Safety fears over staffing pressures and outdated vehicles at Dublin Fire Brigade

Daithí Doolan, Sinn Féin Leader on Dublin City Council and European election candidate for Dublin, highlighted that half of the service’s fire trucks are at least 10 years old, while 25pc are at least 15 years old.

“Failure to address these concerns is seriously jeopardising firefighters’ ability to appropriately respond to fires and other serious incidents, and is putting their safety and that of the public at risk,” he said.

Mr Doolan is calling on the Government to provide the necessary funding, training and equipment to ensure Dublin Fire Brigade is fully resourced at all times.

“SIPTU has outlined in stark terms how staffing levels for 2025 are 100 short of where the service needs to be, and there is no plan in place for the Public Appointment Service to run a recruitment campaign,” he said.

“Dublin Fire Brigade’s reliance on overtime to man its service is unsustainable.

“The staffing crisis has been allowed to deepen, with the result being the far too regular occurrence of fire trucks and appliances being kept off the road because necessary personnel have not been available.

“These staffing issues are exacerbated by a fleet of vehicles, many of which are no longer fit for purpose.

“The risk that the overreliance on old vehicles can cause, was highlighted when a 20-year-old fire truck broke down en route to the scene of a fire.

“For a service where response times are key, and where every minute and second counts, a repeat of such an incident could be catastrophic and cost lives,” he added.

Referencing the Stardust disaster, Cllr Doolan said: “In a week where the human cost and suffering of the state’s worst fire tragedy have been laid bare, it is crucially important that we ensure Dublin Fire Brigade has the necessary staffing and equipment to protect the city’s communities.

“They are also deeply concerned that there has been no implementation of any of the recommendations included in the risk assessment model established following the terrifying 2018 fire at the Metro Hotel in Ballymun.

“Implementing these recommendations, and ensuring firefighters have access to data they need, could be the difference between life and death,” he added.

According to Dublin City Council, Dublin Fire Brigade has a comprehensive recruitment and vehicle replacement programme in place.

“Dublin City Council has a comprehensive fire hydrant system in the city, which is very accurately mapped, complete with water main size and expected flow in litres per minute,” they said.

“This map is available online to fire officers on mobile devices. There are fire hydrants at very regular intervals on almost all Dublin streets, mostly adjacent to junctions.

“Dublin Fire Brigade has very well established drills and firefighters are well trained in the usual location and access to these hydrants.

“There are also arrangements whereby Dublin Fire Brigade can contact the relative Local Authority / Uisce Eireann to increase water pressure in certain water mains during intervals of low water pressure.

“Each fire appliance carries 1,800 litres of water, which is adequate to start an attack on most domestic fires. Dublin Fire Brigade also have large water tankers in their fleet to supplement requirements at large, or prolonged fires.

“All fire appliances also have the ability to make down suction hose to open sources of water, such as canals, rivers and other static water supplies, which are also mapped.”