 people.
And firefighters hope Thursday’s action will attract even more opposition.
Fife firefighters’ action at bus station
Glenrothes Fire Brigade Union (FBU) representative Steven Reid said he and his colleagues want to raise as much awareness as possible.
“We’ll start at the bus station at around 8am to catch commuters,” he said.
“We’re hoping to put a lot of flyers in shops.
“And we’ll have petitions for people to sign and we’re happy to speak to them about what’s going on.
“We need to make people aware this is happening without any public scrutiny whatsoever.
“It could have a devastating effect.”
Firefighters previously made their voices heard during a noisy demonstration outside Fife Council’s HQ.
They blew whistles and waved flags as fire chiefs arrived to defend the cuts.
Further cuts to save £25.5m
The FBU says the removal of four appliances will lead to the loss of 65 firefighter jobs.
And they fear the move will put crews and communities at risk due to increased response times.
This has been denied by the SFRS, who say data from the last five years was studied closely before the decision was made.
It describes the move as temporary but says it will be followed by a public consultation on permanent cuts.
This will include looking at the future of fire stations across Scotland.
Assistant chief fire officer David Farries said it will allow an opportunity to rebalance and reshape the fire service in a way that meets 21st century needs.
It will also help save a further £25.5m.
