John Lahart
Question:1512. Deputy John Lahart asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government if Dublin Fire Brigade has the ability to deal with fires that break out in high rise developments in Dublin. [15067/18]
View answerTuesday, 17 April 2018
Questions (1512)
Written answers
The provision of a fire service in its functional area is a statutory function of individual fire authorities under the Fire Services Acts, 1981 and 2003. Dublin City Council provides fire services on behalf of the four Dublin local authorities.
My Department supports the fire authorities through setting national policy, providing a central training programme, issuing guidance on operational and other related matters and providing capital funding for priority infrastructure projects.
National policy in relation to fire safety is set out in the 2013 document titled “Keeping Communities Safe – A Framework for Fire Safety in Ireland”. For the first time, this document set out a national process and standards against which local authorities can benchmark their fire services.
This policy document provides for each fire service to undertake an Area Risk Categorisation process in respect of each of its fire station areas. The outcome of this process is a judgement by fire service management to establish a risk grading across very high risk, high risk, medium risk, low risk or very low risk categories.
The initial fire station risk ratings for Dublin are published in the 2016 report “Local Delivery – National Consistency – Fire Services in Ireland”, and are set out in the following table.
|
FIRE SERVICE |
FIRE STATION |
ARC RATING |
|
DUBLIN |
Tallaght |
A1 |
|
DUBLIN |
Tara Street |
A1 |
|
DUBLIN |
Dolphins Barn |
A2 |
|
DUBLIN |
Finglas |
A2 |
|
DUBLIN |
Kilbarrack |
A2 |
|
DUBLIN |
Phibsboro |
A2 |
|
DUBLIN |
Swords |
A2 |
|
DUBLIN |
Blanchardstown |
B1 |
|
DUBLIN |
Dunlaoghaire |
B1 |
|
DUBLIN |
North Strand |
B1 |
|
DUBLIN |
Rathfarnham |
B1 |
|
DUBLIN |
Donnybrook |
B2 |
|
DUBLIN |
Balbriggan |
C1 |
|
DUBLIN |
Skerries |
D1 |
The Keeping Communities Safe policy document requires fire services to have an initial response capability in place which is linked to the assessed Area Risk Category, as set out in the following table.
|
Risk Category Description |
Risk Category |
Standard Fire Appliance (Class B) Response Capability |
Fire Brigade Travel Times |
Associated Crew Levels (incl. crew commanders) |
|
Very High |
A |
1st 2nd 3rd 4th |
in 8 mins in 10 mins in 15 mins in 20 mins |
5 9 13 17 |
|
High |
B |
1st 2nd 3rd |
in 10 mins in 15 mins in 20 mins |
5 9 13 |
|
Medium |
C |
1st 2nd 3rd |
in 10 mins in 20 mins in 30 mins |
5 9 13 |
|
Low |
D |
1st 2nd |
in 20 mins in 40 mins |
5 9 |
|
Very Low |
E |
1 2 |
in 30 mins in 60 mins |
5 9 |
Arising from the work of the External Validation Group mandated by the Management Board of the National Directorate for Fire and Emergency Management which prepared the “Local Delivery – National Consistency” report referred to above, I am satisfied that the fire services provided in the Dublin area are meeting the above standards.
In relation to fighting fires in high rise buildings, my Department issued guidance titled “Fighting Fires in High-Rise Buildings” in April 2011. This was part of a suite of 47 Standard Operational Guidance documents developed by fire service personnel and issued by the National Directorate for Fire and Emergency Management.
The primary means of ensuring fire safety in high rise buildings derives from the passive and active fire safety features in the building which enable fires to be detected at an early stage and safe evacuation of occupants to take place, as well as containing fires within compartments.
While it is not possible to provide absolute guarantees in relation to fire safety in all buildings at all times, I believe that the current arrangements in place at both national and local level for fire safety and fire service response, including in Dublin, are appropriate and effective.