A Laois TD has impressed upon Dáil Éireann the pressing need for a new fire station in the county.
Local Independent Republican TD Brian Stanley told the Dáil that a new fire station in Rathdowney “needs to be prioritised.”
Deputy Stanley pointed out that the current station in the town was built to house a jeep and a small mobile pump which was traditionally used by smaller fire stations.
The Independent Republican said that there are now three vehicles at the station including two large fire tenders as well as a jeep, adding that only one of the larger vehicles and the jeep can be housed in the station at present.
“It is very difficult to get the large tender in and out because it is on a narrow street and it’s a very small building,” Deputy Stanley said.
“That slows down the response time in terms of getting out to calls.
“The station is serving a large area across south Laois, across nearly into Roscrea, Ballaghmore, across to Offaly, back across to north Kilkenny and all that area, back into Errill and Ballinakill and up as far as Abbeyleix.”
Deputy Stanley said the station is also too small to facilitate the increase in fire fighters which has gone from five in number just two years ago to nine at present, with that set to increase to twelve.
He also pointed out that a number of the new recruits are women and that the station does not have separate changing rooms.
“There will be twelve firefighters in that station, but there is physically no space for them,” Deputy Stanley said.
“The changing area is tiny… It is basically a small cubicle of an area to change in.
“They have one shower,” he added. “It is totally unacceptable for a large crew to come back in to after a house fire of any kind of fire and have one shower between them.”
Deputy Stanley also said there is no parking area at the station, meaning the fire crew “must look for parking at a business down the road and hope the little area in front of that is not already full up.
“The good news is there is a site literally around the corner from it.
“We do not need to draw up new plans. There are existing plans that have been used in similar towns.
“This is ready to go the site is there, it is a brilliant site, and it needs to be prioritised.”
Deputy Stanley said he acknowledged that equipment, control systems, training, pay and conditions have “improved dramatically in the past ten to fifteen years,” but reiterated that “there is a real problem with space” in the Rathdowney station.
