Fire brigade units deal with motorway incident

Mitchelstown and Fermoy Fire Brigades attended the scene of a motorway crash early on Monday morning, as fire fighters have observed a dramatic reduction in car use due to lockdown.

The incident on Monday morning at approximately 7.40am saw the local crews deal with a collision between a truck and a van on the M8, north bound carriageway between Moorepark and Kilworth.

The van had struck the rear of the lorry and a male occupant of the van had to be cut from the vehicle. While it is understood that the lorry driver was uninjured, the driver of the van sustained several injuries, most of which were cuts to his head and legs, a spokesperson for the Fermoy brigade said. He was then transferred to Cork University Hospital for treatment.

The M8 north bound carriageway remained closed between Junction 14 Fermoy north and Junction 13 Mitchelstown south, with traffic diversions in place until approximately mid-day, to facilitate a clean up of the road, as the lorry had shed its load consisting of animal feed.

Oil and debris were also cleared from the road as the fire crews assisted Lagan with road maintenance.

BALLYPOREEN ROAD INCIDENT

A second incident involving a vehicle which necessitated attendance by the local brigade, occurred on Tuesday night at approximately 8pm on the Ballyporeen Road when a car hit a pier.

Gardai alerted the Mitchelstown unit and on arrival, they did not find any occupants of the car at the scene. The fire brigade were tasked with making the road safe and cleaned up debris from the area. Gardai are investigating.

Bob Dalton, Staton Officer of Mitchelstown Fire Brigade said that it is believed that the current lockdown measures are having a direct impact on the amount of incidents with fewer people on the roads.

OIL SPILL

On Friday last, the Fermoy brigade attended the scene of an oil spill on the Coolagown to Conna road. According to a spokesperson for Fermoy unit, the spill appeared to be diesel, ‘possibly from a tractor’.

The clean-up took about an hour, resulting in a dispersant being applied to remove the liquid matter from the road.