McArthur hosts retained fire stations meeting

Orkney MSP Liam McArthur has met with senior representatives of the Scottish Fire & Rescue Service to discuss plans aimed at addressing problems of recruitment and retention of crews in retained stations across the country, including in the islands.

The meeting took place ahead of a planned visit to Orkney in the spring to undertake detailed consultations with local communities.

Mr McArthur said: “For some time now, I have been highlighting the need to do more to maintain capacity in retained fire stations within Orkney.  The situation in some of our smaller islands is particularly acute, although the reasons for this often vary from community to community.

“I was encouraged to hear what assistant chief officer Murray had to say, however, about some of the options currently being explored by the service.  For example, it appears that work is under way to review training requirements for retained crew to ensure they are relevant, proportionate and can be delivered in Orkney, wherever possible.  This could ease the burden of taking on the role, without putting either retained firefighters or the public at risk.”