Hansard

I am pleased to have the opportunity to comment on and to commend the people who keep Scotland safe in emergencies. We have had many recent examples of catastrophic situations that emergency services have dealt with in an exemplary fashion, from the recent horrific events in Paris to the rather less dramatic but unforeseen and very real human crisis in my constituency of Midlothian North and Musselburgh.

Disasters are created by nature and by humans. Being involved in the emergency services demands a remarkably wide variety of skills, and it frequently demands a degree of courage and ingenuity. Even with those skills, the members of emergency service teams often respond to situations at great personal risk. They do so to ensure safety and to minimise human cost and property damage. The emergency service teams of Scotland deserve our praise and admiration.

Last month, our emergency services responded to the dramatic bin lorry crash in Glasgow. Unlike the recent events in France, that emergency was no planned act of terror; it was apparently a horrific accident, as a bin lorry careered out of control and crashed. As we know, the tragedy resulted in six people dying and 10 being injured. Such emergencies do not call for an armed force response, as did the shootings in Paris. Instead, the emergency services were seen

“battling to save the lives of injured people on the street.”

The different branches of the emergency services worked quickly and cohesively together as the police, medics and firefighters all played their part in ensuring that the least amount of damage would be done as they conducted rescue operations. That is an example of the unstinting effort that was put in by members of Scotland’s emergency services following an accident that can only be described as heartbreaking for those affected.

A year prior to that event in the same city of Glasgow disaster struck as a helicopter crashed into a local pub. The crash led to many of the occupants of the pub being trapped in the building, which was damaged and in danger of collapse. That tragedy demonstrated some of the complexities that our emergency services can face. In its response, the local firefighting team displayed a mixture of skills and ingenuity. Dozens of people were trapped in an unstable building, but the firefighters were able to act cautiously yet quickly to extract them. Additional precautions had to be taken because of the danger of a collapse. The process was not easy, but in the end lives were saved because of the fire brigade’s ability to analyse, plan and act swiftly. The reaction by the response teams to that emergency serves as testimony to the breadth of the skills of our emergency services men and women.

In my constituency, there have been similar acts of bravery from our response teams that highlight the tireless and commendable work of our emergency services. On Christmas eve in Musselburgh, an act of vandalism occurred as an attempt was made to set fire to a salon in the town’s high street. The swift response of the police underscores the commitment that is essential for any emergency team to display. At a time of year when many of us were enjoying our holiday recess with our families, the officers of Police Scotland in the area were called to the scene and quickly began the search to find those responsible. For the men and women of our emergency services, there is no downtime—someone is on duty all the time.

We have strong and experienced police, medical and firefighting teams, but we must not forget the dedicated coastguard teams that protect and preserve the more than 10,000 miles of Scotland’s coastline and its beaches. My constituency is home to the Fisherrow coastguard rescue team. Fisherrow in Musselburgh includes the Fisherrow sands, which is a beach area that is used by many for recreational activities throughout the year. Interestingly, as part of its role, the coastguard team answers calls to attend to distressed and despondent persons who might be in need of assistance. That is an aspect of the work of the emergency services that usually goes unnoticed. Caring for people with wounds and other physical damage is critical in situations that call for the involvement of the emergency services, but we must not forget that other facet of their job. The emergency services often receive calls to assist distressed or depressed people, and physical catastrophes are often accompanied by psychological ones. Members of emergency service teams must be prepared and trained to attend to psychological as well as physical issues.

The work of the Fisherrow coastguard rescue team emphasises a critical element in the provision of emergency services that it is vital for us as a Parliament to support and ensure—co-operation between the different teams and branches of the emergency services. Just in November, the Fisherrow coastguard reported being part of a coalition of coastguard teams, including the South Queensferry and Kinghorn coastguards, that combined their efforts in the search for a missing person.

Similar operations that have combined teams and branches of emergency services can be seen in all the aforementioned disasters. From Paris to Glasgow, we see the police, medics, paramedics and firefighting teams working together and working closely to provide the best emergency services possible. I commend all those services, whether voluntary or otherwise, on their exemplary communication, which provides a joined-up approach in an emergency.

In any debate about our emergency services, it would be remiss if we did not refer to the incredible work of our mountain rescue teams. Those teams, based in our geographical diversity, ensure that the citizens of Scotland as well as visitors can safely enjoy all the wonders of nature that we have to offer. The great work of those emergency service organisations was on display in the past weekend, when the Cairngorm mountain rescue team was called out twice to perform rescue services in blizzard conditions. Closer to my constituency, the Tweed Valley mountain rescue team is seeking donations for a new state-of-the-art command and control vehicle. It has my very best wishes for that initiative.

I should also mention that the Scottish Government is providing funding of over £310,000 to our voluntary mountain rescue teams. In fact, it is the only Government in the UK that funds that type of service.

I offer my genuine gratitude to all our emergency services and note the sacrifices of all kinds that they make. I give my thanks to all of them for their unmatched efforts to keep us all safer in times of emergency or crisis. If I had anything but water to hand, I would raise a glass to them all.