Tubbercurry is a thriving and developing town in urgent need of a modern, state of the art fire fighting facility. The existing fire station is only a garage and a purpose built fire station is required to serve Tubbercurry and its large catchment area. The existing fire station was built in the early 1950s, more than 40 years ago. The fire engine at the time was a Landrover type vehicle which served its purpose quite well. However, times have changed and Tubbercurry now has a modern fire fighting engine which must be reversed into the existing station leaving only two inches' clearance from the roof and very little clearance from the sides and the door.
There are no facilities to clean hoses and ladders, repair essential equipment, such as breathing apparatus, dry clothes or even make a cup of tea. All maintenance work has to be carried out outdoors. Fire drills must be carried out 25 miles away in Sligo town. No facilities are available to watch videos or attend lectures on up-to-date fire fighting practices. Water drills must be carried out ten miles away and the local NCF co-op is used for ladder drills. Toilet facilities are shared with local county council employees and no shower or drying facilities are available. Because of the location of the existing building, there is great difficulty entering and exiting it. It must be remembered that every exit from a fire station is, of its nature, an emergency exit.
The town of Tubbercurry has grown considerably in recent years. There is a hotel, a hostel, a number of restaurants, several bed and breakfast premises, a number of factories which contain highly flammable material, public houses and a large number of shops, churches, schools and so on. This is a thriving town with a large catchment area taking in the villages of Bellaghy, Curry, Aclare, Cloonacool, Coolaney, Ballinacarrow and many more villages.
The people who operate this fire service have provided an outstanding service over the years, but the conditions in which they work have deteriorated in recent times. They serve a large area of south Sligo and beyond. They often have to travel long distances during hot spells —— though not this year — to deal with forest fires on mountains and other inaccessible areas. They have returned from such calls of duty exhausted and wet but the station lacks proper facilities and has no place for drying.
I now call on the Minister to make funding available as a matter of priority for a new purpose built fire station in Tubbercurry. I would appreciate it if the funds could be made available as soon as possible.
