GRETNA fire station has the lowest level of recruitment in Dumfries and Galloway, according to the latest performance report.
Station commander for Annandale and Eskdale Kevin McCartney answered questions from councillors about the performance of the fire and rescue service between April and September 2022.
Councillor Archie Dryburgh asked for an update regarding recruitment of retained firefighters within the ward after previous concerns about recruitment levels. In response, Mr McCartney said: “This is something we are aware of, and the stats do suggest that yes there is less availability in Gretna when compared to the rest of Annandale and Eskdale but we are aware of that and we are addressing that with an upscaling of the employees that we have at Gretna along a recruitment campaign.
“We do have issues recruiting in Gretna due to the age and demographic and the employers in the town, we need employers to release their staff during the day to be able to attend fire calls.
“But where there are shortfalls we’ve been able to address these by bringing in bank workers from other stations where we have surplus staff. As we go forward we are certainly upscaling the staff there, and looking more at recruitment and we’re putting that on social media as well.”
