Woman left needing surgery after crews from 'unmanned' stations attend Waterford house fire

A woman was left needing surgery after crews from 'unmanned' fire stations were dispatched to the scene a fire at her home in County Waterford, a council meeting has heard.

Emergency calls were directed to both the Tramore and Dunmore East fire stations after a fire broke out at a house on the Airport Road on Thursday, April 9.

Both stations are manned by part-time/retained firefighters rather than by full time personnel.

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Sinn Féin councillor Jim Griffin raised the incident at the April meeting of the Waterford Metropolitan District noting that the fire broke out in close proximity to Waterford City Fire Station, which is manned by full-time firefighters 24/7.

“A fire happened recently on the Tramore Road. I have to say I commend the fire service that went there for getting there. My issue is that fire tenders that were dispatched to the fire at the time were a considerable distance away from the house even though we had the Waterford City Fire Service station closest as the crow flies.

“I’m wondering if the dispatchers from Limerick go by borough boundary or do they look at the area or what way.”

He went on to call on the council to “seriously look at” whether calls are being directed by borough boundaries.

He said that doing so could save somebody from “being seriously hurt or perhaps even death”.

Cllr Griffin continued by outlining the injuries suffered by one member of the family, whilst commending the fire service for their efforts.

“Unfortunately, the woman in the house is after having three surgeries for now for skin grafting.

“But whoever dispatched the fire tenders, had it been from Waterford city fire service, there wouldn’t have been as much damage done.

“That’s no part to play on our fire service, they did tremendous work on the night but I think it’s something we should seriously look at.”

In response, Senior Executive Officer Donal Ó Murchadha said that he would refer the query to Director of Services Seamus De Faoite, who oversees emergency services.

Later in the meeting, Social Democrats councillor Mary Roche also raised the issue of what she described as a “serious incident” on the Airport Road.

Cllr Roche said: “The emergency call was directed to both the Tramore and Dunmore fire services which are unmanned, whereas the manned 24/7 Waterford City Fire Station which is far, far closer wasn’t contacted on that call.

“So what I’m asking for is a report on the current PDA (Pre-Determined Attendance) policy procedure in the council please.

“I have a suspicion that the tasking of different services might be a hold over or hangover from the pre-amalgamation days where that would have been in the Tramore area but that doesn’t pertain anymore.

“I think the closest service, particularly if that’s a manned service, should always be called in very serious situations like that.”

In response, Mr Ó Murchadha said that he would follow up with Cllr Roche on her request for a report on the PDA policy.