SFRS Board approve changes to more than 30 fire stations

Decisions have been taken by the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service Board on proposed changes at more than 30 fire stations. 

This follows an extensive nationwide Service Delivery Review undertaken as part of continuing work to modernise the Service and ensure operational resources are matched to changing risk and demand. 

The Board met yesterday [Monday, 22 June] to consider and decide whether the Service should proceed with a suite of recommendations developed from the 23 options for change consulted on during 2025.

Two new fire stations will be built in East Lothian and Glasgow. This will see the construction of two-pump stations at Cowcaddens (wholetime) and Tranent (wholetime and on call) and the closure of single-pump stations at Yorkhill and Musselburgh. 

This will require more than £20 million investment in new, state-of-the-art modern facilities for staff, with the potential for capital receipts from the two sites. 

Five long-term dormant fire stations which have no staff will close. These are Crianlarich, Fetlar, Nethy Bridge, Ratagan and Isle of Muck. 

Six volunteer staff will now be consulted on potential redundancy prior to any final decision on the future of a further three long-term dormant stations – Colintraive, Corriecravie and Kerrera. 

A day-shift duty system (DSDS) will be implemented at Hawick, Helensburgh, Cumbernauld, Milngavie. These four sites are affected by RAAC and confirmation of changes to the duty system will allow remediation work and station upgrades to begin. Tranent is also affected but is being rebuilt. 

More than 60 staff from areas with lower operational demand will be redeployed into other safety-critical roles across prevention, training and operational delivery, and around 20 new on call roles will be created with additional targeted recruitment campaigns to be launched.   

Additional day shift duty system wholetime firefighters will be put in place in East Lothian, this will result in one additional appliance being introduced into our current operational model.  

Further options to support the on-call across the Scottish Borders will be developed. 

The agreed changes will see the permanent removal of the second wholetime appliances at Hamilton and Govan. In addition, the removal of wholetime appliances at selected locations and the reinstatement of second pumps at other identified locations, following temporary changes implemented in 2023. 

A wholetime appliance will be permanently removed from both Springburn and Balmossie. 

However, appliances previously removed under the temporary arrangements will be reinstated at Kingsway East, Maryhill and the new-build station at Cowcaddens.  

Three combined aerial rescue pumps (CARP) will be permanently replaced with dedicated high reach appliances (HRA) at Dunfermline, Perth and Greenock. These changes have been in place temporarily since 2023. 

The delivery of all changes will take place within the next five years. 

Mhairi Wylie, Chair of the Board, said: “The Service Delivery Review is about ensuring that resources across Scotland are used to best meet risk and demand, ensuring parity and fairness across communities. 

“We recognise the strength of feeling that exists in some communities. As a Board, we take this extremely seriously and the public consultation has been invaluable in shaping the recommendations and decisions.  

“There are some options that we will not be proceeding with, and others will be deferred to explore further arrangements. 

“We have listened to the concerns raised, and we will continue to closely monitor the impact of any changes. 

“These decisions have been taken with community safety and firefighter safety as the primary considerations, while delivering best value for the people of Scotland. 

“We believe these changes are transparent, evidence-led, legally robust and operationally deliverable. They will ensure the Service continues to be a leading exemplar of public sector reform.” 

The Board approved the recommendation not to proceed with the closure of Marionville in Edinburgh and relocation of this appliance to Newcraighall. 

A decision has been deferred on the appliance configuration in Fife subject to further analysis. The existing arrangement – second pumps temporarily withdrawn from Glenrothes and Methil – will continue until further notice. 

Following the Board’s decisions, individual consultation will now be undertaken with each affected employee in line with existing SFRS policies and procedures.   

Scottish Fire and Rescue Service Chief Officer Stuart Stevens said: “The Service Delivery Review is a critical programme to modernise how we work and deliver long-term sustainability.  

“Its primary purpose is to ensure that we meet emerging risk and demand across Scotland, while enabling us to address urgent property issues. 

“These changes are the start of a strategic redesign of the Service to improve outcomes for the communities of Scotland. 

“We recognise that this process has been challenging and, at times, emotive for our staff and communities where changes are proposed. 

“There have been extensive efforts to engage with staff and communities to fully understand their views. We have taken great care to analyse the feedback received and ensured it has been given thorough and considered attention.” 

The public consultation ran for a period of 12 weeks and closed in September 2025. This involved 40 public events across Scotland and received more than 3,600 responses. 

In line with best consultation practice, our independently facilitated meetings were a combination of in-person, online and drop-in sessions in communities potentially affected by the options for change. 

Independent external expertise ensured the process has been robust, impartial and transparent.