Clarity needed over future of Cork jobs after blaze gutted commercial premises 

A Cork TD has called for clarity on the future of dozens of jobs after a fire destroyed a commercial premises on the northside of the city over the weekend.

Crews from Cork City Fire Brigade were alerted in the early hours of Sunday morning to the blaze at commercial laundry company CWS Workwear at the Boland Industrial Estate on Fitz’s Boreen, just off the Commons Road in Blackpool.

Eight units, comprising of a total of 28 personnel, responded to the fire which was “very advanced” when they arrived at the scene.

Nobody was injured in the fire, but the premises was completely destroyed, and a neighbouring office building remains closed due to structural concerns.

A spokesperson for Cork City Fire Brigade said crews worked on the fire until 5.30pm on Monday evening.

“There was substantial damage caused by the fire, and the building was completely gutted, with all of the machinery within destroyed.

“A significant amount of demolition was necessary to the building to allow machinery access to a portion of the site which was still smouldering.”

Fire service personnel worked with a specialist response company to help clean up chemical residue and blocked off the drains to prevent run-off of toxins.

Investigating

It is understood that up to 70 people are directly employed at CWS Workwear, with a further 30 jobs reliant upon the commercial laundry company.

A statement issued by CWS Workwear on Tuesday confirmed that “a severe fire” had occurred at its Cork facility and that the company was cooperating with authorities investigating the cause of the incident.

“The laundry facility was entirely destroyed, and operations there are currently suspended,” the company said.

“Our priority is to support our team in Ireland and to maintain service for our local customers.”

The company added that it had “assembled a task force that is actively working on contingency plans, exploring both internal solutions and collaboration with external partners to continue meeting customer needs”.

Clarity needed

People Before Profit TD for Cork North Central Mick Barry said clarity was needed on the future of the jobs at CWS Workwear.

“The most important thing now is that the jobs are maintained,” he said. 

“There are a lot of households relying on the wages from CWS, and CWS should make a clear statement on their intentions in this regard.”

The spokesperson for Cork Fire Brigade said that staff at Anderlift Safety, which occupies a premises on the Boland Industrial Estate, had made their building available to CWS staff and the Fire Service throughout efforts to extinguish the blaze.

“It was extremely decent and supportive of Anderlift to do that, and it was very much appreciated,” the spokesperson said.