THE Fire Brigades Union (FBU) rallied in Glasgow in Saturday, fighting to save river rescue services on the Clyde.

FBU activists, joined by comrades in the GMB, PCS, Unison, Unite and Labour MSPs, gathered on the city’s “Squinty Bridge” to oppose cuts plans.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) proposes to slash capability at the city’s Polmaddie station as part of a wider plans across Scotland to cut £11 million from its budget this year and £36m over the next four.

The cuts to Polmaddie station will see three fire engines and 15 posts lost, with the rescue boat sharing a crew with the single remaining fire appliance.

The FBU argues that this leaves the station and river rescue dangerously under-resourced.

FBU Scotland’s Colin Brown told the Star: “These plans will mean that if we have a call-out on the pump, the rescue boat will be unavailable.

“As with fire, with a water rescue, every second counts.

“So for every second that crew is not actually available to respond, there’s the potential for people to lose their lives.

“The crew are are highly skilled and highly trained individuals in order to operate in this environment.

“They understand the risks, they understand this water course, they understand the equipment they use.

“You can’t just put anybody in a boat and expect them to be able to do this.”

Scottish Labour’s Paul Sweeney joined the rally, and he told the Star: “I think today is highlighting a continued fight against cuts to services which should not be up for the question.

“We’re talking about 22 rescues in the last year here.

“This boat is utilised more than any other fire engine in Scotland, yet there’s a claim it’s not used enough to justify its continued dedicated crew. I think it’s nonsense.”

SFRS was contacted for comment.