Firefighters in the line of fire

FIREFIGHTERS in the Lothians come under attack an average of once every five days, with crews being forced to deal with everything from verbal abuse to armed assaults.

New figures released by the Fire Brigades Union show Lothian crews faced 71 attacks in the last year, including youths hurling rocks, bricks and bottles, and cases where firefighters have been spat at.

There were also three "armed assaults" on firefighters, and four unarmed assaults, though the details of these have not been released.

While the figures show a slight drop in the number of attacks, down from 83 in the previous two years, fire chiefs today said any case was completely unacceptable.

The Lothian and Borders Fire and Rescue Service Board has already looked at providing members of the service with training in conflict management, to help them reduce the threat of attacks while out on a job.

And in recent years fire engines have had CCTV cameras fitted to discourage attacks, and help convict offenders.

Alex Clark, the head of operations for Lothian and Borders Fire Brigade, said the figures were extremely worrying.

"We have to be pleased that there has been a drop, but realistically any attack on a firefighter doing their job is unacceptable," he said.

"The difficulty is there is only so much we can do, and sadly this is not a problem the fire service can solve on its own.

"We have worked with the public and the police to try and educate people and stop these attacks, and we are also offering staff conflict management, but this is something that has to be solved by the wider society."

The figures show there were 35 missile attacks on Lothian crews in 06/07, where firefighters had bricks and bottles thrown at them while they tried to deal with blazes.

There were 22 recorded incidents of verbal abuse, and seven incidents where firefighters were spat on by members of the public.

Gavin Barrie, treasurer of the FBU Scotland, said he had experienced such attacks first-hand in his job as a firefighter at Newcraighall.

"While there has been a slight drop in the number of attacks, this is still a massive problem, and one that make it very difficult for us to do our job," he said.

"I have been driving a fire engine while its being pelted with bricks and stones, and it is a horrible experience which our staff should not have to face.

"This hasn't had an effect on recruitment, but I would say it affects the attitude of staff, and makes their work very stressful, particularly those crews who are dealing with these incidents night after night."

Mr Barrie also said he wanted to see the full force of the Emergency Workers Bill, passed in 2004, to be brought to bear on attackers.

The Bill makes assaulting or impeding emergency workers in their duty a specific offence and offenders can face a maximum penalty of nine months in jail, a fine of £5000 – or both

Last November fire crews were pelted with fireworks, bricks and water bombs as they battled to respond to a record number of call-outs across the Lothians.

A total of seven attacks were recorded against firefighters in the four days leading up to and including Bonfire Night.

In one incident a firefighter was hit in the back by a brick, while in Niddrie youths pelted fire engines with stones and vandalised fire engines while firefighters tried to put out an illegal bonfire.

• Fire Brigades Union