INVERCLYDE'S new fire chief insists the area is “in safe hands” – despite concerns that wide-ranging reforms to the service could put the public’s safety at risk.

Kevin Murphy says that fears over a reduction in resources, including the temporary removal of an appliance from Greenock’s fire station, are unfounded, and that the service in the area is “well resourced”.

Mr Murphy, 44, was appointed as the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) area commander for Inverclyde, Renfrewshire and East Renfrewshire in July – and says he’s delighted to lead Inverclyde’s dedicated teams of firefighters.

Last year the Tele revealed that at least 10 firefighter roles were at risk at Greenock under plans to introduce a new crewing model and wider plans to cut the number of high-reach vehicles.

In May the SFRS unveiled controversial plans for a major shake-up of its services, including the potential to change where crews and appliances are based.

They launched a consultation on the proposals, entitled ‘Shaping Our Future Service: Your Say’, which attracted 6,500 responses and saw two public events held in Greenock.

Mr Murphy says the responses are being analysed and a further consultation will follow in 2026.

He told the Tele there will be no changes until then.

Asked if it was a difficult time to take on such a major role, he said: "I think it is an exciting and interesting time. The fire service does need to be reviewed and modernised to best serve the community in the 21st century.

"I am hugely excited to be here leading the team and having positive impact."

Addressing the fears over the temporary removal of a pump from Greenock’s fire station, he said: "The second pump was removed and was replaced by a dedicated high reach appliance.

"We still have three appliances - a whole-time pump, an on-call unit pump, and a dedicated high reach appliance.

"We have three fire stations fairly close by, and overall, seven appliances.

"We are well resourced."

However much has been of the loss of 10 firefighter posts due to changes in operating crew.

Mr Murphy, who is married with a step-daughter and two daughters, insisted that the temporary removal of the second pump, and the loss of posts to “ease financial pressures”, had had very little impact on the service.

“We are now seeing historically low incident figures due to the preventative work by staff and partners," he said.

The area commander said an appliance could still come back to Greenock and insisted that the SFRS across Scotland was working to produce “a modern, sustainable fire service”.

He says the type of incident attended by SFRS has changed over the years, with fewer call-outs to fires and more to flooding reports – with flood response units now located in both Port Glasgow and Greenock – and to assisting other agencies, for example with people who have fallen or have become trapped in their homes as the population grows older.

Deliberate fire-setting has also fallen, thanks, Mr Murphy said, to “strong partnership working” between the SFRS and other services.

Asked about fears about over-reliance on on-duty colleagues, he replied: "We have exceptional on-duty colleagues across all areas of Scotland."

He insisted that there wasn't an over-reliance on-call staff but they play an important part delivering an excellent service in Inverclyde.

“We are well resourced,” he added. “We have a suitable level of appliances to respond to any incidents and we have a wide pool of resources for any large scale incidents."