Over 250 firefighters, supporters and politicians marched in Broughty Ferry on Saturday in opposition to the proposed removal of full-time overnight cover at Balmossie Fire Station.
FBU general secretary Matt Wrack attacked proposed cuts to spending on public services saying, “We are not going to accept 15-20% cuts across the public services after the general election…
“It wasn’t the people in this room who caused the banking crisis. People have the right to expect top quality public services.”
In a heated speech Mr Wrack pledged the commitment of the FBU to stopping the downgrading of Balmossie, saying, “Some people don’t seem to realise when they are beaten and at the vote we are going to remind them they have been beaten once before and they will be beaten again.
“I’m here to remind them the FBU and the local community are opposed to this proposal. We are going to fight every step of the way to defend our services.”
Ferry councillor Laurie Bidwell reminded supporters that one of the conditions made by Broughty Ferry Council when it was annexed into Dundee City Council was that it would retain its own fire service.
“This isn’t just a Broughty Ferry issue, it’s a Dundee issue,” he said.
“If you reduce appliance capacity in Broughty Ferry you reduce it in Dundee.
“Balmossie acts as a super-sub to other services within the city.”
Administration leader Councillor Ken Guild said he and the leaders of the other two councils covered by Tayside Fire and Rescue, Perth and Kinross and Angus, have held a closed meeting with the fire board and will continue talks in the run-up to the vote in an effort to prevent the consultation document going through.
The proposal for Balmossie is only part of the 56-point Towards A Safer Tayside consultation paper which goes before board members next Monday.
They represented only a fraction of the 5102 members of the public who in the past two months have signed petitions campaigning against the Towards A Safer Tayside consultation document which seeks a change to retained cover at Balmossie overnight and to relocate a full-time daytime crew to Forfar.
Residents angered by the second proposal in a year marched behind the Mains of Fintry pipe band, following the Fire Brigades Union banner along the seafront and up Brook Street to a rally in St Aidan’s Hall where they were addressed by local politicians and members of the FBU.
Campaigner and former firefighter Eddie Thomson said they had “exposed the hierarchy of Tayside Fire and Rescue for the misinformation given out to the press, on the statistics of overnight call-outs.”
Tayside Fire and Rescue FBU secretary Ron Costello said he had spent the past few months going over figures and they did not match those originally presented by the fire board to Dundee City Council.
“The brigade are massaging the figures.
“The amount of times Balmossie goes to Carnoustie wasn’t given in figures to the council.
“They are lying. They are trying to pull the wool over councillors’ eyes.”
The inclusion of five politicians in the rally, including both Dundee MPs, was praised by Mr Thomson and Mr Costello, who claimed the people of Dundee and Broughty Ferry were clearly demonstrating they would not stand for the approval of the consultation document, due to be debated by members of the Tayside Fire and Rescue joint board on March 29.
Dundee East MP Stewart Hosie said, “The local community has been mobilised again in defence of Balmossie.
“It’s incredibly frustrating that we are here again. The fight goes down to the wire. It doesn’t stop here. There are people in all parties we need to persuade with all the arguments and facts.”
They represented only a fraction of the 5102 members of the public who in the past two months have signed petitions campaigning against the Towards A Safer Tayside consultation document which seeks a change to retained cover at Balmossie overnight and to relocate a full-time daytime crew to Forfar.
Residents angered by the second proposal in a year marched behind the Mains of Fintry pipe band, following the Fire Brigades Union banner along the seafront and up Brook Street to a rally in St Aidan’s Hall where they were addressed by local politicians and members of the FBU.
Campaigner and former firefighter Eddie Thomson said they had “exposed the hierarchy of Tayside Fire and Rescue for the misinformation given out to the press, on the statistics of overnight call-outs.”
Tayside Fire and Rescue FBU secretary Ron Costello said he had spent the past few months going over figures and they did not match those originally presented by the fire board to Dundee City Council.
“The brigade are massaging the figures.
“The amount of times Balmossie goes to Carnoustie wasn’t given in figures to the council.
“They are lying. They are trying to pull the wool over councillors’ eyes.”
The inclusion of five politicians in the rally, including both Dundee MPs, was praised by Mr Thomson and Mr Costello, who claimed the people of Dundee and Broughty Ferry were clearly demonstrating they would not stand for the approval of the consultation document, due to be debated by members of the Tayside Fire and Rescue joint board on March 29.
Dundee East MP Stewart Hosie said, “The local community has been mobilised again in defence of Balmossie.
“It’s incredibly frustrating that we are here again. The fight goes down to the wire. It doesn’t stop here. There are people in all parties we need to persuade with all the arguments and facts.”