Fears that fire service will be downgraded
OPPOSITION TO PROPOSED RESTRUCTURING
Members of Drogheda Fire Service parade before Minister for Environment and Local Government, John Gormley TD at the official opening of their new station last year.
THE Drogheda Independent has learned that the fire stations in Drogheda and Dundalk could be unmanned from 11pm to 8am as part of a review to streamline the services.
It would mean all overnight emergency calls would be responded to by retained firefighters in the towns.
It is one of a number of recommendations before the council and the unions following a review of the services in Louth.
'On this particular issue, the view of our members is it won't be happening,' says SIPTU organiser John King.
'Our view is the stations should be manned full-time, 24/7, and not as at present, with a couple of full-time staff in the evenings, supplemented by retained personnel.
'The report suggests night time fires would only be responded to by retained personnel, and along with having negative consequences for the full-time staff members, a more fundamental issue is whether a town the size of Drogheda or Dundalk should be left for a large chunk of the day in the sole responsibility of retained firefighters.'
However, Director of Services for Louth County Council Eamon Walsh points out it was just one of many recommendations within the report and no conclusion has been reached at this stage.
'This report was completed about a year ago, and we are engaging with the unions about this, but in light of the current industrial situation, we are not in a position to progress,' he said.
'It was recommended the fire service for Louth becomes more unified, and we are looking at how to reorganise the three fire services of Drogheda Borough Council, Louth County Council and Dundalk Town Council to make it more efficient under one service.
'We are not in a position to make any decisions at the moment.'
Cllr Gerald Nash has said he will 'fight to the bitter end' to retain 24 hour fully manned fire service cover in both Drogheda and Dundalk fire stations.
'In the neverending search by senior mandarins for what is euphemistically described as 'rationalisation', it appears that no service provided to the public is now sacred,' he told the Drogheda Independent.
'Speculation that both Drogheda and Dundalk fire stations will effectively close from 11pm to 8am will cause huge concern across Co Louth and I can assure those who wish to downgrade our critical emergency that their plans will be fiercely resisted.'
The Labour councillor commented that a e6m, state-of-theart fire station was not built in Drogheda for it to be closed every night.
'Whilst I don't doubt the ability of local fire service personnel to effectively respond to emergency situations on-call, both towns require a fully functioning, 24-hour operation, fully manned from our local fire stations,' he said angrily.
'It is time the County Manager fully clarified this matter and I am calling for him to do so without delay.'
- Alison COMYN
