The FBU said the cuts will see fewer firefighters attending fires

Firefighters in Scotland have accused their employers of concocting a "recipe for disaster" in their plans to modernise the service.

The Fire Brigades Union (FBU) said draft guidelines proposed savage cuts in the service which would undermine public safety.

The Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (Cosla) rejected the accusations and accused the union of causing unnecessary public anxiety.

The FBU said the changes would mean fewer firefighters attending incidents and the removal of the national standards for answering 999 calls.

These draft guidelines are a blueprint for massive cuts in the fire service John McDonald, FBU

The FBU's executive council member for Scotland, John McDonald, said: "Councils are embarking on a cuts plan that is unsurpassed in a public service in recent memory.

"They have dressed it up in the clothes of modernisation but it is decimation."

But Cosla refuted the accusations and condemned the union's use of so-called "scare tactics".

Cosla president Pat Watters said: "Once again I have to register my strong objections at the scare tactics being adopted by the FBU which do nothing but cause members of the public needless anxiety."

'Lives at risk'

Mr McDonald said more lives would be put at risk if the plans were put into operation, warning that fire deaths had already started to rise after a 20-year falling trend.

He said the idea of replacing the national minimum standards for responding to 999 calls - the so-called "safety net" - with local risk management plans would be disastrous.

"They are preparing a recipe for disaster in the fire service," he said.

There is no massive cuts agenda Pat Watters, Cosla

"You cannot have cuts of this magnitude in an already overstretched service without the lives of firefighters and the public being put at risk.

"These draft guidelines, alongside the job cuts already announced, are a blueprint for massive cuts in the fire service.

"The public should understand we are not accepting a pay rise funded by massive cuts in public safety."

But Mr Watters said: "There is no massive cuts agenda - the move to integrated risk management plans is about effective targeting of resources, based on community need, delivering an improved service.

'Misinformation'

"It is extremely unfortunate that at a time when we hoped for a constructive dialogue that could bring about a negotiated settlement to this long running and damaging dispute this sort of misinformation is being peddled by the FBU."

General Secretary of the Scottish Trades Union Congress, Bill Speirs, warned employers not to compromise their stated commitment to safety.

Mr Speirs claimed to have seen letters from Scottish council leaders in the run-up to last week's elections which stated: "Any changes to the service including distribution of firefighters and appliances will require to demonstrate an improvement in public safety."

He said: "This was a welcome commitment from the Scottish employers.

"I look forward to them putting it into practice, whatever pressure may come from south of the border, because I am certain that any real consultation with the public will firmly reject putting money before lives."