Support for fire and rescue service campaign
COUNCILLORS in Inverclyde have thrown their weight behind a campaign against cuts to the fire and rescue service.
All members present at the recent full council meeting unanimously backed a motion from Councillor Tommy McVey, seconded by Councillor Francesca Brennan, to formally support a Fire Brigades Union (FBU) campaign and to call on the Scottish Government to reverse £36 million worth of proposed cuts to the fire service.
Councillor McVey said: “The government must fund the fire and rescue service correctly because if they don’t get the right resources to an incident at the right time there will be consequences and possibly tragic consequences.
“The FBU are telling us that, firefighters are telling us that, and common sense tells us that.
“Let’s not sleepwalk into a tragedy. We need to protect our communities, protect our firefighters, and protect jobs.”
The proposed cuts to the fire service would affect Greenock Fire Station.
Councillor Brennan said: “The fire service is so important and isn’t in a place where it should be cut.
“There should be no question marks over the provision, resources, staffing levels and appliances for Greenock Community Fire Station.
“What we’re doing is raising the alarm, as a council.
“Greenock’s not a remote location and firefighters in our area serve our busy communities.
“There are real concerns about the future sustainability of the entire service.
“It’s a lifeline service and it’s simply not possible to run it on the cheap.”
The full text of the motion is as follows:
“This council regards the safety of Inverclyde's residents as paramount.
“It therefore supports the Fire Brigades Union’s position that the proposed cuts to fire and rescue service provision, at Greenock Community Fire Station, will result in increased response times and an increased risk to life.
“This council calls on the Scottish Government to reverse the proposed £36m cuts to the SFRS budget in order that resources can be maintained at Greenock Community Fire Station, i.e. two whole time fire and rescue appliances, including provision for high reach capabilities – either separately or combined and one on-call appliance.
“The Council also requests that if the proposed cuts are reversed that the resources identified above will be secured from this fund.”
The full council meeting is available to watch on the Inverclyde Council YouTube channel and associated papers are on the council website via the links in the Other Websites section of this page.