DUNFERMLINE and West Fife is regularly being left with cover of just one fire appliance after cuts to the service were introduced last year.

Fire Brigade Union rep Stuart Taylor says firefighters are being put in a "terrible position" as safe crew models appear to often be disregarded.

After the cuts, the Dunfermline fire station went from having three fire appliances to two fire appliances and a height appliance.

READ MORE: 'Unacceptable cuts' could compromise fire cover in Dunfermline

However, the need to send firefighters elsewhere to cover staff shortages means that the second fire engine is often taken off the road.

Stuart explained: "At Dunfermline, we went from having three appliances to having two appliances and a height appliance which took us from running with 14 people on a shift to 11 people on a shift.

"What is happening a lot now is our second appliance – which should be crewed with four – is fairly frequently getting taken off the run to send people to other stations to cover.

"That means there is only one fire appliance on the run. We have the height appliance but that is specifically for things needing a height appliance."

Stuart said safety could be compromised if they receive calls when they are only running with one fire appliance.

"We cover all the way along to Culross and Kincardine and West Fife villages like Oakley, Saline etc - one fire engine covering that size of area, when before it used to be three.

READ MORE: More than 500 people are against fire cuts

"If something happens on a shift when we have only one fire engine, we need to rely on a machine getting sent from another station. Our nearest full time station is Lochgelly which has two fire appliances so they have to send one from there.

"If we are only running with one appliance and we get a house fire, we only have one fire engine there until the next pump is available. "

The FBU representative said the cuts have also meant that established safe crewing models are not always being executed.

"When do have a first and second appliance, the first appliance is crewed with a crew of five and the second appliance is a crew of four. That is a safe crewing model.

"But quite often, they will put the first pump down to four, which is not the safe crewing model. That was the script during Covid times and it now seems to have crept in and is happening more and more instead of getting another body in on overtime.

"If there are only four in a first appliance, and if one appliance is out at something and you turn up with four to say a house fire, we cannot put a safe system of working in place to allow us to deal with that fire.

"With four people, one is your officer in charge, one is a driver who is to deal with messages and operate the pump which only leaves you with two. You need two with a BA team and another one who is to be there as part of a safe system of work. All we can do is put things in place until another machine arrives.

READ MORE: Fife Council calls on SFRS to re-think planned cuts

"It puts you in a terrible position. It is causing deep concern and anxiety amongst firefighters. We feel as if we are not able to do our job safely.

"Everything is fine until it is not fine. A lot of the time we will get by and we will manage but we are more like an insurance policy. We need to be here when it does happen.

"They will say we are managing with that but as soon as there is something – like a storm, like when Storm Babet happened – it becomes complete chaos and you are, in an instant, unsafe.

"We just seem to be in crisis at the moment. When the round of cuts came in, Fife lost three fire appliances plus a height appliance from Kirkcaldy.

"That is 60 less firefighters across the board for Fife. When this happened, we were told it would stop the second machines going off the run, but the second machine is still going off the run regularly. It is causing deep concern."

Responding to the concerns, Kenny Barbour, the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service's Local Senior Officer for Clackmannanshire, Fife and Stirling, said: “To ensure an equitable emergency response is available within our local communities, the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service has always strategically mobilised and deployed its resources and firefighters into various locations across local authorities as and when required.

“Our Operations Control staff and Central Staffing teams continue to review our operational cover and arrange standbys as well as mobilise the closest and most appropriate weight of response to ensure every emergency is attended.”