Highland MSP raises fears over retained firefighter cover
A HIGHLANDS and Islands Conservative MSP has raised concerns about the shortage of retained firefighters in the region.
Mary Scanlon is worried that 85 per cent of the 359 fire stations in Scotland are manned by retained staff and around the Inverness area alone it is reported there are vacancies of more than 30 per cent in retained staff.
“This raises significant concerns about ensuring appliances are available to be deployed in the case of emergencies,” she said.
“I’m worried the commitment pressures on retained staff is putting people off joining the service in a retained role. “At present you have to commit to 120 hours a week and this is a significant part of someone’s time when you consider family and work commitments on top of that.”
Ms Scanlon feels the retained duty system designed in the 1950s bears no resemblance to the needs and demands on individuals in 2015.
“I hope the commitment of retained firefighters will be reduced to a figure around one third of the existing 120 hours a week, which will hopefully bring forward more volunteer firefighters in future years.”
