Scottish fire services moving towards merger

The new fire chief of Lothian and Borders has admitted that a merger of the fire and rescue services in Scotland is looking more and more likely.

Since he took on the role in July, Jimmy Campbell has been considering the situation faced by fire services in the country as public sector cuts come into force.

The future for fire services in Scotland will involve a number of changes to ensure that efficiency is achieved and the merger may be the only way to achieve this.

Mr Campbell explained:

“We don’t know at this stage what cuts will be expected in services like ours but with commentators speculating on cuts from 12% to as much as 25% we know these cuts will be significant and there is no way that cannot affect how we currently do business.

“I am seeking a national approach from the fire and rescue services’ chief fire officers to establish a realistic direction and course of action that fundamentally protects our frontline firefighters and maintains the quality standard of services that the people of Scotland have come to expect.

“If we look at the number of fire and rescue services in Scotland there must be a better way of doing things.”

It looks like fire services in Scotland will go from eight into three to cover the north, west and south east areas of the country.