Emergency services / Positive recruitment news reported by fire service
A POSITIVE recruitment picture within the local fire service was painted at a meeting of Shetland’s community safety and resilience board on Thursday.
Local fire chief Matt Mason said he is hopeful that the Bressay station will get back up to a full complement of staff.
For the third quarter of 2025/26 there were only three crew on the books in Bressay, with a zero percent availability reported during the period.
There is also progress on recruitment at stations such as Sandwick, Brae, Scalloway, Unst and Fair Isle.
Mason said there are a number of candidates going through the recruitment process, which he said was a “real positive step forward”.
He added that getting staff into the Fair Isle station was “no mean feat”.
Meanwhile assurances were given that no Shetland jobs will be lost amid financial challenges within Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.
There are projections that the equivalent of 500 whole-time fire fighter positions could have to go across the organisation over the next three years if spending plans remain unchanged.
Area commander Robert Lennox, who covers Shetland, Orkney and the Western Isles, said flat cash settlements are expected until 2029.
One change proposed in Shetland is the closure of the dormant Fetlar fire station, which has not been crewed for a number of years.
A consultation has already taken place and a decision is expected in due course.
Mason said the most basic advice to residents of Fetlar in the event of a fire is to get out of the property and call the fire service.
He added that smoke detectors remain an important tool for early detection.
The fire chief also hailed the training that has been undertaken in relation to the SaxaVord Spaceport in Unst ahead of an expected first launch later this year.
One exercise, for example, has focused on launch day itself, including traffic management.
“From a partnership point of view, we’re satisfied,” Mason said.
Launch operator Rocket Factory Augsburg is hoping to take off from the spaceport in Unst some time after 1 July. It would be the first vertical rocket launch in the UK.
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