FIREFIGHTERS in Scotland are stepping up their campaign to fight fire service cuts amid plans to close 10 stations despite major fires at Cannich and Edinburgh.

The devastating wildfire which broke out in the village near Inverness was one of the largest the country has ever seen and took four days before finally being brought under control last Wednesday.

Firefighter Barry Martin, 38, died following the blaze at Edinburgh’s Jenners department store in January.

Fire Brigades Union (FBU) Scottish Secretary John McKenzie said: “Recent events at Jenners in Edinburgh and Cannich in the Highlands show the dangers our members face.

“The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) is heading for a real crisis if the Scottish government continues to underfund this essential public service.”

The FBU is now urging its members and communities to lobby the government to end the underfunding of Scotland’s Fire and Rescue Service.

It follows an announcement that fire engines at 10 stations across Scotland will be withdrawn on a “temporary basis” in an effort to tackle a budget crisis in the SFRS.

Mr McKenzie called their withdrawal “the latest in a long line of cuts that are undermining our members’ ability to respond to incidents in the communities we serve.

“We cannot go on like this, enough is enough.”

A flat cash settlement means the SFRS has been forced to make £36 million of cuts over the next four years, said the FBU.

This follows a decade of cuts with the loss of over 1,100 firefighter jobs, the closure of five control rooms and a 14 per cent increase in response times per incident, a spokesman added.