Scottish fire board criticised

A fire board in Scotland has been heavily criticised for its decision to man a station overnight despite relatively low levels of activity and risk in the area. Public spending watchdog the Accounts Commission has slammed Tayside Joint Fire and Rescue Board's call not to use retained firefighters for night-time cover at Balmossie station and stick with full-time crew. The body claims that Tayside Fire and Rescue would have been able to have day crew in Forfar, an area deemed a greater risk, if they chose not to have full-time staff overnight in Balmossie.

Members of the Tayside board twice voted against the move, a decision which the Accounts Commission was wholly opposed to. "It is difficult to see that in its decisions over Balmossie the board has met its best-value responsibilities in its use of public resources," a report from the body said, adding that there was "compelling evidence to shift resources to better match the needs of Tayside as a whole". Tayside Fire and Rescue service claimed the report identified the service as a "high-performing organisation".