News / Government funds new firefighting unit at Sumburgh
TRAINING facilities for firefighters in Shetland and Orkney are to be improved thanks to £2 million of funding from the Scottish Government.
A replacement hot fire, or “carbonaceous”, training unit will be implemented at Sumburgh Airport, while Kirkwall Airport will receive a new unit.
Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) said separate units will also be built at both sites.
A total of £1.2 million is going towards the Northern Isles improvements, with the leftover £800,000 being allocated for general SFRS maintenance costs.
Local senior officer Fraser Burr said said the units will be a “huge boost” to training in Shetland and Orkney.
“The specialist carbonaceous units in particular are a realistic training scenario that allows our firefighters to deal with real fires occurring within buildings,” he said.
“These can be complex and require a professional approach to keep both them and the community safe. Firefighters are trained to a very high standard and this investment will ensure this continues in state of the art facilities closer to home for these crews.
“The additional funding will help keep the communities within the Orkney and Shetland Islands safe.”
Minister for community safety Annabelle Ewing added that the Scottish Government was “delighted” to provide funding for new training facilities.
“It’s essential that SFRS continues to deliver the high standard of services required to keep Scotland safe and providing high-quality and consistent training facilities across the country is an essential part of that,” she said.
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