Firefighters from three problem stations forced to train elsewhere
Da Flea says focus will soon turn to facilities at Unst and Whalsay stations too
FIREFIGHTERS from three problem fire stations are having to train at other stations nearby with better facilities.
Volunteer crews from Bressay, Hillswick and Walls are now travelling for training nights in Lerwick, Brae and Bixter respectively.
It comes after the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) ordered the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) to make immediate improvements to the three stations.
None of the three have toilets, changing areas or showers, and Walls has no running water.
As many as nine fire stations in Shetland have no water facilities – with Bixter, Fair Isle, Fetlar, Unst, Whalsay and Yell also affected.
SFRS has said it is working on improving the welfare arrangements at Bressay, Walls and Hillswick, with area commander Matt Mason previously saying short-term measures should be in place by the summer.
Firefighters at the three stations were moved to train at nearby stations with adequate facilities over the last few weeks, with the Hillswick crew being moved to Brae first.
Community safety and resilience board chairman Allison Duncan – a frequent critic of the lack of facilities at the three fire stations – confirmed volunteer crews were now training elsewhere.
He said the SFRS is “still working at the improvements” that HSE suggested, and said he was hopeful they would be completed in the coming months.
The Shetland South councillor said he would also be “pushing for further improvement with regards to water facilities at Unst and Whalsay next”.
“The firefighters, for their own health and safety, deserve better,” he told Shetland News.
“They should have the appropriate facilities to use as and when required.”
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Duncan said there were care homes on both of those islands, and a fire at the SaxaVord Spaceport in Unst last year during testing showed how vulnerable they could be.
Representatives of the Fire Brigade Union made a visit to local stations last year, with one saying that Bressay was the “worst station” they had seen in 20 years.
The HSE said the facilities at Bressay, Walls and Hillswick were “insufficient for any workplace”, but “cause particular difficulties in the event of having to decontaminate after a response to a fire”.
There have been discussions about the possibility of merging fire stations to put more than one crew together.
One suggestion was to merge Walls and Bixter fire stations, with the likelihood that a new purpose-built station would be built for the crews to share.
That could be used as a “community resilience hub”, much like the Lerwick fire station is now also used by the ambulance service.
It is understood Shetland Islands Council has been involved with the discussions about finding land for the fire station as well.
The SFRS is believed to be seeking opportunities for shared facilities in Shetland, and has been working with partner organisations on this.
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