Fire control rooms in Aberdeen and Inverness will shut early – leaving emergency call staff to work out of portable buildings.
The Press and Journal can reveal the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) plans to close the call centres in the Granite City and Highland capital before the end of this year, despite the new centre in Dundee not being expected to open until April.
Staff will instead be left in the “ludicrous” situation of answering 999 calls from the entire north of Scotland in a series of portable buildings.
The SFRS has insisted its ability to handle emergencies will not be affected during the potential months-long stay in “specialised modular accommodation” – but the revelation has been branded “horrifying” and a “betrayal”.
A source told the Press and Journal that staff at the facilities were worried about having to work out of the pre-fabricated buildings until the spring.
And serious concerns have already been raised about the potential loss of local knowledge from the closures in Aberdeen and Inverness, which will mean all 999 calls from the north of Scotland being answered in Dundee.
Scottish Liberal Democrat justice spokesman Liam McArthur said staff would be “stacked up” in the makeshift facility.
The Orkney MSP added: “This is hardly what was promised. There seems to be no good reason to move staff from the existing control rooms in Aberdeen and Inverness until the new centre is complete and the systems are robust.
“Many people will feel betrayed by this announcement.”
It is thought about 60 people will be made redundant as a result of the closures in Aberdeen and Inverness, saving the SFRS more than £2million.
Peter Chapman, Scottish Conservative MSP for the north-east, said: “People across the north and north-east of Scotland will be horrified to hear that our hard-working fire service staff will be operating from portable buildings for what could be several months.
“We have already expressed concern at the impact of closing the Aberdeen and Inverness control rooms, not least the loss of local knowledge and understanding of regional dialects.
“Unfortunately, the closure is going ahead as planned, but serious questions need to be answered by both the SFRS and the Scottish Government.
“Why is the new facility in Dundee not ready when the plans were approved as far back as 2014?
“More importantly, why is the SFRS closing a state-of-the-art facility in Aberdeen to then ship staff into temporary accommodation?
“It is a ludicrous situation.”
Labour’s Rhoda Grant said “important” local knowledge could be lost.
The Highlands and Islands MSP added: “Expecting staff to spend the winter working from portable buildings is unacceptable especially when their jobs are under threat – this is no way to reward public servants.”
Other control rooms – in the Borders, Fife and central belt – have already been shut as the service attempts to cut the number of call centres from eight to three.
It is understood that while no final dates for the closures in Aberdeen and Inverness have been set, it is likely to be by the end of this year, meaning staff from both would use the temporary accommodation.
A spokesman for the SFRS said: “The new North Operational Control is part of a multimillion-pound investment that will ensure the continued safety of communities throughout Scotland.
“Whilst we finalise the new state-of-the-art control facility in Dundee, our teams will operate from specialised modular accommodation.
“This is part of our planned integration programme and will continue to provide full operational capability as we finalise our new facility.”
