Michael Healy-Rae
Question:91. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will address a matter (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52765/23]
View answerWednesday, 29 November 2023
Questions (91)
Written answers
The provision of a fire service in its functional area, including the establishment and maintenance of a fire brigade, the assessment of fire cover needs and the provision of fire station premises, is a statutory function of individual fire authorities under the Fire Services Acts 1981 and 2003. My Department supports fire authorities through setting general policy, providing the legislative framework, running a central training programme and issuing guidance on operational and other related matters and providing capital funding for priority infrastructural projects.
In 2013, my Department published 'Keeping Communities Safe (KCS) - A Framework for Fire Safety in Ireland'. The adoption of KCS as national policy saw national norms/ standards established for fire services in Ireland for the first time, against which local authority fire services could benchmark themselves.
Fire services deploy to all incidents when alerted by the Emergency Call answering Service. Fire services are mobilised to incidents in accordance with a system of “pre-determined attendances” (PDAs). PDAs are the instructions given by a Chief Fire Officer (CFO) to the relevant Regional Communications Centre for the initial fire service response to a call for assistance. These include incident specific PDAs (e.g. for Domestic Fires, Road Traffic Collisions (RTCs) etc. setting the numbers and types of appliances to be mobilised to that category of incident.
The full suite of national fire service PDAs are set out in Appendix A of the “Keeping Communities Safe” national policy document that can be accessed at:
www.gov.ie/pdf/?file=https://assets.gov.ie/111369/329aa66f-5ed3-4541-be29-9119758e5c99.pdf#page=null
All PDAs may be varied by the Incident Commander in light of information available regarding the particular circumstances at the scene. Part of the function of the three fire service Regional Communications Centres is to mobilise any additional resources ordered by the Incident Commander.
An Garda Síochána are the lead agency for co-ordinating a response to RTCs. The Fire Service has the capability to rescue persons from entrapment, including rescues from RTCs where required, having a primary role to both save life and to render assistance at the scene, as part of a co-ordinated response with the HSE Ambulance Service and An Garda Síochána. Even minor accidents may result in injuries that may not be immediately apparent. To that end, all accidents are considered serious, with a precautionary approach taken by the responding agencies to ensure scene safety and minimise injuries resulting from trauma.
Consequently, upon arrival at an RTC incident, even if there are no reports of casualties or ‘persons reported’, a dynamic risk assessment is carried out by the Incident Commander. The emergency services may determine that fend off procedures are necessary to protect responding crews and the public. The response to an RTC is a multiagency operation, co-ordinated by experienced Incident Commanders who determine the most appropriate risk control measures and response procedures. The protection of emergency service personnel, casualties and all road users is paramount at the scene of such operations.