Fire chiefs have aired plans to end automatic attendance at fire alarms in workplaces.

The service has launched a consultation over the move to downgrade de facto turnout for automated warning systems in non-domestic premises.

But one councillor criticised the proposal, branding it a “cynical” ploy to cut firefighter numbers.

Councillor Donald Reid told North Ayrshire’s Police, Fire and Rescue Committee on Tuesday: “Call me cynical, but I suspect they will want to cut back on the number of firemen employed.”

The revelation, however, was denied by Scottish Fire and Rescue officers.

Station Commander Kevin Rennie told the meeting: “We are turning up to businesses for alarm acutations that are actually caused by stuff like steam, carelessness in the workplace, accidentally set off or deliberately set off within the workplace.

“AFAs are great for premises, they are the first step for people for the possibility of evacuating in the likelihood that there is a fire but it’s when we get brought in for 31 per cent of our turnout at unwanted fire alarm signals that then does create a wee bit of an issue.”

But Councillor Reid says any such move could have consequences and cited the devastating December 2017 blaze at Loch Lomondside’s Cameron House Hotel, which killed guests Simon Midgley and partner Richard Dyson, as an example of what could go wrong.

Scottish Fire and Rescue Service bosses have launched a consultation over plans to downgrade the response to what they described as “Unwanted” Fire Alarm Signals – when automatic warning systems are operated for a cause other than actual fire.

In a consultation document on the topic, the service says it responds to an average of 28,479 such calls every year, caused by the activation of  automatic systems in the workplace.

Scottish Fire and Rescue say the systems are designed to provide early detection and save lives, but instead 97 per cent of such call-outs are false alarms.

Factors such as steam and lack of maintenance are often credited with sparking the systems – with the number of Unwanted Fire Alarm Signals steadily increasing in Scotland since 2013/14.

But with every call from automated systems treated as an emergency call, the SFRS response under blue light conditions, deemed “more dangerous for firefighters and for members of the public”.

They now want to save the journeys created by such call-outs, only two per cent of which were from confirmed fires.

Fire service bosses have also been struggling to meet Scottish Government targets for a 15 per cent reduction in UFA attendances between 2017 and March 2020  – instead recording a three per cent increase.

They also face challenges in becoming carbon net zero by 2045, estimating that 575 tonnes of carbon emissions are generated in Scotland every year by around 57,000 unnecessary blue light journeys.

Moves in earnest to cut back the service’s response to unwanted automated signals began during the coronavirus pandemic, when a single appliance was deployed, down from two.

They have now compiled a range of options to tackle the issue – out to public consultation until October.

Area Commander Ian McMeekin told councillors on Tuesday: “It’s a 12-week consultation on how we respond to automatic fire alarms, particularly unwanted fire alarm signals.

“This forms a priority in the North Ayrshire Local Fire Plan and we will be reporting on progress against this later on. Just to give an overview, the consultation is response to lessons learned during the past 18 months of the pandemic but also about how it impacts on local businesses and also the environment as well.

“We believe it’s a time for change. It is very much a consultation.”

Commander Rennie added: “It’s something we need to get out into the community to make sure that members of the community take part in this survey and look at how we are going to react for moving forward.”

Scottish Fire and Rescue said they will still commit to attending all automated fire alarm signals generated by care homes.

In other cases, they say call handlers could ask premises if there is really a fire before committing a crew.

They say they hope time will be freed up for crews to commit to training required to help tackle emerging issues for Scottish Fire and Rescue, including wildfires and extreme flooding.

Further details on the consultation can be found here.