Only eight fire fighters in Bray
NOT ENOUGH FIRE FIGHTERS, TD TELLS DÁIL CHAMBER
BRAY Fire Station currently only has eight working fire fighters despite having capacity for 15.
Speaking in the Dáil Deputy John Brady said that staffing levels at the station are currently inadequate.
Deputy Regina Doherty said the council will be recruiting again next year.
There are eight retained fire-fighters currently working from Bray fire station, which Deputy Brady said the manning levels for the two-pump fire station continues to be inadequate, 12 years on from the deaths of two firemen.
A former fireman told the Bray People that he left the service in Bray due to the ‘stresses of the job’. He said these include not being able to get to calls through traffic, not having any time off, and the station being understaffed.
‘Bray is meant to have 15 fire fighters and has eight, that’s nearly half a crew. The last time Bray was left like this there were two lads killed.
THERE are eight retained fire-fighters currently working from Bray fire station, which has 15 when running at full staff capacity.
Two of the current staff of 10 members of Bray fire service are on long-term sick leave.
Deputy John Brady told the Dáil last Thursday evening that the manning levels for the two-pump fire station in Bray continue to be inadequate, 12 years since the deaths of two firemen from that station.
In a response by Deputy Regina Doherty, she said that Wicklow County Council will be recruiting in the new year.
A former fireman said that he left the service in Bray due to the ‘stresses of the job’, including not being able to get to calls through traffic, not having any time off, and the station being understaffed. ‘Bray is meant to have 15 fire fighters and has eight, that’s nearly half a crew,’ said the former fireman. ‘ The last time Bray was left like this there were two lads killed. Things have changed and the training is better, but it’s still a postcode lottery. If you live in Shankill and your house goes on fire you’ll have three pumps there in minutes, they throw everything at it.’
Speaking in the Dáil Deputy Brady said: ‘In February 2005, the retained fire-fighters in the fire station in Bray staged a day of protest over major difficulties in how the service was operated.’
He said that one of their main concerns was the manning level in the station. ‘Bray is a two-pump station which means there should be 15 fire fighters, however at the time there was only 10.
‘ Two years later on September 26 2007, two of the fire-fighters that took part in the day of protest in Bray, sub officer Brian Murray and fire fighter Mark O’Shaughnessy, died in the line of duty serving the community of Bray,’ said Deputy Brady.
‘Brian had said prior to his death that unless the serious issues in the fire service were addressed someone would lose their lives, little did he know two years later it would be himself and one of his colleagues.
‘14 years after the protest at the station in Bray, and twelve years after the deaths of Brian and Mark there are still very serious issues with the fire service in Wicklow’, he said.
‘A recent response from Aiden Dempsey, Chief Fire Officer in Wicklow, shows that the current manning level in the Bray station is ten and two of those are on long term sick leave - so out of an establishment of what is supposed to be 15, there are eight fire-fighters to provide the cover for a population of nearly 40,000.’ The Bray People has had sight of the document to which Deputy Brady referred.
Deputy Brady said a full time fire service is needed in Bray and called on the Government to provide this.
Deputy Regina Doherty responded to Deputy Brady on behalf of the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government. She said that staffing is the responsibility of Wicklow County Council.
‘In the case of Bray Fire Station I am informed by Wicklow County Council that a series of early retirements, in 2018, did result in a reduced number of fire fighters,’ she said.’ However, I understand that Wicklow County Council is moving to address this situation through the recruitment of four new fire fighters in Bray over the past 18 months.’
She said that a risk assessment completed by the council in March 2019, in relation to the level of staffing at the Station, found that almost half of the firefighters in the station were relatively newly recruited. Therefore, for safety reasons, and to allow those fire fighters time to gain experience, a decision was taken by the Council not to recruit further new firefighters for that station at that time.
‘I understand that Bray Fire Station currently has a crew of eight and is operational as a one fire-engine station. I am informed that there has been no issue turning out a full crew to all incidents, and no impact on public safety as a result,’ said Deputy Doherty. ‘ This is due to the fine work of the personnel in the Bray Station augmented as and when required by colleagues in the station in Greystones, which is nearby. It should also be noted that further back up is available to Bray if required, from the two full time crews in Dun Laoghaire, which is also nearby.
‘I understand that additional recruitment of fire fighters for the Bray Fire Station is scheduled to commence again in January 2020.’