Council Says No To Voluntary Fire Service
Thursday, 15 December 2011
OFFALY County Council will not support the establishment of a voluntary fire service in areas where stations have been closed.
Two of the council's leading officials said this week that they could not do so for health and safety reasons.
In a letter to fire station campaigner Jimmy Todd, of the SOS-DBK (Save Our Stations, Daingean, Banagher, Kilcormac), Frank Heslin, the council's director of transportation and emergency services, and Eoin O'Ceilleachair, chief fire officer, also said voluntary fire brigades around the country are being disbanded.
The SOS group had written to Offaly county manager Pat Gallagher last month requesting support for training and resourcing of voluntary fire brigades.
The group had previously campaigned against the closure, and then for the reopening, of the stations in Daingean, Banagher and Kilcormac.
All three were closed permanently when the council adopted a new fire service plan for Offaly.
The council director and chief fire officer explained to Mr Todd that in recent times, voluntary fire services had been replaced by retained or full time fire services countrywide.
'The Safety, Health and Welfare Act 2005 puts a particularly onerous responsibility on "directors and officers of undertakings" to actively prove that they have proactively managed the safety and health of workers,' the letter said.
'In the case of Offaly County Council, these would be the elected members and the management of the council. On foot of this legislation, the few voluntary fire brigades remaining around the country are being disbanded,' it added.
The council officials explained that a voluntary fire brigade in Castlegregory, Co Kerry was disbanded earlier this year.
They quoted the Kerry county manager who said that a volunteer unit did not have the requisite training to attend certain incidents and while they did not report to, nor were under the control of the council's fire section, 'it could be claimed that the council has some responsibility for them given the training, equipment and some funding provided by the Council in the past'.
'This potentially exposes individuals in Kerry County Council to criminal prosecution in the event of an accident involving any of these volunteers in the course of responding to an incident,' the Kerry county manager was quoted as saying.
Reference was also made to the consequences for certain staff of Wicklow County Council, following a tragedy in Bray where two fully trained retained firefighters died while attending a fire.
'It is for all these reasons that Kerry County Council has informed all the Volunteer Fire Units that it cannot be associated with or take any responsibility for them anymore and they have been advised that they should not mobilize for any incidents,' the Kerry county manager said.
Offaly County Council said it was declining the invitation to support the establishment of new voluntary services in Offaly for the same reasons.
The council added that since the county's fire plan was adopted last January there is now a set of fire standards, 'having regard to health and safety requirements and available resources'.
'The service is organised to provide a competent and integrated emergency response throughout the county, including for the communities mentioned and to date performance standards have been met. The retained firefighters are appropriately trained, equipped, supervised and operate to proper procedures,' Mr Heslin and Mr O'Ceallachair said.
They concluded by saying that each dwelling should be fitted with a smoke alarm, saying that was the 'most effective measure to protect the lives of persons'.
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