A Glasgow fire boss has said cutting three engines at stations among other measures will be the “least impactful” way to make cost savings.
There are “temporary” plans to withdraw three appliances from Maryhill, Cowcaddens and Govan Community Fire Stations from September. Politicians have expressed concerns about the move over safety, with one Govan councillor branding it “dangerous.”
Speaking at a meeting on Thursday about the changes, local senior fire officer David Murdoch said: “These stations however will continue to have a fully crewed first appliance available.”
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He said the situation will be monitored, and added that the “number of fire appliances attending any incident will not change.”
Mr Murdoch also said the Springburn Community Fire Station will have its “combined height vehicle replaced with a dedicated environmentally friendly fire appliance.”
He told Thursday’s community Safe Glasgow Partnership meeting: “Our water rescue provision at Polmadie Community Fire station will change to a dual crewing approach with our fire appliance.”
Commenting on the ‘strategic service review programme,’ Mr Murdoch said: “These changes are the least impactful in both the local and national context for the service.”
There is a bid to sell the Scottish Fire & Rescue site at Cowcaddens and there is a possibility of a new community fire station at Maitland Street and Stewart Street subject to consultation.
The partnership agreed another meeting is to be set up to discuss more detail. There is also to be another meeting for other councillors.
Labour councillors have called for the Scottish Fire & Rescue Service to reconsider the reduction of appliances based at the stations.
City centre councillor Phillip Braat, Labour, said: “The withdrawal of a fire appliance from Cowcaddens is of grave concern. It is the main station servicing the city centre area and it is strange and worrying decision to make."
Urging reconsideration, Maryhill and fellow party councillor Kieran O’Neill wrote to fire chiefs asking when the appliances would be returned and what engagement they had with the firefighter unions regarding this.
Labour councillor Imran Alam pointed out the Govan station serves the Queen Elizabeth hospital, Ibrox stadium and numerous tenements as well as having the the M8, M77 and M74 in the vicinity.
He said: “I would like to see the risk assessment taken, including an explanation on how the service would be able to deal with an incident at multiple locations in the area without additional delay.”
Scottish Greens councillor Dan Hutchison, who also represents Govan, added: “The decision to cut an essential service from our community was one taken with no consultation from the community or from local elected members and Govan is the last place that needs a service cut.
"As a community we have the largest hospital in the country, an exceptionally densely populated area, three motorways, the Clyde and Ibrox Stadium – all of which require additional resource. It is a dangerous move to our community and really crucially, to the Firefighters on the ground to reduce the capacity of the station.”
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