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Scotland drops regional fire controls |
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Proposals to reduce the number of fire and rescue service control rooms in Scotland from eight to three have been abandoned. The Scottish Government cited the response to the Glasgow Airport attack as a demonstration of the strength of local control centres. Community Safety Minister Fergus Ewing said: “The recent shocking events at Glasgow Airport provided a stark reminder of the need for fire and rescue services that have the capability to respond to the unimaginable worst case scenario as well as the day-today challenges.
“That’s why we are investing over £50m in the next three years to equip our fire and rescue services with a state of the art digital incident communications system.” CFO David Dalziel, Grampian Fire and Rescue Service, said he was pleased that there was now some “clarity” on the future of fire control rooms. The Fire Brigades Union welcomed the news and said it guaranteed more than 200 staff jobs. The report for the previous Labour/Lib Dem administration in 2004 argued that reducing the number of centres would improve service delivery and provide better value for money. Ken Ross, Scottish regional secretary of the Fire Brigades Union, described the decision as a “victory for common sense and public safety”. A further consultation on minimum standards is planned for early next year.
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