Firefighters in Scotland have raised safety concerns over cuts to specialist appliances for fighting high-rise fires following a blaze in a block of flats in March.
Some 70 firefighters and 12 appliances from across Scotland, including specialist height appliances, were called to the incident in Edinburgh.
Two firefighters suffered minor injuries and more than 100 residents were evacuated.
The building has unsafe cladding, but remediation works had not begun when fire broke out.
We need the resources available to be able to protect the public and swifter action from the Scottish government to make buildings safe
Scotland Fire and Rescue Service reduced its appliances with high reach capability from 25 to 16 last year. The dedicated height appliance at Crewe Toll fire station, minutes away from the incident, was one to be cut.
Only two of 105 buildings in Scotland identified as having lethal cladding have been made safe.
FBU Scotland regional secretary John McKenzie said: “This fire drives home the two-fold danger of cutting frontline specialist fire appliances and the shocking complacency from the Scottish government in tackling the building safety crisis.
“The recent cuts mean that, if the available appliances are tied up at an incident, other areas of the country are left without essential fire cover. It is clear that some lessons have still not been learnt from the Grenfell tragedy.
“We need the resources available to be able to protect the public and swifter action from the Scottish government to make buildings safe.”
