CARLOW COUNTY FIRE & RESCUE SERVICE

The aim of the Carlow County Council Fire Authority is to protect the public from fire and to preserve life and property.
Carlow County Fire and Rescue Service provide a total fire service to the community 24 hours a day every day of the year.

INTRODUCTION
The functional area of Carlow County Council Fire Authority is the administrative County of Carlow as defined in the Local Government (Ireland) Act 1899, and the Local Government (Re-organisation) Act, 1985.  It also includes the Urban District of Carlow.  The Fire Service is an organisation of Technical and Administrative Staff and Retained Fire-Fighting Personnel established and maintained in accordance with Sections 9 and 10 of the Fire Services Act, 1981.

In 2006 Carlow County Fire & Rescue Service attended 531 incidents, made up of 352 fire calls, 60 road traffic accidents, 51 special service calls and 68 false alarms.

ORGANISATION

There are four Retained Fire Brigades in County Carlow located as follows:-

Carlow Muinebheag Tullow Hacketstown

There are three permanent Senior Fire Officers - a Chief Fire Officer and two Senior Assistant Chief Fire Officers, who are based in the Fire and Rescue Headquarters in Carlow Fire Station.

Each fire brigade is under the immediate command of a Station Officer, who has either one or two Sub-Officers. Each brigade has one or more Driver Mechanics, depending upon the number of appliances at a particular location.  The number of fire-fighters employed in each station varies from nine to fourteen persons depending upon the area being serviced by the brigade.  All members of the brigades are employed on a temporary part-time retained basis with the exception of a full time Station Officer in Carlow.  The total number of retained personnel in the County is forty-five.

 

FIRE APPLIANCES

The front line appliances in each of the four stations are Class B Water Tenders, carrying 1,800 litres of water and fitted with Godiva 2,250 litre per minute multi-pressure pumps.  In addition there are a number of special appliances in the County.
A Hydraulic Platform SS 220 based at Carlow which covers commercial and industrial risks in Carlow Urban and County.  It is also available to adjoining counties, if required. There are three 9,000 litre stainless steel Water Tankers in the County, located at Carlow, Tullow and Muinebheag. An emergency tender, based at Carlow, carries a wide range of rescue and specialist equipment including chemical suits and equipment for dealing with chemical incidents. 

In 2006 the following vehicles were delivered with the aid of funding from the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government:

• 2 new Fire Appliances, located at Carlow and Tullow Fire Stations.
• A new 4-Wheel Drive vehicle.
• A Water Tanker located in Tullow.

Requests are made on an on-going basis to the Department of the Environment for funds to replace existing appliances. 

FIRE STATIONS

There are four Fire Stations in County Carlow configured as follows:

Carlow Fire Service Headquarters Fire Station was completed in September 2002 and has all the facilities required for a Headquarters Fire Station and gives a tremendous boost to the image and moral of the fire service in both Urban and County.
Muinebheag Fire Station: A two bay building built in 1990.  The station has a drill yard with training tower, underground water tank and fire hydrant. 

Tullow Fire Station;
In 2006 tenders were received for the construction of  a new fire station in Tullow.  Departmental approval is awaited from the  Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government, to proceed to construction stage.

Hacketstown Fire Station:
In 1999 a new two bay station at Hacketstown with a range of training facilities for fire-fighters. During 2005 we saw the completion of the B.A. training facility in Hacketstown. This project was funded by the Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government, and Carlow County Council. This facility restores the training capability that we once had in the old machinery yard and has already yielded beneficial results.

TRAINING

It is the policy of the Fire Service to ensure that all fire fighters and officers receive the most up to date and comprehensive training to enable them to perform their duties in an effective, efficient and safe manner.

Courses / Training Attended in 2006

• One Day B.A. refresher course for each fire-fighter
• Specialist Driver Training
• Water Awareness Training
• Hydraulic Platform Operators Course
• Hazardous Materials Course
• Operational Command
• Fire Engineering Course
• Computer Training

In addition, defibulators have been provided in Tullow fire station and all fire-fighters are trained in their use. 

In 2006 a crew from the County Carlow Fire and Rescue  Service represented Ireland in the World Rescue Organisations Road Traffic Accident Extrication Competition in South Africa and finished 15th out of 27 competing countries.

FIRE PREVENTION

PUBLIC EXPECTATIONS OF QUALITY SERVICE
There is a perceptible change in the expectations of the public for a quality service. Fire Safety/Prevention has grown in recent years with the introduction of new Legislation and Building Control Regulations.  This work is mainly carried out by the Senior Officers of the Service. The Fire Service is particularly pre-eminent in this regard due to advertising campaigns, increased fire safety awareness and progressive legislation.  More and more we receive requests for advice and assistance from the public.  

FIRE SERVICES ACT
Section 18 of this Act places specific responsibility on Fire Authorities to carry out inspections, list defects and remedial works required, assist in staff training programmes and tendering advice to the owners of premises.

FIRE SAFETY CERTIFICATES

In August 1992 Fire Safety Certificate requirements came into force.  Fire Safety Certificates have become predominant of our workload due to the increasing number and complexity of applications. There were 116 Fire Safety Certificate Applications referred to the Fire Service for appraisal and report in 2006. There is a large amount of our time spent in consultations and pre-submission discussions with designers and applicants. 

Fire Service
Performance Indicators 2006

E3       Average time to mobilise Fire Brigades

E4       % of attendance at scenes where

 E.5      Fire Prevention

Total number of fire safety certificate applications received         116                
Total number of fire safety certificate applications processed      111