Firefighters warn 'everyone should be alarmed' at state of 'creaking and straining' service

Firefighters in Scotland have warned of the ‘creaking’ service as gaps in staffing lead to soaring overtime bills and rising number of absences. PIC: Getty Images/iStockphoto | Getty Images/iStockphoto

placeholder image — Firefighters in Scotland have warned of the ‘creaking’ service as gaps in staffing lead to soaring overtime bills and rising number of absences. PIC: Getty Images/iStockphoto | Getty Images/iStockphoto

Under-staffed fire stations across the country have been reported with strain in the service compounded by sick leave and rising overtime bills

Firefighters have warned that “everyone should be alarmed” after the publication of a dossier exposing a “creaking and straining” fire service.

The Fire Brigades Union (FBU) said the new figures reflect two decades of “relentless and punishing cuts”, leaving rural communities “stretched” and under pressure.

This includes a “spiralling” overtime bill, a “looming mental health crisis”, and under-staffed stations across the country.

Colin Brown, Scotland executive member of FBU, said: “This dossier is yet more evidence of what almost two decades of relentless and punishing cuts have done to Scotland’s fire and rescue service.

“The loss of 1,250 firefighter posts, withdrawal of appliances and closure of stations, coupled with the failure to recruit firefighters in rural communities, has left fire cover stretched, heaping pressure on the staff who remain.”

The figures, obtained by the Scottish Lib Dems through a Freedom of Information request, show the fire service paid out almost £6 million in overtime payments, up from £4.5m in 2021/22.

Mr Brown said safe crew levels were being repeatedly breached, leading to the massive overtime bill and a “clearly unsustainable” situation.

He added that overtime should not be used to patch over major gaps in service provision.

Meanwhile, mental health absences have skyrocketed, with 12,132 days lost in 2025/26 - this is compared to just 4,219 in 2021/22.

Mr Brown said: “Everyone should be alarmed by the data on increased mental health and sickness absence.

“Again, the FBU has been warning of a looming mental health crisis in Scotland and the UK’s fire and rescue services for many years.

“The level of mental health and sickness absence within the service are self-propagating as absences increase pressure and workloads on staff resulting in further absences.

“If Scotland is to have a modern, fit-for-purpose fire and rescue service for decades to come, it must be built on a programme of investment, not continually undermined by real-terms budget cuts that directly impact on the health and wellbeing of Scotland’s firefighters and diminishes the resilience of our fire and rescue service across Scotland for the risks faced today and in the future.”

The dossier also reveals “significant holes” in the retained firefighter system, which adds to ‘wholetime’ employed firefighters with an on-call rota, with several stations being well below the recommended staffing level.

In the Highlands, Scourie is dependent on just one member of staff when it should have 12. Tongue also has only two out of the recommended 12 firefighters available. Elsewhere in the Highlands, Lochinver, Durness, Torridon and Uig stations all have less than half the staff they should, and Dingwall and Thurso are short by at least six.

In Ayrshire, Troon has just 8.83 full-time equivalent roles filled when it should have 20. Muirkirk and Mauchline also have fewer than half the staff they are supposed to have.

Garelochhead in Argyll and Bute have just 7.3 of the intended complement of 20.

The islands are also badly affected. In Orkney, just six of the proposed 20 firefighters are filled in Hoy and just nine out of 20 at St Margaret’s Hope. Only Stromness is currently meeting the requirements.

In the western isles, Valtos has just five out of 12, Great Bernera and Bayhead have less than half what they need, and only Stornoway is meeting the requirements.

Meanwhile in Shetland, almost every single station is well below what is needed.

Every station in Angus, Dundee and Perth and Kinross is reporting vacancies, with Coupar Angus and Dunkeld at less than half their required numbers.

In the north east, seven are missing from the rotas in Turiff, and Inverurie has only half the firefighters it should.

Meanwhilem Annan is missing seven, and only one of the 14 stations in Dumfries and Galloway is fully staffed. On the east coast, North Berwick has just 6.5 full-time equivalent roles in a station that is supposed to contain 15, and Eyemouth has just three out of 10 roles filled.

Finally Livingston has less than half, and Bathgate, Bo’ness and Falkirk are all well below their intended staffing levels.

In total, 31 per cent of full-time equivalent posts in the fire service are unfilled.

The Lib Dems said the figures exposed the cracks in the fire service.

Andrew Baxter, MSP for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch, where the devastating Cairngorms wildfire took place, said: “Scotland’s retained duty firefighter system is creaking and straining.

“This dossier exposes that in so many communities across Scotland, lives, livelihoods and our precious natural environment are being defended by just a handful of volunteers.

“Meanwhile the fire service is losing more and more staff to mental health pressures and relying on a growing overtime bill to plug gaps.

“We need the Scottish Government to step in and commission a probe into whether Scotland’s current defences are fit for purpose.

“No one will ever fault Scotland’s firefighters for effort or service. That needs to be matched by leadership from fire service bosses and the ministers who sit behind them.”

A Scottish Government spokesperson saidalmost £436 million was allocated to the SFRS (Scottish Fire and Rescue Service) in the 2026-27 budget - an increase of £23.8 million.

A statment added: “This investment supports frontline services and the Scottish Government is in regular contact with SFRS to ensure it has the resources it needs to continue to keep Scotland’s communities safe.

“The strength of a national fire service lies in its ability to draw on resources from across Scotland to respond to incidents like wildfires. Earlier this year, the SFRS conducted a review to ensure resources are in the right place at the right time.

“As of March 2025, there were 11.1 firefighters per 10,000 population in Scotland, compared to 5.6 in England and 10.3 in Wales. On-call firefighter availability is a historical and complex challenge being faced across the whole of the UK. SFRS is also working to address issues with recruiting firefighters in rural areas through its On-Call Improvement Programme.”

Andrew Watt, Scottish Fire and Rescue Service deputy chief officer, said: “We recognise the recruitment and retention challenges affecting on-call fire stations in many rural and remote communities across Scotland.

“The safety of Scotland’s communities remains our absolute priority.

“The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service continues to respond to emergencies across the country every day, ensuring firefighters, specialist assets and operational support can be deployed as needed to respond effectively to incidents of all scales.

“We are actively investing in our future operational capability through targeted recruitment activity, support for our on-call workforce, enhanced wildfire preparedness and continued investment in specialist equipment and training.”