John Lahart
Ceist:1513. Deputy John Lahart asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government the instructions being given to Dublin Fire Brigade regarding the outbreak of fires in high rise buildings. [15104/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraTuesday, 17 April 2018
Ceisteanna (1513)
Freagraí scríofa
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.
An External Validation Group was mandated by the Management Board of the National Directorate for Fire and Emergency Management to visit all 27 fire services and review the state of local authority fire services. They prepared the 2016 Report “Local Delivery – National Consistency - Fire Services in Ireland” . Arising from their work, I am satisfied that the fire services provided in the Dublin area are operating to appropriate standards.
My Department does not issue instructions to local authority fire services but has developed a close collaborative working arrangement since the establishment of the National Directorate for Fire and Emergency Management in 2009.
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 (SOG) documents developed between 2010 and 2012 by fire service personnel and issued by the National Directorate for Fire and Emergency Management. A copy of the SOG concerned, SOG 3.02, is available on my Department's web-site at the following link: http://www.housing.gov.ie/sites/default/files/migrated-files/en/Publications/Community/FireandEmergencyServices/FileDownLoad%2C33367%2Cen.pdf.
The National Directorate has engaged fire services staff working in local authorities to develop a further four SOGs addressing - SOG 3.16 Compressed Air Foam Systems (CAFS), version 1.0 (September, 2015); SOG 7.02 (A) Incidents involving acetylene (September, 2015); SOG 4.04 Aircraft incidents (August, 2015); SOG 5.14 Body retrieval and suicide attempts (September, 2015). These draft SOGs, in the same format as the previous 47, were submitted on 10 March 2016 to trade unions for consultation as part of the new Fire Services National Oversight and Implementation Group (FSNOIG) process. However, no progress has been made with these documents through this process, despite the implications for health and safety of staff.
A National Incident Command System was also developed and promulgated by the National Directorate in 2009 with appropriate training and support materials. Operational response to a particular incident or category of incidents is a matter for each fire service, taking account of national policy and guidance. The Incident Commander is the person who will decide on the appropriate course of action to be taken in any given situation, taking into consideration the balance of needs, risk and resources with particular regard to the health, safety and welfare of the fire-fighters.
Question No. 1514 answered with Question No. 1507.