Car crashed 200m from closed fire station in Waterford
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.
Two units had to travel some 33km and 25km from Dungarvan and Portlaw respectively, to attend the scene, at about 1am, while the station in question, Kilmacthomas, just 200m away, remained closed.
Fine Gael councillor Liam Brazil told September’s meeting that the passenger of the vehicle was “left sitting in her car for nearly half an hour” after it had hit a ditch.
He also said 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 upped the standard registration of teams available for service from four to five.
Last summer, Kilmacthomas was reduced to four available volunteers and, since then, the station has been ‘off the run’. The councillor said the incident was the latest of several since June, in which fire brigades from outside the area have had to attend Kilmacthomas.
Had that car caught fire or the accident been of a different sort, we could have been dealing with a fatality,” said Mr Brazil. “Yet there was a fire station two minutes away. Serious questions need to be asked, before someone dies.
Five weeks ago, the council said: “Fire-service management are continuously monitoring brigade availability throughout the county and putting measures in place to ensure adequate fire cover is provided at all times.”
Director of services Ivan Grimes told the meeting that issues surrounding the availability of individual fire stations, and specifically Kilmacthomas, have been referred to the workplace relations commission for conciliation. Mr Grimes said he would prefer not to comment further until that process had concluded.
