'Endangering members and public safety': Cork city firefighters protest over lack of resources

SIPTU members employed as firefighters in Cork city have commenced a campaign of industrial action in an effort to see Ballincollig Fire Station reopened as members claim a lack of resources is "endangering members and public safety". 

The industrial action began this morning with a protest by firefighters as they ended their shift at the fire station on Anglesea Street.

The action at present primarily affects administrative duties but firefighters have stated they will continue to stage protests and escalate their industrial action if necessary.

Ballincollig Fire Station has been closed since November 2021 as it does not have a fully retained fire service.

“The root cause of this dispute lies with the failure of fire service management to reinstate the Ballincollig Retained Fire and Rescue Service or provide additional resources to the Cork City Fire Brigade to provide cover in this area,” SIPTU organiser, Con Casey, said.

“The consequences of this has been to expand the area covered by the Cork City Fire Brigade without providing staff to operate the fire appliance in Ballincollig fire station, which is known as the ‘Fourth Pump’.

“Vacancies for retained fire and rescue service members in the Ballincollig area have remained unfilled since September 2021 even though the first recruitment campaign commenced in October 2020.” 

Mr Casey said official notice of industrial action, up to and including strike action, was served on Cork City Council earlier this month.

“If our members must escalate their industrial action to force a resolution to this dispute, they will,” he continued.

Speaking to The Echo, Billy Crowley, firefighter and union representative with Cork City Fire Brigade, said he believes resources are being spread too thinly across the city.

“We had four fire trucks and when they [Cork City Council] closed Ballincollig we dropped down to three which is what we had before the boundary extension, so you’re taking the old Cork City Fire Service and trying to spread that across the new city and it’s just spread too thin and you can only stretch something so much before it breaks,” he said.

Mr Crowley said it took crew members attending a recent callout in Ballincollig 12 minutes to arrive on scene, where previously it would have taken just a “couple of minutes” when the local station was open.

He said SIPTU members are seeking a “meaningful proposal to reopen Ballincollig Fire Station immediately” in a bid to reduce delays in responding to incidents.

“They [Cork City Council] have spent two and a half years now trying to recruit retained personnel for it. That has not worked.

“If they want to spend another two and a half years trying it, that’s fine but it needs to be reopened now with the personnel we have and as soon as they can get enough qualified and trained retained personnel, we’ll happily walk out and let the retained guys crew the station but in the interim it needs to be opened now,” he stressed.

In a statement, Cork City Council said it wished to reassure the public that the industrial action commenced by SIPTU members of Cork City Fire Brigade this morning will not impact Cork City Fire Brigade emergency service delivery.

“Cork City Council invited SIPTU to talks with a view to finding a solution to this dispute and the council remain available to meet union representatives.

“Last night, Cork City Council also sought the assistance of the Workplace Relations Commission.

“Cork City Council is committed to engaging in meaningful and focused discussions with all parties involved and to using the established industrial relations machinery of the State to agree a path forward to resolve matters.

“Management is disappointed that union members have chosen to mount an industrial action when the Council had already made itself available for discussions,” the statement continued.

Mr Crowley said SIPTU members are seeking “concrete, meaningful proposals” to end the dispute.

“We have no bother engaging with the WRC [Workplace Relations Commission] if it’s a means to an end to this.

“We’d have absolutely no bother engaging directly with Cork City Council if it’s a means to resolving this dispute but we’ve been talking about this for years, it can’t just be talking for talking’s sake.

“The time for talking is over. We need concrete, meaningful proposals that will end this dispute,” he said.

“We’re not talking this action for extra money or for ourselves. Essentially we’re doing this for the people we serve, the people of Cork city.”