FIREFIGHTERS willingly put their lives on the line to protect and support the rest of us. Now it is our turn to support them.

Today, the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) and the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) will announce the result of the ballot on the long-awaited proposal to standardise and improve working conditions for retained or on-call firefighters across Scotland.

There has been little in the way of fanfare for this ballot – it has gone pretty much unnoticed at a time when other public sector workers have been, rightly, very vocal about their pay and conditions.

Last month, the First Minister gave a sharp rebuttal to claims that Scotland’s fire service is in a “cycle of deadly decline”. He may have been trying to provide reassurance, but in doing so he ignored the calls of those who know the service best: fire and rescue workers themselves.

First Minister John Swinney dismissed concerns about the fire service (Image: Jeff J Mitchell) Our firefighters don’t only have blazes to fight. Today’s reality of squeezed public services inhibits their ability to prevent and respond to multiple dangers, from road traffic accidents, chemical spillages, flooding events and other water rescues.

With Storm Bert hitting the UK last week, fire and rescue workers have shown up for communities damaged by wind and ravaged by flooding.

Yet, firefighters are not always given the time they need for adequate training. Workforce shortages or lack of equipment mean not every area is covered as fully as we might expect. And personnel have not always received adequate compensation for the lifesaving work they do.

For several years now, there have been discussions about “role expansion” for firefighters, to officially recognise the important emergency medical response they could provide communities across Scotland. Some firefighters are already providing this.

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Both the SFRS and FBU recognise the benefits of role expansion, which would complement and support the work of other life-saving emergency services including our ambulance service. For relatively modest investment, such role expansion could be started in weeks, with savings down the line!

A little over a year ago, I hosted an event with the FBU to launch their Firestorm report. This report shows the potential that service transformation could have. But it also identifies the urgent need for action to sustain the service.

Because the service has faced significant challenges in recent years: real terms cuts of £70million in just over a decade, the loss of fire engines and water-pumping capabilities year on year, the shocking reliance of 75% of Scotland’s fire stations, which cover the majority of Scotland’s land mass, on voluntary and part-time retained firefighters.

Firestorm’s discussions with 1500 firefighters indicated that cuts to service budgets, stagnating wages, poor retention of staff and issues with buildings and other facilities and infrastructure were contributing to increased response times and decreasing staff morale. Despite dedicated crews, a lack of resource puts both the workforce and the public under threat in the event of emergency.

Sadly, in the year since Firestorm was published, little has changed, while the stakes have only risen.

(Image: SFRS) With the launch of the Shaping our Future Service: Your Say consultation with communities across Scotland, the SFRS warned of more wildfires and climate change related emergencies to come, as well as an ageing population within the workforce, and the often-ignored health risks which those in the fire service are exposed to, including lung damage and carcinogens.

Broadly, the service called for greater focus on prevention, because they care about the communities they serve. Those at the SFRS and the FBU are clear that they want the best for their communities, but the Firestorm report highlights the breadth of funding, training and staffing challenges standing in the way of that aim.

This consultation, and the ballot on terms and conditions closing this week, should provide the foundation for the transformation the service needs, and its workers want.

Investment is, of course, required. But it needs to be strategic, to ensure the success of role expansion and improved worker health and safety. The Scottish Government must act. It must engage with the workers who rely on policymakers to make the right decisions.

The Scottish Greens will always champion listening to workers and allowing them to shape the future of their industry. We know that they know best.

Scotland should be proud of our fire service. But we must listen to its workforce now so we can continue to have one we can be proud of.

Maggie Chapman is the Scottish Greens MSP for North East Scotland