Concerns over fire at Ringaskiddy storage facility to be raised at Council meeting today 

CORK County Council will be asked today to seek a list of the materials in the R&H Hall building which went on fire on Saturday.

Crews from Cork County Fire Service remained at the scene of the fire in Ringaskiddy overnight and are expected to maintain a presence there in the coming days.

Independent Cork County Councillor Marcia D’Alton hopes to ask County Mayor Mary Linehan-Foley, at today’s meeting of Cork County Council, to press the county council to seek a list of the materials in the building from R&H Hall.

While acknowledging that the facility stores animal feed, she is concerned about the materials in the building itself.

This was echoed by Fianna Fáil councillor Seamus McGrath, who is also set to raise the issue of the fire at today’s meeting. He says he has received calls from people who were concerned because they had baby clothes drying outside and were worried about the possibility of contamination from the smoke.

He will also demand answers on who is responsible for instigating an emergency plan for the harbour area.

He pointed out that the area is in the heart of an industrial area and residents want a clear plan in place in the event of other emergencies in the future, because they were concerned about a lack of information concerning Saturday’s fire.

In a statement yesterday, Cork County Council said that fire crews continued to expose and extinguish any hot spots that may exist within the storage facility.

The council added: “Due to the nature of this incident, this will be an ongoing process and Cork County Council would again like to reassure members of the public that all operations are being undertaken in a highly controlled manner.”

The council reiterated: “The material involved remains unchanged and is a natural, organic animal feed.”

Fire crews have been exposing, dampening and extinguishing any hot spots within the storage facility in #Ringaskiddy today

All operations are being carried out in a highly controlled manner.

Crews will remain overnight https://t.co/corBBGb2zG pic.twitter.com/NQmlcJHEwX

— Cork County Council (@Corkcoco) January 10, 2021

R&H Hall issued an apology on Saturday evening to local businesses and residents affected by the fire.

In a statement, the company said: “We would like to thank the emergency services and the Port of Cork team for their quick response and ongoing management of the incident.

“We would also like to apologise to local residents, neighbouring businesses, and our customers for any inconvenience caused by the incident.”

Shipping operations resumed in the area yesterday.