Fire service branded 'uncaring' over Thurso woman's flood fears
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A Highland councillor has condemned Scotland's national fire service as "callous" and "uncaring" over the way it handled an emergency call from an elderly Thurso resident who was concerned about an imminent flood risk.
Margaret Mackay (84) feared that properties in Millbank Road were close to being inundated amid heavy rain last week – but the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) told her it would only attend if water was actually coming in.
Councillor Matthew Reiss branded the SFRS response "beyond inhumane" and "against the whole ethos of what the emergency services stand for".
Millbank Road is close to the river and boating pond and has been affected by flooding in the past.
In unrelenting rain last Wednesday, Mrs Mackay used a rake to try and clear leaves and other debris from a gutter. She became particularly worried when the water rose to within an inch or two of the top of a doorstep at a neighbouring house, occupied by another woman in her eighties.
"It was a filthy day and at one point I looked out the front here to see if the river had flooded into the pond," Mrs Mackay said.
"I thought there's something really wrong here with all this water. I looked around and I couldn't see where it was coming from."
She then noticed that the parking area beside the nearby Millbank rugby pitch was covered in water.
"Before we bought this house it was at one point flooded, so that was in my mind," Mrs Mackay said. "I'm thinking, 'I don't like the look of this.'"
Mrs Mackay telephoned Councillor Reiss, a former area police commander, who said he would contact Highland Council and advised her to call the SFRS control room in Dundee.
"I rang 999 and I explained – I said we're elderly and our only able-bodied neighbour is away and there is water where there isn't usually water," Mrs Mackay said. She described the water level as more than ankle deep.
"I told her it was coming towards the top of the step, about an inch or an inch-and-a-half.
"I was telling all this to the woman and she said, 'Is the water in the house?' So I said, 'No, not yet,' but the forecast was that it was going to go on and it was a concern.
"'Oh,' she said, 'if the water is not coming into the house we can't do anything.'
"It just seemed to me so ridiculous. In the middle of all of this, they couldn't come.
"I suppose it was hysterics. I couldn't stop laughing. It just seemed so ludicrous.
"Are you supposed to stand there with a torch and then the minute the first drop comes through you ring them and say the water's coming in?"
Mrs Mackay, a retired primary school teacher, was soaked through after working to clear the gutter and her husband Donald (85) had to help "peel all the wet clothes off".
She explained: "It was just such a shock to walk round there into this water."
Thankfully the rain stopped overnight and the water level subsided.
Councillor Reiss, who represents Thurso and Northwest Caithness, said: "I could hardly believe that the fire service control room in Dundee refused to turn out for an 84-year-old lady who was concerned about the imminent risk of flooding. It would have been different if they were already dealing with a more urgent matter.
"She was told they would only attend once the water was flooding the house. It's beyond inhumane and utterly against the whole ethos of what the emergency services stand for.
"I can only describe this as callous.
"I could also describe this attitude as the ugliest side of centralisation.
"We did have a caring service, based and managed in the Highlands with democratic oversight by elected councillors. This has been replaced by a frankly rather sinister, uncaring monster that has no compassion or awareness of looking after the vulnerable.
"This daft policy guarantees homes will be flooded, with all the stress and financial hardship associated with a flood. Who dreamt this up? People without a social conscience who have forgotten that their service states every person will be 'treated with dignity and respect'?
"It's almost beyond words that they wouldn't turn out for her."
Councillor Reiss added: "As an aside, the fire station is about 100 yards away. This is not a reflection on the men and women based at Thurso. The criticism is aimed at the centralised service based in Dundee.
"I phoned the council's emergency number and asked if staff could attend. I'm delighted that they did."
A council spokesperson confirmed that staff went along to deliver sandbags.
SFRS area commander Michael Humphreys, the local senior officer for Highland, said: "Our highly trained operations control staff will always mobilise the closest and most appropriate resource to any emergency.
"On this occasion, we received a call from a member of the public who reported concerns around the threat of weather-related flooding close to their home.
"Having obtained all relevant information, it was established that there was no immediate threat to the safety of the caller.
"As per our standard operating procedures, the caller was thereafter encouraged to contact the local authority to have sandbags supplied and advised to call 999 immediately in the event of an emergency."
