SPRING 2020
FIRECALL OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF DUBLIN FIRE, AMBULANCE AND EMERGENCY SERVICES
GOING UNDERGROUND THE FIRE SERVICE AT THE CERN FACILITY
A FORGOTTEN CALAMITY THE GREAT WHISKEY FIRE OF 1875
THE
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OPERATING IN UNUSUAL CIRCUMSTANCES 05/05/2020 10:32
DUBLIN FIRE RESCUE EMERGENCY AMBULANCE SERVICE
PROTECTING THE CITY AND COUNTY SINCE 1862
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EDITOR’S LETTER
letter from the
Editor: Adam Hyland Consulting Editor: Dan Fynes Contributors: John McNally, Dan Fynes, Keith Mason Creative Director: Jane Matthews Designer: James Moore Cover Credit: DFB Photography: Dublin Fire Brigade, Ray McMonagle, Trevor Hunt, Adam Hyland, Kilmainham Tales, Keith Mason, CERN, Rachael Lee, iStock Production Executive: Julie Dunne Publisher: Chesterfox Ltd, T/A Firecall Magazine, P.O. Box 6766, Dublin 2. Tel: (01) 432 2200; Fax: (01) 6727100 Managing Director: Gerry Tynan Chairman: Diarmaid Lennon Distribution by: Magazine Mailing Ashville Media Group Unit 55, Park West Road, Park West, Dublin 12 Tel: (01) 432 2200 Fax: (01) 676 6043 Publisher’s Statement: The information in Firecall is carefully researched and believed to be accurate and authoritative, but neither the Dublin Fire Brigade Sports & Social Club nor the publisher can accept responsibility for any errors or omissions. Statements and opinions expressed herein are not necessarily those of the Editor or of the publisher. Copyright ©2020 Firecall Magazine No part of this may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means without written permission from the publisher.
EDITOR ear readers, Welcome to the latest issue of Firecall. The only place to start is to extend a sincere thank you to all DFB members for their incredible efforts at this very difficult time. At the time of writing, we are in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic that has presented unprecedented challenges for the Dublin Fire Brigade, and for society in general. For obvious logistical reasons, this issue is without some regular features. I hope we will be able to return to our series on the latest recruits, our retired member profile and our station profile. However, there are some very interesting features that I hope readers will enjoy. As part of the International Profile series, I spoke to Operational Leader Stephen Gunning at the CERN institute, and it was fascinating to hear how the CERN Fire Brigade works amidst one-of-a-kind structures such as the 27km-long Large Hadron Collider. Huge thanks to Stephen for his time. I spoke to Las Fallon about his new book on the Great Liberties Whiskey Fire of 1875. He has unearthed the details to create a very interesting read. I encourage all DFB members to buy a copy. It was also interesting to talk to CISM Coordinator and Clinical Lead Aidan Raynor about the work being done by the CISM team to train Station Officers in stress management at station level. Their role is extremely important in safeguarding the mental wellbeing of all DFB members, and I am grateful for his time. I also spoke to Limerick firefighter Paul Knapp about becoming “the firefighting chef”. Paul’s love for healthy food is clear, and in this issue, he discusses how being a firefighter influences his cooking style, and vice versa. Keith Mason gives us a review of the recent rugby match against the Welsh Fire Service, and I caught up with FF/P Rachael Lee to talk about her World Record swim across the North Channel as part of a relay team including her husband and fellow FF/P Tom Healy, and their sea swim colleague Ronan Joyce. Huge congratulations to them for an outstanding feat. I hope you enjoy the read,
Adam Hyland
EDITOR’S PICKS
18 FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Cooking to stay healthy with Limerick firefighter Paul Knapp
26 CISM AT STATION LEVEL
New Station Officers receive CISM training to enhance stress management
32 INTERNATIONAL STATION PROFILE The international scientific research facility at CERN
We are updating our mailing list. If your contact details are out of date, please email: adam.hyland@ ashvillemediagroup.com
FIRECALL SPRING
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SPORTS AND SOCIAL CLUB
CONTENTS SPRING 2020
47
FEATURES 06 COVID-19
DFB’s Work in Unusual Times
