Row over fire inspections 'fall'

FBU Scotland wants to know why the number of inspections has fallen

A dispute has broken out over the publication of figures which apparently show that fire inspections have fallen by 71% since 2001.

The Fire Brigades Union (FBU) Scotland said described them as "shocking".

But the figures are disputed by the Strathclyde brigade, which said resources had risen.

Chief inspector of the fire service in Scotland, Jeff Ord, also queried the figures from the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy.

The FBU said that the number of inspections in Strathclyde had fallen from 17,937 in 2001 to 6,068 last year.

'Figures need checking'

It said the figure for Lothian and Borders fell from 11,340 in 2002 to 3,315 in 2004, while there was an 82% drop in Grampian, from 7,673 in 2001 to 1,315 in 2004.

The FBU said there was a question mark over whether fire authorities were fulfilling their statutory duties.

But Mr Ord said that while the figures might cause concern among the public, they should be looked at with caution.

He explained: "I would like to emphasise that the inspection regime is more meaningful and focused than before.

Firefighters, who see the day-to-day realities of fires, demand an explanation from the Scottish Executive Kenny Ross Fire Brigades Union

"The public need to be reassured, but the figures need to be checked."

He added: "Even if the figures are accurate, they speak for themselves. The number of fire deaths in non-domestic properties in Scotland has fallen over the last two years and the amount of community fire safety inspections has increased by over a hundred fold.

"But we are not denying or ignoring the potential for fire risk in commercial premises, hotels, boarding houses, hospitals, residential nursing homes or whatever. "

"Firefighters, as ever, are doing a terrific job on the inspections and so are the specialist officers."

However, the FBU's Scottish secretary, Kenny Ross, said the figures had been collected by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy from the brigades themselves.

He believed the drop in the number of all types of fire prevention inspections was "shocking and deeply worrying".

Strathclyde Fire and Rescue's Brian Sweeney has appointed more officers

"There is no explanation how this can happen during a time when prevention is meant to have much more emphasis, not less.

"Firefighters, who see the day-to-day realities of fires, demand an explanation from the Scottish Executive."

He said there was a suggestion that "a guiding hand" was behind the drop in inspections across the three fire authorities.

Mr Ross added: "We want to know on whose authority this has happened and why the fire inspectorate appears to have done nothing about it.

"Whoever made the decision or applied the pressure to cut back on these inspections - and we are in no doubt someone did - is gambling with public safety.

"We want to know who is responsible and we want them held to account."

A spokesperson for Strathclyde Fire and Rescue said the number of fire safety inspections it had carried out between 2001 and 2004 remained broadly the same, with "no appreciable reduction".

''Continuous improvement'

"Rather than any decrease in commitment there has been a marked increase in resources in the drive to deliver continuous improvement in public safety," the spokesperson went on.

"Chief officer Brian Sweeney recently announced an increase of 27 personnel in the establishment of fire safety inspecting officers.

"There has been a dramatic increase in funding allocated directly to community safety projects across west central Scotland," added the spokesperson.

The Scottish Executive said the fire service was concentrating prevention work on areas at the greatest risk, with "higher-risk premises" such as hotels and pubs receiving more in-depth and rigorous inspections than ever before.

An executive spokesman said: "However, lower-risk establishments will also be inspected but less often than before.

"So, overall we would expect the total number of visits to reduce but not at the expense of safety. That's part of the reason for non-domestic fire deaths falling in the past two years."

The spokesman added that carrying out fewer but more targeted inspections would free up time and resources to focus on fire prevention in homes.