Cutting back Scotland's fire service is a dangerous mistake

If the Arthur’s Seat fire hadn’t occurred during Parliamentary Recess, no doubt MSPs would have joined them, given Holyrood’s proximity to the blaze.

If Parliament had been in session, maybe it would have concentrated minds.

Because even in this dry, hot summer, the SNP Government is slashing local fire services. In Helensburgh, my constituents have been alarmed by plans to reduce the local fire station from a 24/7 service, with the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service proposing instead to base the crew there from 8am to 6pm Monday-Friday, with an on-call system on evenings and weekends. This will increase risk and increase response times.

And, of course, no one has barbecues at the weekends. Already, thousands of Helensburgh residents have signed petitions calling on the plans to be reversed.

Similar scenes are taking place around the country, while five stations in Dundee, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Musselburgh are facing being completely shut down or merged.

Firefighters and the public alike fear that an overstretched fire service will result in lives being lost. The fact is, under the SNP, our fire services have already been gutted. The Scottish Government cut £57million in real terms from the fire services’ budget between 2013 and 2023. In 2023/24 alone, the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service announced £11million-worth of cuts including mothballing ten fire engines, reducing the number of high-reach appliances from 25 to 14, scrapping the dedicated 24-hour water rescue team covering the River Clyde and slashing hundreds of frontline firefighter posts.

Perhaps it’s not surprising then that in 2024 fire emergency response times are slower compared to a decade previously. As the Fire Brigades Union warned in July, “these additional proposed cuts threaten to leave an already stretched service without adequate staff and resources to effectively respond to incidents and protect public safety”.

The SNP argues that as the number of deaths from fires reduces, fewer firefighters are needed. But as the billowing smoke from Arthur’s Seat reminds us, these cuts are taking place against the backdrop of climate change.

Recent blazes in moorland on Carrbridge and Dava were the largest seen in Scotland’s history, while a wildfire warning covering most of Scotland was issued for the 10th time this year following the Arthur’s Seat inferno.

That’s not to mention the other effects of climate change which require rescue services, such as flash floods – in 2024, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency issued the second-highest ever level of flood warnings.

Firefighters are also taking on new responsibilities, such as dealing with traffic accidents on two of the main roads in my constituency, the A82 and A83. And there are now electric storage batteries across the country.

Whatever is coming round the corner, if the SNP makes these cuts, experienced frontline rescuers will hang up their boots. Instead, we should be supporting firefighters to adapt to the new challenges that come with climate change, and expand their responsibilities. That way, we can all sleep a bit more soundly at night. It's really not worth the risk.