Firefighters go without soap, water and forced to shower at home between calls
Scotland’s hero fire-fighters are being forced to shower at home after emergencies in spite of contamination risks posed to health - because some stations are without running water, soap or other basic essentials.
The shocking state of facilities were revealed by Maggie Chapman MSP following a tour of stations where she met
The FBU has created its red plaque scheme which seeks to mark, with the placing of a red plaque, where, or close to where, firefighters have lost their lives in the course of their duties. I was privileged, a few weeks ago, to attend the Red Plaque unveiling ceremony at Blackness Road Fire station in Dundee.
"Two plaques were installed on the wall of the station: one to honour John Buist, who died after being trapped by burning "jute bales in a warehouse in April 1962, and one to honour William Carnegie, who was killed in a fall while attending a fire on Mains Road, also in 1962.
We remember them today, just as we remember Barry Martin and all of the other thousands of firefighters that have lost their lives, in Scotland, in the UK, and across the world.
colleagues of fallen fire-fighter Barry Martin who was fatally injured attending a blaze in Edinburgh in January.
Ms Chapman, speaking during a Firefighters Memorial Day debate at Holyrood, raised concerns about the working conditions, as she urged the Scottish Government to act on the Fire Brigade Union’s DECON campaign.
She said:
“One of the FBU’s posters calls on firefighters to “shower within the hour” … as soon as possible after an incident, to shower to remove as many contaminants as possible.
“Some stations do not have running water, so firefighters have to go home to shower, taking contaminants to their families. We need to address this. Where showers are available, some don’t have soap or other detergents.
“Sometimes contaminated personnel will have to walk past other colleagues to get to decontamination areas. We need to rethink the provision of soap and other facilities and ensure these are as close to arrival points as possible to limit spread of contaminants through the station.
“Clear policies and procedures for limiting exposure and prioritising decontamination must be ingrained in the cultures and practices across the service.”
“The FBU’s DECON campaign is a call to action, for all of us: for government to plan and implement appropriate investment, for the fire and rescue service to ensure policies and procedures are appropriate and adequate, and that training meets the needs of the evolving service, and for firefighters to be aware of what they need to do to keep themselves, their colleagues and their families safe.
“This campaign is vital for the long term sustainability of the service: we need to ensure firefighting is a profession that people want to join and stay in, without facing additional and disproportionate risks of stroke, cancer, heart attack and early death.
“We rely on our firefighters at some of the worst moments of our lives. At these moments, we expect firefighters to be there, equipped as best they can, to save our lives, our families, our communities.
"It is only right that we recognise and respect that, in order for them to be there and do that, they need our support now.”
The FBU has created its red plaque scheme which seeks to mark, with the placing of a red plaque, where, or close to where, firefighters have lost their lives in the course of their duties.
Ms Chapman added:
"I was privileged, a few weeks ago, to attend the Red Plaque unveiling ceremony at Blackness Road Fire station in Dundee.
"Two plaques were installed on the wall of the station: one to honour John Buist, who died after being trapped by burning jute bales in a warehouse in April 1962, and one to honour William Carnegie, who was killed in a fall while attending a fire on Mains Road, also in 1962.
"We remember them today, just as we remember Barry Martin and all of the other thousands of firefighters that have lost their lives, in Scotland, in the UK, and across the world."
- To learn more about the FBU's DECON campaign click here.