Latest news with #SFRS
Scotsman
7 days ago
- General
- Scotsman
Plan to close Edinburgh's Marionville fire station would 'increase risk to community'
Plans to close Edinburgh's Marionville fire station would mean longer response times for emergencies, putting communities at greater risk, a firefighters' leader has warned. Sign up to our daily newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... The station, which was built using the potentially dangerous Reinforced Autoclaved Aereated Concrete (RAAC), has been earmarked to shut in a review by the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS). But fire chiefs say no decision has been made and nothing will happen until the public have been consulted. However, a petition has been launched on by Marionville firefighter and Fire Brigades Union rep David Strachan to save the station from closure. Marionville fire station is being proposed for closure | Google Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Mr Strachan argues Marionville fire station is 'a crucial resource in the east of Edinburgh, less than a mile from the city centre' and the closing it will mean 'a huge increase in risk'. He says: 'Marionville was built using RAAC panels which means the station must be rebuilt. SFRS, due to lack of proper funding, are moving forward to permanently close the station. It is unacceptable that due to underfunding, firefighters and their community are now facing further risk due to chronic financial neglect. 'The closure of Marionville presents a huge increase in risk, with increased response times to a densely populated area of Edinburgh, a city where the population is increasing at an unprecedented rate. 'It also has knock-on effects, putting significantly increased pressure on surrounding fire stations, two of which are already the first and third busiest in Scotland. Resources are already spread far too thin in the Capital. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'It is a matter of minutes for a fire to go from manageable to fully developed, dramatically increasing the risk to people, property and firefighters.' Edinburgh East Labour MP Chris Murray said: 'The Marionville firefighters put their lives on the line every day to protect people in central and east Edinburgh. 'There is lots of student accommodation being built in that area, the population is going up a lot, there are a lot of tenemented streets - and any 999 call about a tenement requires two fire engines to attend. 'It's also the city centre - so that means the Scottish Parliament, Holyrood Palace, the Festival and so on. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'If the closure goes ahead the nearest fire stations left would be Newcraighall at one end and McDonald Road at the other. Both of these have very congested routes to that part of Edinburgh. From Newcraighall, I've spent 40 minutes trying to get there in a car. The roads are clogged. 'And minutes really matter when it comes to a fire. The longer you leave a fire, the more dangerous it is for someone to get it, so you'll get there three minutes later and it's not safe enough to send firefighters in any more and you have to let it burn - or the risk to the firefighters themselves becomes so much higher.' SFRS deputy assistant chief officer Andrew Girrity said: "We are currently in the midst of a service delivery review, which aims to ensure that our resources – our staff, stations and appliances – are matched to operational risk and demand across Scotland. 'We also must address urgent property issues including stations affected by RAAC, which includes Marionville Community Fire Station. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad "We have now concluded an options appraisal and development process, and a number of change options have been recommended to progress to public consultation in the summer. This remains subject to final approval by the SFRS Board. "Any permanent changes to our station footprint or how we deliver our services will only come after we have sought views from the public and a final decision has been made by the SFRS Board."
BBC News
28-05-2025
- Climate
- BBC News
Firefighters and helicopter tackle wildfire near Alford
Multiple fire crews have been tackling a large wildfire near a rural road close to Alford in Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) said nine fire appliances and a number of specialist units responded to the blaze in an area of gorse on a hillside near to Suie Road.A helicopter was also used to waterbomb the said it was alerted at about 11:30 and it urged nearby residents to keep the windows of their homes closed due to the smoke.