14 MAKING WAVES
Rachael Lee’s World Record Swim
18 FOOD FOR THOUGHT
The Firefighting Chef’s Food for Wellbeing
14
22 IN FINE SPIRITS
The DFB 1875 Club
26 CISM AT STATION LEVEL Training New S/Os in Stress Management
30 UNITED IN SYMPATHY
Honouring Dave McLoughlin
47 TAKING ON THE WELSH
The DFB Rugby Team’s Recent International Tie
18
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4TH JULY
Check out more features and news from past issues at FIRECALL.IE
24
REGULARS 01 EDITOR’S LETTER 02 CONTENTS 05 SECRETARY’S FOREWORD 09 DFB IN BRIEF 24 FROM WITHIN THE CIRCLE
32
The DFB Pipe Band
32 INTERNATIONAL STATION PROFILE
CERN, on the FrenchSwiss Border
39 DFB HISTORY
Las Fallon’s Great Whiskey Fire Book
51 INTERNATIONAL NEWS 55 BOOKSHELF 59 TECHNOLOGY
The Latest Innovations for the Emergency Services
39 FIRECALL SPRING
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Stay Afloat – Stay in Contact ‘Before you go afloat, check weather and tides. If unsuitable, or if in any doubt cancel your trip and stay safe.’ • Plan your trip carefully and never go out alone • Let someone ashore know where you are going and when to expect you back • Carry a means of communication for raising the alarm should you get into difficulty (e.g. VHF Radio, PLB) • Check the Safety on the Water website for advice and the full range of safety guidelines
Never ever swim alone
In an emergency, call the Coast Guard on Marine VHF CH. 16 or call 112 / 999
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FOREWORD
Honorary Secretary’s
FOREWORD elcome readers to our spring 2020 issue of Firecall. Recent months have been dominated by Covid-19 and during this time we have all seen many changes to our work and social lives. I’d like to take this opportunity to say thank you to all DFB members for the professionalism and dedication you have shown during these challenging times. We don’t know when a sense of normality will return to our lives, but all we can do for now is keep working to the best of our abilities, and stay safe. It was with great sadness that we heard of the sudden passing of FF/P Dave McLoughlin in April. As mentioned in this issue, it was moving to see DFB stations and Watches joined by 800 firefighters from across the world who were all able to show their support and pay their respects from afar. All social and sporting events have necessarily been postponed, however, on the sporting front, I offer many congratulations to FF/ Ps Rachael Lee and Tom Healy, who along with their sea-swimming colleague Ronan Joyce, were recently presented with their Guinness World Record certificate for their relay swim of the North Channel. It was a truly outstanding achievement. It was also good to see the DFB Rugby Team join up with their NIFRS colleagues to take on the Welsh Fire Brigade earlier this year. We hope to see them back on the pitch very soon. It is also worth directing you to the news that Declan Rice has started a DFB whiskey club, and in this issue, he talks about this burgeoning new group. While meet-ups won’t be held for a while, the thoughts of a rewarding dram in the near future will hopefully keep many people going. Unfortunately, current measures have meant that the normal process of producing this magazine have been disrupted, resulting in a shorter issue than usual. The constantly evolving situation we face also means that although Covid-19 is at the forefront of all of our minds, this issue is not the place to discuss in full detail the number of measures and extra requirements involved in tackling the pandemic, but this will be covered at length in future issues. However, this issue does include some interesting features, most notably a look at how the fire brigade at CERN operate, and Las Fallon’s account of the Great Liberties Whiskey Fire, which offers a taste of what his latest book involves. Nutrition and wellbeing are of huge importance to firefighters, so Limerick firefighter Paul Knapp’s interview will be of interest to anyone who wants to look at food in a different way, while CISM Coordinator and Clinical Lead Aidan Raynor gives a great overview of the work being done by his team to train all new Station Officers in stress management. This is incredibly important work, and my thanks go to the whole team for what they do, and to Aidan for taking the time to explain it.
