A lack of firefighters in Moray’s biggest port could have disastrous consequences if efforts are not made to redress the issue, a local councillor has warned.
Gordon McDonald has urged fire and rescue service bosses to take urgent action to boost the ranks of the Buckie crew.
The town’s station, which operates on a retained basis, is missing a quarter of the staff it should have.
There are currently 15 firefighters available to answer emergency calls when there should be 20.
The shortage has prompted fears that the current process of “borrowing” firefighters from other Moray stations to cover the town is placing those areas at risk.
Fire chiefs yesterday insisted they were doing their best to tackle the issue with recruitment drives in the town.
However, Mr McDonald said he had “serious concerns” about the station’s future.
“To be down 25% on the required amount of staff is worrying,” he said.
“I understand cover is being drawn from elsewhere – but I fear the powers that be might grow to believe that 15 is enough to cover Buckie if that remains for too long.
“In the long-term that would not be good, especially with retained firemen who have to get to the station at a moment’s notice.”
He added: “At the moment there have been no incidents as a result of this issue, but we need to prevent problems from ever occurring because of it.
“We can’t continue like this.”
Local senior officer for Moray, David Rout, said efforts were being made to strengthen numbers at the Buckie station.
And he stressed that the current arrangement had yet to result in any difficulties.
He said: “There is a sustained recruitment campaign in place at Buckie and across the wider Moray area.
“Thought the operational response at Buckie station provides a good level of cover, our aspiration is to return a full complement of staff to the station.”
There should be a full roster of 134 firefighters across Moray’s 18 stations, but there are only 115 in place at the moment.
The Elgin crew has a full crew of 28, however the stations at Lossiemouth, Rothes, Cullen and Forres are also affected by shortages.