FIRE and rescue personnel must receive priority coronavirus testing – or risk losing the emergency service, union leaders claim.

According to the Fire Brigades Union (FBU), there are 285 Scottish Fire and Rescue Service staff in isolation –3.75% of the workforce and higher than in Lonon.

Hundreds more are off in the West Midlands and more, it is claimed.

Now the FBU has written to the Scottish, Welsh, Northern Irish and UK governments calling for priority testing to keep the frontline service running.

It says the change could stop members “self-isolating unnecessarily, when they could be on hand to protect the public”, help reduce the risk of frontline staff transmitting the infection to vulnerable members of the public, and avoid “dangerous shortages” of personnel. 

FBU general secretary Matt Wrack said: “In this time of national crisis, every emergency service worker has an important role to play. The NHS is an obvious priority, but any testing regime needs to address all key public services.

“Without proper testing, the number of fire and rescue personnel available could drop to dangerously low levels. Fires and other non-virus related emergency incidents won’t wait for this crisis to subside and ministers need to consider that carefully.

“It is vital for public safety that firefighters and control staff, like their colleagues in the NHS, receive priority testing and, once available, vaccination.

“We’re pushing for measures to limit our members’ exposure to the virus, but some interaction with the public cannot be avoided and ministers need to manage that risk.”