Put community and firefighters’ safety first - Foysol Choudhury

Firefighters risk their lives doing their jobs to save us, and our buildings, from fire. They depend on vital equipment to help them do this safely.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service have announced a programme of £11 million worth of cuts for 2023-24

That’s why it is so concerning that the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) have announced a programme of £11 million worth of cuts for 2023-24, which could lead to catastrophic removals of equipment and firefighter positions.

Crewe Toll Fire Station in Edinburgh is due to be affected, with the proposed loss of the station’s Turntable Ladder, the piece of equipment which allows rescues from height. If the equipment is removed, and if no other height appliance was available to attend, there would be no external rescue possible from above the fourth floor in a building.

With over 50 buildings above four floors in the surrounding area, this proposal makes no sense. If there is a fire in a block of flats in the area surrounding Crewe Toll, what will happen? These cuts should not be made, knowing the dangers that fires can cause and the tragedies we all, sadly, know they can lead to.

I’ve also been told that the removal of this height appliance from Crewe Toll would mean that there would be no immediate responses in under five minutes to surrounding properties. I heard concerns that for some jobs, if no other height appliance was available to attend from Tollcross or McDonald Road, the nearest available height appliance would be in Dunfermline.

This potential lack of local and readily available equipment to save lives is incredibly worrying, as is the danger it could pose to road safety if the appliance must rush across to Edinburgh from Dunfermline, increasing the chance of road accidents.

That’s why I am campaigning alongside FBU Scotland on their #CutsLeaveScars campaign, which is calling for a reverse to the decision on cuts. I am also calling on the Scottish Government to urgently review their funding arrangements with the SFRS, so that these cuts are not forced and so that both firefighters and the public can be kept safe by a fully resourced fire and rescue service.

I’ve written to the SFRS board members to ask them to pause their decision and seek alternatives. I’ve also asked the Minister for Community Safety to instruct the SFRS Board to pause this decision on cuts, whilst funding arrangements can be reconsidered and discussed between the SFRS and the Scottish Government.

I lodged a motion to the Scottish Parliament in support of Crewe Toll fire station and against these cuts to the fire and rescue service. It’s open for members’ business, meaning that if cross-party MSPs show it support, it may go up for debate. This is an opportunity for MSPs across the Chamber to put party politics behind them and support the motion to protect our fire service’s equipment. Doing so will show that they put community safety, and our firefighters’ safety, as a priority.

The public deserve to know they can be kept safe by a fully resourced fire and rescue service, and the firefighters deserve to know they can be kept safe on the job. This is a chance for the Scottish Government and SFRS to restore that trust.

Foysol Choudhury is an MSP for Lothian Region