'We look at the cost of losing a family member or friend': Fire service picket to reopen Ballincollig Station

A LOCAL firefighter slammed Cork City Council for a decision he claims is putting lives at risk as Siptu members lined the streets for another day of picketing.

Yesterday’s protests saw fire crews from Anglesea Street and Ballyvolane reiterate their outrage after almost a week of industrial action.

It comes as part of efforts to reopen Ballincollig Fire Station, the closure of which firefighter and Siptu steward Billy Crowley says is adding to serious delays that are endangering lives.

Ballincollig Fire Station has been closed since 2021, and staffing levels remain a grave concern for firefighters.

Mr Crowley outlined his concerns to The Echo, saying: “No matter what way you look at this, they, the council, are spreading the service too thin across too large an area.”

Efforts to recruit retained firefighters in Ballincollig are believed to have failed, according to comments from Fianna Fáil councillor, Colm Kelleher published in The Echo on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Mr Crowley said that delays in emergency response times could mean the difference between life and death.

“Regarding tragic outcomes, you do carry it,” he said of the trauma for firefighters. 

“I could talk about things throughout my career that I feel guilty for even though it wasn’t my fault. You are thinking about how things might have been different had you arrived there two or three minutes earlier. 

"I carry it and the guys in the back of the truck carry it. If you are trying to cover a quarter of a million people with a brigade that has the same numbers we’ve had since 1975 things fall through the cracks.”

Mr Crowley said that one even one tragedy resulting from unnecessary delays will be too many.

“Tragic outcomes will come out of this financial decision to restrict the size of the brigade. That to me is unconscionable. To fully crew Ballincollig you are talking 1% of Cork City Council’s budget. It’s small money for the return. The question being presented to us is ‘how often would a tragedy happen because of resulting delays?’

“Our reply is always the same, ‘how often are you comfortable with this happening?’ We look at cost differently. We look at the cost of losing a family member or friend. We look at the cost of a person losing their homes or livelihoods being destroyed.”

He reiterated the dangers to firefighters in addition to the people they serve.

“You are going from what would have been a small fire in a house to a full house fire where the house is gutted because of a delayed response,” he said. 

“This puts the safety of Cork citizens at great risk. It also poses a massive risk to our safety because you can see why you’d rather go into a house with a small fire than a one that’s completely ablaze.”

The firefighter hopes the matter can be resolved soon.

“Cork City Council have referred the matter to the WRC in an effort to resolve the dispute. We’re hoping that Cork City Council will put meaningful proposals on the table that will help us to end this. Essentially we have a bigger city with a smaller fire brigade. If we get a call for Ballincollig the soonest we can get there is 12 mins. A Ballincollig crew would have been at the scene of the emergency within two to three minutes.”

A spokesperson for Cork City Council said: “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. 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.”

They also moved to reassure the public that the industrial action will not impact on emergency service delivery.