Leaked document shows Scots firefighters forced to work in 'shed and metal container' as conditions blasted
28.10.2022 - 06:55
/ dailyrecord.co.uk
Firefighters are being forced to work out of shoddy stations including a shed, barn and metal container as they prepare for the busiest night of the year.
Now the Scottish Government has been warned that Scotland’s fire stations need a half billion pound upgrade amid a funding freeze for the service. The sub-standard fire stations were outlined to the Scottish Government in a letter from a fire chief, leaked to the Daily Record as the service prepares for bonfire night next weekend.
In a stark warning, the government was told that a £500m programme of investment was urgently needed to make dozens of stations safe. The leaked letter warns that a number of stations for retained and voluntary firefighters (RVDS) were in “poor or bad state”.
In a shocking passage the Scottish Government is told that some stations are “unsuitable for a modern service where stations consist of buildings such as a shed, a farm out building or a metal container.” Firefighters union the FBU have demanded action to improve fire stations across Scotland and confirmed that many buildings were sub-standard.
John McKenzie, Regional Secretary of the Fire Brigades Union in Scotland, said: “Fire stations across Scotland have suffered from decades of sustained underinvestment to the extent that we now have workplaces which fail to provide the standard of basic facilities our members should be able to expect as a given in 2022.
“The SFRS needs sustained increased investment in order to tackle these challenges and firefighters need meaningful investment in their Service, not only to maintain and improve workplace facilities, but also to ensure frontline services are protected and to deal with the sustained real terms erosion of their pay over the last fourteen
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