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FERRY FIRE CONCERN

A CONCERNED councillor in Stranraer has claimed there could be a "disaster waiting to happen" on one of the North Channel ferries.

Tommy Sloan spoke of his fears about the fire cover on the local ferries at last week's meeting of the Wigtown West Area Committee.

Firefighters in Dumfries and Galloway presently have no duty to fight offshore fires on the ferries. That has been a serious concern to local politicians and seafarers alike for some time.

But now, following the resolution of the national firefighters' pay dispute, an opportunity has arisen for local employers to investigate the possibility of providing offshore fire cover within the local brigade.

That was the message from Dumfries and Galloway's Firemaster David Wynne as he presented his brigade's latest service plan to members of Wigtown West Area Committee on Thursday.

The news was met with interest by councillors, Mr Sloan stating that a disaster was just "waiting to happen".

The Firemaster said:

"At the moment we have no capacity in Dumfries and Galloway of putting a fire out on one of the ferries. There is no statutory requirement for offshore fire cover within community control".