FIRE emergency cover in Greenock is being slashed as part of an £11 million package of enforced efficiency savings.

The town's community fire station is set to lose one firefighting appliance in a move that has been described by Provost Drew McKenzie as 'of great concern'.

Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) chiefs said that the decision - part of a strategic review programme - is a 'temporary' measure.

But it comes in the wake of a spate of 20 deliberate fires in the space of just a week last month.

The SFRS confirmed yesterday the 'temporary withdrawal' of second or third appliances from ten stations across Scotland - including Greenock.

Provost McKenzie, vice-chair of Inverclyde's Police and Fire Scrutiny Panel, told the Telegraph: "This will obviously be of great concern to everyone in Inverclyde and rightly so. 

"The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service has had its budget cut from central government and their new strategy lays out what steps must be taken to manage their resources as effectively as possible. 

"I have every confidence that any decision taken by the professionals within the Fire Service will have public safety foremost in mind.

"Cuts to public services through reduced council budgets, cuts to the police budget, and now cuts to the fire service budget, do not serve the people of this country well."

We told last month how firestarters had caused 20 deliberate blazes on grassland in Inverclyde in less than seven days.

Councillor Chris Curley branded it at the time as a 'dangerous game', adding: "It is a possibility that someone is going to get badly hurt."

It is understood that a Greenock fire appliance described as an 'ageing, combined high reach vehicle' will be removed and ultimately replaced by a 'new, dedicated high reach appliance' later this year.

The decision means that the town, which usually has three fire engines, will be one down until at least September.

Greenock Telegraph:

Provost McKenzie has blamed both the Scottish and UK governments for causing the funding crisis which has led to the decision, stating that they should be 'held to account about what their priorities really are'.

Fire scrutiny panel chair, Councillor David Wilson, said: "Like councils, the SFRS is faced with budget cuts and restrictions determined by the Scottish Government.

"I am sure that the area commander will have carefully managed resources with public safety in mind."

In a document explaining the changes, SFRS said the 10 pumps earmarked for withdrawal were identified as those which would have the least impact on response times. 

The organisation states it often has to take wholetime appliances 'off the run' as stations are unable to reach staffing levels that reach their Target Operating Model. 

It says this 'reactive approach' doesn't take 'impact or community risk' into account and creates an increase in overtime which is averaging £12,000 per day. 

SFRS have confirmed staff will be redeployed to other stations to enhance the organisation's ability to maintain 'full crewing' on remaining appliances. 

Assistant Chief Officer David Farries is the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service's director of service delivery. 

He said: "We will always ensure the resources we have and our people are best placed to protect communities. 

"Following a robust review of our data, we have identified ten fire stations where we can temporarily remove an appliance with the least impact on response times. 

"We are also reducing our fleet of vehicles that can operate at height, on a phased basis, taking ageing vehicles off the run and redeploying or introducing a series of modern, specialist vehicles dedicated specifically to dealing with such incidents. 

"As we strive to modernise our service, it's right and proper to identify efficiencies to deliver value for money while maintaining operational resilience. 

"We will continue to review our position moving forward."

Greenock fire station has an operating model of 45 firefighters