Fire service crews are being run on skeleton staff in Laois due to a lack of interest in people joining the service, it has been claimed
Laois County Council should tackle the issue of why people are not interested in joining the fire service in Laois, according to Cllr John King.
He had a motion before today’s monthly council meeting calling on the council to address the reasons why people are not interested in joining the fire service in locations around the county.
The meeting heard that Laois County Council has made every effort to fill the vacancies and only last week held interviews for a number of positions.
“It is a very serious issue,” Cllr King said.
In Rathdowney, there are only five persons available out of a crew of nine.
There are currently only six people employed, one of whom is on sick leave.
He said this just leaves four people on call at a time.
The chief fire officer should consider a rota, to add to the numbers of staff, he said.
“There should be an option available for people who work between 9am and 5pm to help alleviate things on a part-time basis,” he said.
A former fireman, Cllr King said he knew what it was like to be on call.
Beeper
“You have that beeper on you and you don’t know what call is going to come in,” he said.
“I know if people in Rathdowney know there is only a skeleton staff then they will be quite fearful,” he said.
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