SCOTLAND’S fire service faces shutting down vital stations – or sharing premises with Police Scotland – as part of efforts to bridge a £400 million repairs backlog branded “insurmountable” by financial watchdogs.

A new report warns fire engines are at risk of breaking down unless they receive tens of millions of pounds worth of investment over the next 10 years.

But Audit Scotland said it was “unlikely” enough cash would be available, with £37.8m needed just to prevent further deterioration.

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It raised the prospect of “closing, moving, sharing or changing” some of the fire service’s properties in a bid to save money, “as well as considering the range and deployment of its fleet of vehicles”.

It comes as the Fire Brigades Union insisted firefighters and the people of Scotland had been “let down” by centralisation, with more than 1,000 jobs cut in the last five years.

Critics said the “shocking revelations” would concern people across the country, and branded the condition of emergency vehicles “a national scandal that could put lives at risk”.

Audit Scotland's report praised the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service’s “strong financial management” but said it had inherited a backlog of repairs and investment worth £389m from the old regional forces.

It added: “This backlog is insurmountable without transforming its current model for delivering services and additional investment.”

If spending remains at current levels, auditors found the backlog will reach £406m over the next decade and the “risk of asset failures, such as vehicle breakdowns, will increase significantly”.

To bring buildings and vehicles up to a “minimum satisfactory condition” would need an average annual investment of £80.4m over 10 years.

Simply ensuring they don’t deteriorate further, meanwhile, would require £37.8m a year – but this would mean “property, fleet and other assets do not meet the needs of a modern service”.

Audit Scotland adds: “It is unlikely that funding will be available to achieve either of these options.”

Scottish Labour’s justice spokesman Daniel Johnson said the findings raise “serious questions about the SNP’s management and support of emergency crews”.

He added: “The fact that the situation is so bad that fire engines may not even be able to run is a national scandal that could put lives at risk. The failure to recruit and retain firefighters, particularly in rural areas, is also of grave concern.”

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Scottish Conservative shadow justice secretary Liam Kerr said the challenges laid out in the report were “quite astonishing”.

He said: “The SNP government has allowed a maintenance backlog of £400m to build up and that’s entirely inexcusable.

“As firefighters themselves are warning, if equipment and vehicles aren’t properly maintained, that will have implications for staff and public safety.”

Scotland’s single fire service was created in 2013 with the merger of eight regional forces, and has an annual budget of £296.9m.

This budget has fallen by 12 per cent since 2013 in real terms, but will be boosted by an additional £10m this year after it was announced emergency services will no longer pay VAT.

Auditors said there were increasing demands on firefighters, with the ongoing transformation of the service a “complex and challenging process”.

While the number of fires has fallen, staff are dealing with “more frequent severe weather, the threat of terrorism and ensuring the safety and wellbeing of an ageing population”. Deliberate fires are also on the rise.

Meanwhile, it is “increasingly difficult” to recruit the necessary number of retained and voluntary firefighters, particularly in rural areas.

Many full-time firefighters are over 45 years old, and two of the four most senior officers are expected to retire in the next couple of years.

Audit Scotland’s report also raises the prospect of further integration between the fire, police and ambulance services, with plans to share more buildings and services currently pushing ahead.

Alasdair Hay, chief officer of the SFRS, welcomed the report and said it “recognises our commitment to putting in place the necessary operational, governance and financial foundations that will enable us to transform the service to do so much more for the people of Scotland”.

He said: “We also recognise the areas for improvement highlighted in the report. Each of these are being prioritised and we are confident we will address the recommendations set out by Audit Scotland.”

He added: "We clearly inherited a substantial capital and maintenance backlog from the eight legacy services."

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Community Safety minister Annabelle Ewing said the report “makes clear that modernisation is needed to reflect the risks that the public face today”.

She said: “The SFRS inherited a substantial capital backlog from the eight legacy services and the Scottish Government continues to work closely with the service to identify and provide the capital funding it needs for buildings, fleet and equipment.

“This year the Scottish Government increased the spending capacity of the service by £15.5m to invest in transformation plans – and maintained an increase of £21.7m in capital funding announced in the 2017/18 Budget.”