News / Fire control staff visit
DUNDEE-based fire control room staff will travel to Shetland as part of their training to familiarise themselves with the islands’ geography and place names.
The assurance was made to Shetland MSP Tavish Scott and Shetland Islands Council convener Malcolm Bell on Thursday, following the decision to close the Inverness control room in January.
It came after Scott sought a meeting with the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service’ chairman Pat Watters and chief fire officer Alasdair Hay to express local concern.
Aftewards Hay said the discussions with the two Shetland representatives had been very positive.
“As part of that discussion we were able to say it was our intention to ensure that staff from the control room in Dundee would have the opportunity to visit Shetland (and other areas such as Orkney and the western isles) to meet local staff and understand the specific local risks within those areas,” he said.
Scott and Bell were also looking for support for the idea of establishing an island-based control room bringing together all the blue light services.
The chief fire officer did not rule out that such shared services could be established in the future, but said they would add risk and complexity during the curent transition period.
“Whilst the three emergency services have much in common there are also distinct operational differences,” he said.
“Shared services discussions are ongoing to explore all future options and to assist in delivering improved outcomes, however, with regard to the future of control rooms, complexity, timescales and risk means that this option was not something we could progress at this time though it may become feasible at some stage in the future.”
The Shetland MSP welcomed the SRFS leadership’s commitment to ensure that fire fighters’ training was appropriate to the type of incident that most readily happens in Shetland.
“I am pleased that this work is a very high priority for the national fire service and that the senior staff recognise the professionalism and commitment that fire fighters across Shetland bring to their arduous duties,” he said.
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