Residents say thanks to fire heroes of Bray Head... with a defibrillator

FIREFIGHTERS who bravely battled a fierce blaze on Bray Head in July – saving the homes of local residents – have been thanked with the purchase of a defibrillator for the fire service.

Residents of Cliff Road in Windgates clubbed together to raise €1,000 to purchase the potentially life-saving piece of equipment to say a huge ‘ thankyou’ to the fire fighters of Greystones Fire Service.

Our picture shows some of the Windgates residents, members of Greystones Fire Service, and Maurice Wadding of Premier First Aid with the new defibrillator at a CPR training session.

RESIDENTS of Cliff Road in Windgates clubbed together recently to raise money to buy a defibrillator for Greystones Fire Service.

This followed the amazing work done by the fire fighters to battle a blaze on Bray Head in July.

Jack Curran was one of those affected. He and his family, along with others living in the area, were forced to flee their homes as flames came as close as 50 metres.

The residents felt they wanted to do something to show their appreciation for those who worked so hard to save their lives and property during the blaze.

‘ The firemen did an excellent job and we wanted to give something back,’ said Jack.

The community raised close to €1,000 in a collection, which they used to buy the AED.

‘It’s a very necessary thing,’ said Jack, who said that the unit would be located at the station.

Jack added that the situation at Cliff Road is caused by underlying problems. ‘I said myself that was going to happen,’ he said. ‘ There’s far too much gorse. You get a dry spell up there, that was going too ignite. It needs to be addressed.’

Jack said that Bray Head is a special area of conservation and therefore should come under the remit of Wicklow County Council.

He added that there are no fire hydrants along the road, and that fire fighters had to go back downhill to refill their tanks.