INVERCLYDE residents are being encouraged to have their say on proposals to change local fire and rescue provision. 

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) has put forward 23 proposed changes, including two involving Greenock and Port Glasgow stations, as part of a review of how it delivers services across the country.

Option one would see a combined aerial rescue pump (CARP) at Greenock station withdrawn permanently and replaced by a high reach appliance generating a saving of £426,000 a year.

Greenock has been operating without a CARP – one of two at the station – since September 2023 when one was temporarily withdrawn and redeployed elsewhere.

The second proposal for Inverclyde would see a mixture of changes to pumps and shift patterns across Greenock and Port Glasgow stations with more reliance on on-call cover out of normal 8am-6pm working hours which would save around £815k a year.

SFRS says it has a backlog of repairs in its buildings, fleet and equipment that would cost more than £800 million to address, which it cannot afford.

The service review public consultation is now live and will run for 12 weeks.

Councillor David Wilson, convener of Inverclyde Council’s local police and fire scrutiny panel, said: “It’s vitally important that the people who would be directly affected by any changes are given the chance to have their say and make their feelings known before any final decisions are taken.

“Fire and rescue is a vital, frontline, life-saving service and I encourage Inverclyde residents to take this opportunity to share their views during this public consultation period because their feedback, and that of people from across Scotland, is essential.”

The options for Inverclyde are as follows:

Option 1 (Greenock)

• Replace the second wholetime appliance at Greenock, which is a combined aerial rescue pump (CARP) with a dedicated high reach appliance. The second appliance (CARP) was temporarily withdrawn and replaced with a high reach appliance (HRA) in September 2023. 

Option 2 (Greenock and Port Glasgow)

• Replace the second wholetime appliance at Greenock, which is a combined aerial rescue pump (CARP) with a dedicated high reach appliance. The second appliance (CARP) was temporarily withdrawn and replaced with a high reach appliance (HRA) in September 2023; AND
• Introduce a new system for the third appliance at Greenock, which is currently crewed by on call firefighters. This would see that appliance crewed by wholetime firefighters during day shift hours from Monday to Friday between 8am and 6pm and crewed by on call firefighters out with these hours. The first wholetime appliance would be unchanged; AND
• Introduce a new system for the first appliance at Port Glasgow, which is currently crewed by wholetime firefighters. This would see that appliance crewed by wholetime firefighters during day shift hours from Monday to Friday between 8am and 6pm and crewed by on call firefighters out with these hours. The second on call appliance would be unchanged.

SFRS say the primary aim of the review is to ensure that its resources – including staff, stations and appliances – are matched to operational risk and demand across Scotland.  

The proposed changes are spread across 14 different local authority areas and involve more than 30 fire stations. 

For more information and to take part in the consultation, visit www.firescotland.gov.uk/service-delivery-review