DAN FYNES
A friendly reminder to order your new ID card by emailing idcards@ dbfssc.ie with an attached headshot (on a neutral background), your name, pay number, station watch and location. We are trying very hard to make sure that all DFBSSC members receive their copy of Firecall. Anybody who is not receiving theirs should email the editor Adam Hyland with their address: adam.hyland@ashvillemediagroup.com
These are difficult times, but we have never been stronger as an organisation and we will get through it. In the meantime, enjoy the read, stay safe, and my thanks to all who contributed to this issue.
Dan Fynes FIRECALL SPRING
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COVID-19
THE COVID CHALLENGE The DFB is providing its usual excellent service in a very unusual time, writes Adam Hyland.
T
he citizens of our city know how hard the Dublin Fire Brigade is working to keep us safe at this unprecedented time. The Covid-19 pandemic has presented significant challenges to the DFB, and at the time of writing the situation is constantly evolving, but what has remained the same is the commitment of the frontline personnel who are working to keep the general population safe, and the sharing of important information that has helped us help them in this endeavour. While social distancing and restrictions on movement have resulted in fewer vehicles on our roads, the DFB has over the last few months had to respond to a large number of “everyday” call outs on top of the huge number of Corona virus-related cases.
At the end of March, with restrictions on movement in place, Station Officer Darren O’Connor spoke on Sean O’Rourke’s Today Show on RTÉ Radio One about the demands placed on the DFB when they are already stretched to capacity. He also outlined to the public the ways in which the DFB is dealing with the situation at station level, providing much-needed reassurance. “Where normally crews would meet in the station at changeover, that has changed. The outgoing crew are segregated from the incoming crew so that there is no cross-contamination. We have an increased level of cleaning around the stations too,” S/O O’Connor explained. “In terms of PPE, we have a logistics section that has set up a distribution centre to send out gear as and when it is needed. Crews are out there dealing
with confirmed and suspected cases every day, so the workload for every crew is substantial. “Our supply lines are critical. In terms of usage, it is very intensive because we are transporting suspected and confirmed cases, using two pairs of gloves, face shields, visors, goggles, aprons, and then cleaning solutions for the decontamination of the ambulances after contact with a case.”
INFORMATION S/O O’Connor also pointed out the great work being done to share information via the DFB’s social media platforms, which outlines not just the work being done, but also amplifies the message about the importance of the public staying at home. This has included messages about hand hygiene and coughing etiquette, vital contact numbers, and advice on how to trace back contacts should a member of the public fall ill.
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COVID-19
This message was backed up a few days later when Firefighter/Advanced Paramedic Eithne Scully appeared on The Late Late Show to emphasise the hard work being done by the DFB and the need for the public to follow Government guidelines. As the lockdown continued, Firefighter/Advanced Paramedic Stephen Williams was on Newstalk’s Alive & Kicking show to again discuss the challenges facing frontline staff during the Covid-19 crisis, and to outline how the DFB responds to cases using the safest possible protocols. “Work has changed dramatically for all of our personnel in a very short space of time,” FF/P Williams said. “We have to adjust our work practices both at the station and on the road, with social distancing in place. New patient assessments and decontamination procedures are in place for ambulances, and each case can be more time-consuming than normal, which puts pressure on an exceptionally busy service.”