Daily Record
27-05-2025
- General
- Daily Record
False fire alarm call-outs in West Lothian area drop to zero for first time
There were zero false alarm calls in the last three months - almost two years after Scottish Fire and Rescue changed the rules to automatic response to fire alarms in a bid to save thousands of pounds and cut waste of resources. Livingston North has become the first area in West Lothian to have no false fire call-outs. There were zero false alarm calls in the last three months - almost two years after Scottish Fire and Rescue changed the rules to automatic response to fire alarms in a bid to save thousands of pounds and cut waste of resources. Watch Commander Paul Harvey told a meeting of Livingston North Local Area Committee that the number of call-outs had plummeted: 'I'm happy to report that in the last quarter that [number ] is zero. I think that is the first time we have had zero unwanted alarms in any quarter.' With a large number of industrial units, Northern Livingston once regularly had high numbers of call outs, with a minimum of two fire engines responding to automatically triggered alarm signals. At one point there were almost 50 call outs in a three month period. SFRS changed the rules in July 2023 and now only responds to automatic alarms in buildings where people sleep such as hotels, hospitals, care homes and student halls. Commander Harvey said: 'We will only attend where there is a back up call [to confirm] and there is a sleeping risk This has freed up staff for training and public engagement.' Chairing the meeting Councillor Anne McMillan said : 'Well done on the unwanted fire alarms. Could you say if this is an indication county wide on the reduction of call outs?' Cmdr Harvey said the plan estimated there would be an 57% reduction in the number of false alarm call-outs. He added: 'It has been a significant reduction in some wards, we have seen the call outs reduced by 90%. 'What we ask now is if the alarm goes off there is a back up call from the operator. If it is anywhere with sleeping accommodation we will always send an immediate response.' Councillor Alison Adamson said: ' Absolutely huge congratulations on the unwanted call-outs - you can see the numbers coming down from 2022-23.' The numbers of call-outs began dropping significantly in the months before the rule change came in July 2023. However in West Lothian the number of unwanted fire alarms still remained stubbornly higher than other parts of Scotland. Before the rule change Pre-Determined Attendance, or PDA as the policy is known, saw fire crews mobilised to an average 28,479 false alarms each year - equating to around 57,000 unnecessary blue light journeys in Scotland, posing potential road risks to the public and crews. The cost of each false call out to the service is around £2,000. Many unwanted call outs are triggered by faulty alarm settings but many more have been triggered by wholly innocent things such as cooking, and the use of deodorants and hairspray.
Edinburgh Live
27-05-2025
- General
- Edinburgh Live
False fire alarm call-outs in West Lothian area drop to zero for first time
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info Livingston North has become the first area in West Lothian to have no false fire call-outs. There were zero false alarm calls in the last three months - almost two years after Scottish Fire and Rescue changed the rules to automatic response to fire alarms in a bid to save thousands of pounds and cut waste of resources. Watch Commander Paul Harvey told a meeting of Livingston North Local Area Committee that the number of call-outs had plummeted: 'I'm happy to report that in the last quarter that [number ] is zero. I think that is the first time we have had zero unwanted alarms in any quarter.' With a large number of industrial units, northern Livingston once regularly had high numbers of call outs, with a minimum of two fire engines responding to automatically triggered alarm signals. At one point there were almost 50 call outs in a three month period. SFRS changed the rules in July 2023 and now only responds to automatic alarms in buildings where people sleep such as hotels, hospitals, care homes and student halls. Commander Harvey said: 'We will only attend where there is a back up call [to confirm] and there is a sleeping risk This has freed up staff for training and public engagement.' Chairing the meeting Councillor Anne McMillan said : "Well done on the unwanted fire alarms. Could you say if this is an indication county wide on the reduction of call-outs?" Cmdr Harvey said the plan estimated there would be an 57% reduction in the number of false alarm call-outs. He added: 'It has been a significant reduction in some wards, we have seen the call-outs reduced by 90%. 'What we ask now is if the alarm goes off there is a back up call from the operator. If it is anywhere with sleeping accommodation we will always send an immediate response.' Councillor Alison Adamson said: ' Absolutely huge congratulations on the unwanted call-outs - you can see the numbers coming down from 2022-23.' The numbers of call-outs began dropping significantly in the months before the rule change came in July 2023. However in West Lothian the number of unwanted fire alarms still remained stubbornly higher than other parts of Scotland. Before the rule change Pre-Determined Attendance, or PDA as the policy is known, saw fire crews mobilised to an average 28,479 false alarms each year – equating to around 57,000 unnecessary blue light journeys in Scotland, posing potential road risks to the public and crews. The cost of each false call out to the service is around £2,000. Many unwanted call-outs are triggered by faulty alarm settings but many more have been triggered by wholly innocent things such as cooking, and the use of deodorants and hairspray.
Edinburgh Live
26-05-2025
- General
- Edinburgh Live
Edinburgh takeaway blaze as firefighters race to scene
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info Edinburgh fire crews raced to tackle a blaze at a takeaway on Monday afternoon. The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) received reports of the fire at around 4:27pm on Monday, May 26, and sent four appliances and as many as 20 firefighters to extinguish the flames on Bughtlin Market in the East Craigs area. A SFRS spokesperson said: "We're in attendance at a building fire on Bughtlin Market. We have four crews in attendance just now." The building on fire is understood to be Sultan takeaway. Images and videos of the incident show smoke billowing from the building with SFRS crews having taped off much of the street. We'll bring you more information and updates on this breaking news story as we get it. In the meantime, follow us on Facebook, Instagram and X for the latest news, what's on, trending stories and sport.
