The head of the Laois County Fire & Rescue Service has insisted that new traffic lights in Portarlington are not causing major delays.
Chief Fire Officer Declan Power has said that Portarlington’s Fire Station has a faster response time than the national average.
He made a statement following a claim made at a public meeting about traffic lights which was then reported on.
“Laois County Council wishes to reassure the people of Portarlington and its surrounding areas that, contrary to a recent report published in the Leinster Express, the recently installed traffic lights in Portarlington are NOT causing any significant delays in fire service turnout,” said Mr Power.
He stated that there was only eight seconds in the difference from before and after the traffic lights were installed.
“The average turnout time for the Portarlington Unit of Laois County Fire & Rescue Service in September 2017, prior to the installation of the traffic lights at Crowe Lane / Main St., was 4 minutes & 48 seconds respectively.
“The average turnout time for the Portarlington Unit of Laois County Fire & Rescue Service in September 2018, subsequent to the installation of the traffic lights was 4 minutes & 56 seconds.”
He then stated that the average national response time being almost a minute longer than this.
“The National Oversight & Audit Commission’s (NOAC), Local Authority Performance Indictor Report 2017, published in September 2018, records an average mobilisation time of 5 minutes 31 secs nationally to fire service turnouts.
“Portarlington, with an average turnout time of 4 minutes 56 secs, is performing significantly better than the national average, even with the installation of the new traffic lights,” Mr Power concluded.
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