Hansard

I very much welcome the opportunity to speak in the debate and to acknowledge the emergency services staff who work tirelessly on our behalf. I know that we are all in agreement that the way in which our emergency services have handled themselves in the face of tragedy has quite rightly given them the respect and admiration of the Scottish public.

I can think of numerous examples in my lifetime of times when emergency services personnel have faced extraordinarily challenging situations. The nature of their work means that they sometimes have to put their lives on the line to protect others. As a former employee of the then Strathclyde Fire Brigade, the most obvious example for me of the bravery of our emergency services is the Cheapside Street disaster, which continues to be, 55 years later, Britain’s worst peacetime fire services disaster. The disaster took place in March 1960, when fire crews attended a fire at Cheapside Street in the Anderston area of Glasgow. The fire broke out at a warehouse containing more than 1 million gallons of whisky. At the height of the fire, hundreds of firefighters battled the blaze. It took 11 hours to bring it under control, but during that time, 14 firefighters and five members of the Glasgow Salvage Corps were killed when an explosion within the warehouse caused the building’s 20-metre high wall to fall on the men below.

Even though I was employed in the fire service in the 1990s, that particular disaster in Cheapside Street was still a regular subject of discussion, debate and concern all those years later. It is examples such as the Cheapside Street disaster that make us remember that we should never take for granted the risks that are taken by the men and women of the emergency services.

The first such events that I remember took place in 1971. In January that year, the Ibrox disaster resulted in 66 deaths and more than 200 injuries. In October 1971, there was the Clarkston disaster, in which 22 people died and about 100 were injured. I remember those incidents well not because they were large incidents or because they were relatively local to our south-side Glasgow home, but because, in the case of the Ibrox disaster, my father—who was and still is a Rangers fan—was at the game and was in the section of the ground at stairway 13 where the disaster occurred. He did not return home until very late that night. Unfortunately, he was completely oblivious to what had happened in the game because he had left the game early in disgust after Celtic had scored, leaving my mother and the rest of the family in a state of high anxiety for many, many hours.

Similarly, the Clarkston disaster hit home because a neighbour of ours worked in one of the shops that were destroyed by the blast. Information to families at that time was scant, to say the least, and much has been learned in the decades following those events. Organisational planning has been significantly improved, as have the technology and equipment that our services use, which allows the emergency services to keep anxious families informed of what is happening. Contacting and supporting families who are waiting for news is one aspect of their work that we often forget.

Unfortunately, Scotland has experienced a number of incidents in more recent years that have required a response from the emergency services. In Glasgow and West Scotland alone there have been a number of incidents, including the Glasgow airport terrorist attack, the Glasgow School of Art fire, the Clutha Vaults helicopter crash and the tragic events of the Queen Street bin lorry accident so recently. In the case of the Glasgow airport terrorist attack, the hard work of airport staff in conjunction with emergency personnel ensured that, despite a serious terrorist attack, the airport reopened in 24 hours, thereby reducing the negative impact of the attack on individuals and businesses.

At the Glasgow School of Art fire, the quick action of more than 100 firefighters in a difficult environment prevented the complete destruction of a nationally and internationally significant building and a vital piece of Scotland’s culture. The nature of the fire meant that fire crews had to tackle the blaze from inside the building. The bravery, skill and professionalism that was shown allowed the vast majority of the building to be saved, including the Mackintosh lecture theatre and museum and the Mackintosh archive.

Recent events have shown how our emergency services work in collaboration not only with different organisations, but with their own back-room staff, who provide the necessary support for front-line personnel to carry out their duties. Not that long ago, I was fortunate to visit the Scottish Ambulance Service, whose staff took the time to show me some of the work that takes place behind the scenes to keep their fleet of ambulances and transports running smoothly. Ambulance control centres received more than 1.8 million calls in 2013-14 and dealt with nearly 2,400 emergency calls on Hogmanay alone. I saw at first hand the professionalism of phone operators in responding to calls, and it was clear that staff understood the importance of maintaining the service at a very high standard.

Back-room staff must not be forgotten. They are crucial to ensuring that our front-line emergency personnel are able to carry out their duties as effectively as possible. It is that professionalism and teamwork across all our services that has helped to deliver real progress, including the reduction in fire deaths in Scotland to the lowest recorded level and the reduction in recorded crime to a 40-year low.

I also want to highlight the work of our community volunteer first responders. They are often the first on the scene of a medical emergency, and their training with defibrillators and oxygen therapy can mean the difference between life and death for some patients. In West Scotland there are volunteer first responder units operating in Largs, Neilston, Uplawmoor, Arran and the Rosneath peninsula. The staff at Glasgow airport and the security staff at Braehead shopping centre are also part of the scheme. It is only appropriate that their willingness to sacrifice their own time as volunteers to protect the people of this country is recognised in the debate.

All our emergency services should be given the support that they require to undertake their duties effectively and safely. I therefore regret that the UK Government chose to shut the Clyde coastguard station at Greenock and to transfer its work to Belfast. I am also concerned by reports that the Belfast location is understaffed, despite assurances from Westminster that more staff would be recruited.

The Scottish Government called in its submission to the Smith commission for full responsibility for maritime transport to be transferred to the Scottish Parliament. I am therefore disappointed to see the commission’s recommendations, which state that the Scottish Government will be confined to a “consultative role” and the ability to nominate one member to the Maritime and Coastguard Agency advisory board. That is a shame, and it is not the way to show our respect for our emergency services.

While most of us were at home enjoying our Christmas break, the emergency services were continuing to work hard. They are undoubtedly worthy of the praise that they have received today. They work irregular hours, and at times need to confront very distressing situations. I hope that our debate today goes a little way towards showing the gratitude not only of the Scottish Parliament but of all the people of Scotland, who rely on the efforts of our emergency services.