SFRS Board Chair Kirsty Darwent and Chief Officer Martin Blunden unveiled the SFRS Draft Strategic Plan 2019-2022 at the National Training Centre at Cambuslang on Thursday, May 9.

And they called on the public to share their thoughts on the Plan - which will set out the Service’s proposed direction over the next three years – through an associated consultation.

The comprehensive three year Plan includes enhancing partnership working, looking at the current operational footprint and equipping firefighters to respond to new and emerging risks such as severe weather.

Further proposals look to supporting leadership and diversity within the SFRS workforce - and delivering a first class and sustainable, national Service.

Mr Blunden was speaking from the SFRS’ dedicated Safe and Well House, which is used as a partnership hub to share skills and experience to help prevent harm and assist some of the most vulnerable people in our communities to stay safe in the home.

He said: “This is a truly momentous occasion as we continue to lead the way in Scotland’s public sector by proposing to do so much more for communities.

“A huge amount of thought and effort has been invested into drawing up these proposals for how we move forward into the future, to meet new challenges facing Scotland and emerging community risks flowing from population change and climate change.

“We already have an outstanding track record in areas of prevention where we have seen the number of house fires greatly reduce over the decades, and so we are actively looking at what else we can do to assist people - and partnership working is also key to that ambition.”

He added: “We want communities to come on this journey with us, to help us shape our proposals into a comprehensive but flexible plan that meets the very precise needs of a modern Scotland.”