Worrying figures have shown a sharp decrease in the amount of staff at the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, with a 15 per cent drop in a decade.
Currently, the SFRS employ 7,715 staff members across the country, as the Record reports. Regional fire bodies made way for a single service in 2013 in a move that critics believed paved the way for driving down staff numbers.
Recently provided statistics suggest the SFRS is running on the lowest staff figures of any year in a decade. The "wholetime operational" number was 4,159 ten years ago, a figure that now stands at 3,531. Although "retained duty" staff used to come in at 3,052, the figure for 2021/22 is 2,758.
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"Control staff" have fallen over the same period from 234 to 174, while the number of volunteers are also down from a decade ago, with the all-staff total falling by 1,325 compared to ten years ago.
John McKenzie, Scottish Secretary of Fire Brigades Union, said: "These figures show the true extent of the staffing crisis in the Service. This has resulted in longer response times to incidents, reduced crewing levels and increased danger for our communities when they are exposed to fires, flooding and other emergency situations."
"Scottish Ministers must take responsibility for this situation. We need fair pay, a major recruitment drive and sustained investment in the Service. Anything less will see more lives, more properties and more businesses put at risk."
David Farries, Assistant Chief Officer at the SFRS, said: "We look to recruit wholetime firefighters year-round and we also continually seek to employ on call staff in the areas where they are needed. These are rewarding roles for dedicated individuals who want to make a positive impact in our communities.
"While a longer-term picture does show an overall decrease in the number of wholetime firefighters, this reduction is predominantly due to a transition to a standardised duty system and the removal of duplicate posts between legacy services.
"We have the capacity and flexibility as a national service to move appliances and personnel to wherever they may be required to keep communities safe."
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