A Waterford Councillor has called for a staffing dispute within the county fire service to be resolved after a local unit was unable to respond to a car accident.
According to the Irish Examiner, two units were forced to travel some 35km and 25km from Dungarvan and Portlaw to tend to the scene of an accident, at approximately 1 am, despite the fact that the station in question, Kilmacthomas, just 200m away, remained closed. Fine Gael’s Liam Brazil says that it’s not the first time that fire brigades from outside the area have had to attend Kilmacthomas.
Mr. Brazil told September's meeting that the passenger of the vehicle was “left sitting in her car for nearly half an hour” after she had hit a ditch.
He went on to say that people had been banging on his house door, seeking help.
Mr. Brazil said the station has effectively been out of service since June, with the issue dating back to last year’s change in rosters, which had upped the standard registration of team’s available for service from four to five. The station was reduced to four available volunteers, and since then the station has been “off the run.”
The Fine Gael Councillor went on to say how much worse the situation could have ended up, “Had that car caught fire or the accident been of a different sort, we could have been dealing with a fatality yet there was a fire station two minutes away. Serious questions need to be asked before someone dies,” he said.
In response, Director of Services Ivan Grimes told the meeting that issues surrounding the availability of individual fire stations, and specifically stations, and specifically Kilmacthomas, have been referred to the workplace relations commission for conciliation. Mr. Grimes said that he would no longer be commenting on the matter until that process is completed.
By Christy Parker.
