Scottish Fire and Rescue Service

Fair Isle community fire station

The service is the primary emergency service for the rescue of persons from the River Clyde in Glasgow. The service has a fleet of four rescue boats stationed at various points downstream of the tidal weir and works closely with the Glasgow Humane Society and other agencies. The service works alongside other emergency services during flooding events to ensure the safety of communities and rescue people in difficulty, with specialist swift water rescue teams positioned on major waterways and areas of activity. Firefighters are routinely called out to water, flood and boat rescues. For example, during Storm Frank in December 2015, SFRS received 350 flood-related calls in the space of six days.[13]

In 2015, SFRS were called out to 78 wildfire incidents in total, with over half of those taking place in the north of Scotland.[12]

In 2015, a national trial was launched, in partnership with the Scottish Ambulance Service, which has seen firefighters at certain stations receive enhanced CPR training aimed at increasing survival rates for people who suffer out-of-hospital cardiac arrests.[14]

The Northern Service Delivery Area incorporates all of the fire stations of the former fire & rescue services of Grampian (GFRS), Highlands & Islands (H&IFRS) and Tayside (TFRS). It has 1.2 million residents and operates 164 fire stations. The Northern Service Delivery Area headquarters is located at Dyce fire station on the outskirts of the city of Aberdeen. For ease of operations and multi-agency interaction, the Service Delivery Area is further sub-divided into smaller Local Service Areas structured in line with local councils; they are:

• PKAD: Perth & Kinross, Angus and Dundee
• ABER: Aberdeen City
• ABM: Aberdeenshire and Moray
• HLNDE: Highland (East)
• HLNDW: Highland (West)
• WIOS: Western Isles, Orkney Isles and Shetland Isles

The Eastern Service Delivery Area incorporates several fire stations of the former Central Scotland Fire & Rescue Service (CSFRS) and all those of both Fife Fire & Rescue Service (FFRS) and Lothian & Borders Fire & Rescue Service (L&BFRS). It has 1.6 million residents and operates 65 fire stations. The Eastern Delivery Service Area headquarters is located at Newbridge to the west of Edinburgh. For ease of operations and multi-agency interaction, the Service Delivery Area is further sub-divided into smaller Local Service Areas structured in line with local councils; they are:

• MELB: Midlothian, East Lothian and Scottish Borders
• EDIN: Edinburgh City
• FWL: Falkirk and West Lothian
• SC: Stirling & Clackmannanshire
• FIFE: Fife

The Western Service Delivery Area incorporates all the fire stations of both the former Dumfries & Galloway Fire and Rescue Service (D&GFRS) and Strathclyde Fire & Rescue (SFR). It has 2.4 million residents and operates 164 fire stations. The Western Service Delivery Area headquarters is located at Hamilton Fire Station to the east of Glasgow. For ease of operations and multi-agency interaction, the Service Delivery Area is further sub-divided into smaller Local Service Areas structured in line with local councils; they are:

• GLAS: City of Glasgow
• SL: South Lanarkshire
• NL: North Lanarkshire
• EWDAB: East Dumbartonshire, West Dumbartonshire and Argyll & Bute
• ERRI: East Renfrewshire, Renfrewshire and Inverclyde
• ENSA: East Ayrshire, North Ayrshire and South Ayrshire
• DG: Dumfries & Galloway

• ALP: Aerial Ladder Platform.
• ARP: Aerial Rescue Pump - a dual-role appliance combining a Rescue Pump and an Aerial Ladder Platform.
• ATV: All-Terrain Vehicle.
• BASU: Breathing Apparatus Support Unit.
• CSU: Command Support Unit - mobile control room for use at large or protracted incidents.
• DIM: Detection/Identification/Monitoring Unit - a mobile laboratory.
• EnvPU: Environmental Protection Unit. Both dedicated Environment Protection Unit vehicles and demountable pod units used.
• EnvSU: Environmental Support Unit.
• FIU: Fire Investigation Unit.
• FTr: Forestry Trailer.
• FU: Foam Unit. Both a dedicated Foam Unit vehicle and demountable pod units are used.
• HL: Hose Lorry.
• HRU: Heavy Rescue Unit.
• ISU: Incident Support Unit.
• LFA: Light Fire Appliance - a basic firefighting appliance on a 3.5-tonne LDV or Mercedes Sprinter van chassis.
• L2V: Light Two-Wheeled-Drive Vehicle used by some Western SDA volunteers to carry equipment to the fire or incident.
• L4V: Light Four-Wheeled-Drive Vehicle used by some Western SDA volunteers to carry equipment to the fire or incident.
• MICU: Major Incident Control Unit.
• MIU: Major Incident Unit.
• MRV2: Two-wheeled-drive Multi-Role Vehicle.
• MRV4: Four-wheeled-drive Multi-Role Vehicle.
• P: Pump - a standard Pump Ladder carrying a 13.5-metre main ladder but with very limited rescue gear.
• PM: Prime Mover - a transporter for carrying and delivering various roll-on/roll-off demountable modules (Pods) to the fire-ground using a hook-arm multi-lift system.
• RP: Rescue Pump - a Pump Ladder carrying a 13.5-metre main ladder and enhanced hydraulic rescue gear.
• RP(4x4): Four-wheeled-drive Rescue Pump.
• RRU: Rapid Response Unit - an innovative light Rescue Pump built by Emergency One UK on the Iveco 70C18D chassis. It operates with a crew of three on the urban spec appliance, and four on the rural version. Amongst the comprehensive inventory of kit carried is a fully-integrated Coldcut Cobra C360 system and the Coldcut Cobra multi-purpose nozzle system, which allows a fire to be fought from outside as the high-pressure lance can pierce the exterior skin of a building. The RRU also carries a light portable pump (LPP) that is connected to the onboard 740 litres water tank, but can be easily removed for remote operation, a Clan Lukas Tools eDraulic combination tool for use in RTC rescues, four lengths of 75mm and four lengths of 45mm hose, two sets of Breathing Apparatus (B.A.), a high-pressure hose reel jet, chimney fire equipment, floodlights, a dry powder extinguisher, a thermal imaging camera, a defibrillator, a positive pressure ventilation (PPV) fan, and a 4.8-metre ladder.
• SEV: Supplementary Equipment Vehicle. Used to ferry kit and firefighters to river launches when responding with the Water Rescue Units or Fire Boats.
• SORU: Special Operations Response Unit.
• TL: Turntable Ladder.
• TRRU: Technical Rope Rescue Unit.
• USAR: Urban Search & Rescue. Currently demountable pods used, but planning to switch to dedicated vehicles.
• VSU: Volunteer Support Unit - an appliance crewed solely by community volunteers at Volunteer fire stations and Community Response Units. Several varieties of vehicle in operation from Light four-wheeled Vehicles (L4V), Light Fire Appliances (LFA), to full-sized Pumps (P) and Rescue Pumps (RP).
• WRC: Water Carrier.
• WRU: Water Rescue Unit.

Pods Units:

• ATV: All-Terrain Vehicle transporter.
• EnvPU: Environmental Protection Unit.
• FRU: Flood Response Unit.
• FU: Foam Unit.
• HVHL: High Volume Pump Hose laying Unit.
• HVP: High Volume Pumping Unit.
• IR: Incident Response Unit.
• MDD: Mass Decontamination Dis-robe Unit.
• MDR: Mass Decontamination Re-robe Unit.
• MDU: Mass Decontamination Unit.
• USAR: Urban Search & Rescue.
• WU: Welfare Unit.