Public meeting on Hamilton fire station appliance plans
Public meetings are taking place this week about proposals for the future of the second appliance at Hamilton fire station, two years after it was first temporarily withdrawn – as part of changes potentially affecting four locations across Lanarkshire.
Options set out in a nationwide review by the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) propose either the permanent removal of Hamilton's second engine; or restoring it on a dayshift basis while adding a nucleus crew at Lesmahagow and an additional dayshift engine at Bellshill.
Both sets of proposals would involve switching Cumbernauld's current second appliance to dayshift-only staffing of 8am to 6pm on weekdays, with on-call firefighters covering evenings and weekends; with the reduction allowing for urgent repairs to the station's RAAC-affected roof.
SFRS's consultation website outlines that the options package including withdrawing Hamilton's second engine would save approximately £1.3 million per year and see 14 staff transfer to roles including fire prevention; while the set of proposals reintroducing the appliance on a dayshift pattern would save £503,000 annually and result in 'improvement in on-call resilience across South Lanarkshire'.
Both would 'match resources to operational demand in the area during the busiest times' and are described as resolving the RAAC issue in Cumbernauld, avoiding 'around £5m property investment'.
The consultation information notes that either change would result in an 'increase in second appliance response times in [the] Hamilton area', respectively at all times or during the on-call period; with a similar impact in the Cumbernauld area outside dayshift hours.
Deputy Assistant Chief Officer Ian McMeekin, who is head of service delivery in the SFRS west area, said: 'Our resources across North and South Lanarkshire need to be rebalanced to meet today's risks and demand.
'We've spent years developing our knowledge of community risk across Scotland and our modelling shows that the areas around Hamilton and Bellshill would benefit from a redistribution of where our resources are based.
'The introduction of a dayshift model for the second appliances at Cumbernauld, Hamilton and Bellshill also ensures we have additional staff in place during daytime hours to conduct community safety activities, such as home safety visits, hydrant inspections and care home visits.
'This option would also help ensure we have the necessary cover in place across the M74 corridor and a network of stations in South Lanarkshire during daytime hours when on-call availability can be challenging.'
He added: 'Cumbernauld fire station is also affected by reinforced autoclave aerated concrete (RAAC), which requires urgent action. It is not possible to repair the station with its current occupancy of two wholetime fire appliances, and it is not possible to rebuild the station on another site.
'Operationally, Cumbernauld also aligns more with other stations which have less appliances. Changing the one of the appliances at Cumbernauld to a dayshift system would ensure we continue to match resources to risk and demand while repairing the RAAC roof.'
The Hamilton public meeting takes place at Hillhouse & Earnock community centre on Tuesday, August 5, from 6-8pm; with a similar event taking place at Greenfaulds community facility in Cumbernauld at the same time the following day.
Both will include a presentation, followed by attendees discussing and feeding back their views in small groups, and then a question and answer session. Places must be booked in advance by emailing SFRS.PublicInvolvement@firescotland.gov.uk.
Additional informal drop-in sessions will be held at The Fountain in Lesmahagow on August 7 and Bellshill Cultural Centre on August 13, each from 3-7pm and with no need to book.
DACO McMeekin is encouraging 'as many people as possible to take part in the consultation process and attend the public meetings', saying: 'We have an opportunity for the first time since our national service was formed in 2013 to review how we provide our emergency service and build a modern fire and rescue service that is fit for purpose.'
Hamilton's second appliance was temporarily withdrawn amid budget cuts affecting 10 stations nearly two years ago, with the number of firefighters based at the station reducing from 45 to 30 but with SFRS emphasising that the station has always remained staffed at all times and adding of the current proposals: 'There is no option to change Hamilton's appliance from 24/7 cover.'
The public consultation runs until September 16, with final decisions on service delivery then due to be made by fire service board members in December.
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