02 March 2007
Fire and rescue authorities have responded positively to the reform of the service but there has been no clear reduction in reducing the risks from fire, Audit Scotland has found.
In a report published this week, the public spending watchdog disclosed that while the number of people killed in domestic fires had fallen, the number of incidents attended by fire and rescue authorities rose from 108,478 in 2004/05 to 112,450 in 2005/06.
The latter was the first year of a UK agreement with unions following an unprecedented period of industrial unrest in the service. The new deal, struck in 2003, linked improved pay and conditions to a programme of reform intended to give more emphasis to fire prevention and community safety.
Alastair MacNish, chair of the Accounts Commission, said: 'Fire and rescue authorities are putting more effort into the prevention of fires and there is some early evidence that home fire safety visits and partnership initiatives… have helped to reduce the number of people killed in domestic fires. However, there is no clear pattern of improvement across Scotland.'
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