DUNLEER’S €1.6M FIRE STATION JOY
FUNDING of €1.6m has been approved for a new fire station for Dunleer.
It is hoped a site across the road from the present Barn Road facility can be acquired for the project.
The Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Darragh O’Brien TD, announced the funding last week, with Dunleer one of six new stations approved.
It has been listed to start in 2021. For Dunleer Fire Station Officer, John Molloy, it’s very encouraging news, but they have been waiting on the new base for many years now.
‘It is good news and now we’d love to see it starting,’ he stated.
The present station has been home to the service for decades and has long since become insufficient to support the service locally.
It is hoped once the new site is agreed, it can go to tender.
There are seven crew members at present in Dunleer with a recruitment course starting in February 2021 and possibly two more coming on board.
The station continues to be very busy in a rapidly expanding area. It also has a number of major factories.
Over the last three years the service answered upwards of 500 call outs, from fires to traffic accidents.
In 2020, they had 143 calls, just down slightly from 2019. Given that COVID was a dominant factor in many communities, it proves how busy the station has become.
The station also covers Junctions 10 to 16 on the M1, assisting the services in Drogheda and Dundalk, as well as Ardee.
The importance and professionalism of the Dunleer crew was never more evident than last Tuesday night when they rushed to the scene of a house fire at Rivervale off School Lane. They prevented the fire getting out of control thanks to a quick response.
Cathaoirleach of Louth CC Dolores
Dunleer station officer, John Molloy.
Minogue said she welcomed the news on behalf of the council and said it was a vital project that must be progressed quickly.
Cathaoirleach of the area council, John Sheridan added, ‘Since I was elected, I have raised this at council meetings along with others. I’m well aware of the concerns about the facilities of the old station including health and safety of fire fighters.
‘As of the council budget in November, we were told that Dunleer fire station was a priority and a funding announcement was awaited. This has now happened and hopefully we can now move on to site purchase and design of the new station.
‘I have been in touch with Minister Darragh OBrien to thank him for his commitment to Dunleer and hopefully we will have progress as soon as possible”
Cllr Hugh Conlon was also delighted with the news.
‘Hopefully this news will now hurry things on to eventually secure the new building.
‘ The old Fire Station at the Barn Road near Glen Dimplex served Dunleer and Mid Louth very well for many many decades. The local firefighters in Dunleer will be delighted with the new developments.
‘Dunleer is a very important location given that it is so close to the M1 and the N2 along with the R169 and R170 Regional Road Routes, allowing very quick access to any location in Mid Louth. ‘