CHALLENGES Regarding the challenges of the pandemic, FF/P Williams said: “It’s difficult because of the frequency of the situation. We are used to crisis situations, but ordinarily we would have time between each one to digest it and refocus for the next one, but these are coming more frequently so there is very little down-time and we have to pull ourselves back together very quickly. “The first challenge I noticed when we started responding to these cases was the increased levels of anxiety people are experiencing. Thankfully, the majority of people have had mild symptoms and reassurance and healthcare advice puts them at ease. “The second challenge is trying to figure out and assess whether the patient has Covid-19 or if it could be something else such as a heart attack, or both. But the most difficult challenge in the tasks we are undertaking is ventilating patients – with our goal to keep the ventilation circuit as closed as possible, using a
tight mask seal, advanced airways and viral filters, so it’s made a complex situation far more challenging, from making a working diagnosis to the PPE we have to wear and the treatment we provide.” This information was another valuable aid for the public in understanding what the emergency services are experiencing, and to remind us that DFB members are risking their lives to save others (something which has been backed up by the Ireland On Call series on RTÉ every Tuesday and Thursday, featuring FF/Ps going about their increasingly busy work).
SAVING LIVES “I don’t think there is anyone in the country who hasn’t been affected in some way by the virus and we are no different,” FF/P Williams said. “A number of our colleagues have tested positive, but we are happy to say they have all recovered. This highlights the effects the virus is having on healthcare workers across the world. It really brings it home just how serious this can be. “That being said, our firefighters and paramedics are a resilient and very professional group who are rising to the challenge of tackling the virus. Everyone is pulling together to support each other. “We have been given additional ambulance capacity, our logistics department is working around the clock to get much-needed supplies to the crews, and we have daily communication bulletins keeping us up to date with the latest information because things can change daily, sometimes hourly. “We also discuss cases with each other in order to gain a better understanding of what interventions are working, or if a particular procedure needs to be improved.”
CLARITY With that positive message came another important one regarding the role of the DFB during the crisis.
“Due to the constantly evolving nature of the crisis, there is some confusion as to what our ambulances can and cannot do, so it is good to clarify that,” FF/P Williams said. “We provide an emergency fire and ambulance service to the people of Dublin, so people should only ring 999 or 112 in an emergency. We cannot provide advice on Covid-19 or arrange for testing. This is done through your GP or by phoning the HSE hotline. Going to hospital is not a fast-track to being tested either, so let’s keep our ambulances for those that need them.” Speaking to the Irish Times in mid-April, Chief Fire Officer Dennis Keeley outlined the challenges currently being faced, saying that up to 10% of DFB staff are unavailable for duty due to COVID-19 illness or isolation measures. “We have 11 people who have tested positive and 85 currently in selfisolation,” he told the newspaper. “It’s a fluid situation, because some of those who tested positive have recovered and are back in work, but we’re down about 8-10% of our staff.” He emphasised that the DFB is still at “full operating capacity” due to staff depletion measures and some retired firefighters returning to service. The second call centre established at the OBI has also helped in separating calls related to the virus from other emergency calls, and to allow staff to maintain greater distancing. “I am very proud of the work Dublin Fire Brigade is carrying out, both our own firefighter paramedics and those responding to the 999 and 112 calls. It’s very challenging and everyone is working flat out,” CFO Keeley said. There is far more work being done by the DFB at the moment than the public will ever know, but the sharing of information regarding how frontline personnel are handling the situation has been gratefully accepted. When normality resumes, I hope to cover these steps in more detail, but for now, all I can say is a huge thank you to the Dublin Fire Brigade on behalf of the public you serve so well.
FIRECALL SPRING
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DFB IN BRIEF
DFB
A recap of Dublin Fire Brigade news and events over the past few weeks and months.
Donnybrook FFs come out to mark the DCC’s Shine Your Light campaign to give thanks to all emergency services during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Attending a multi-agency rescue at the Poolbeg lighthouse with the Irish Coast Guard, RNLI and NAS in March.
FF/Ps at an RTC exercise at Ballymount Bus Depot in collaboration with Go-Ahead Ireland.
7 units from multiple stations attend an industrial fire in Swords in January.
A Tara Street ambulance crew attend a suspected Covid-19 case in April. The new Tunnel Response Vehicle based at North Strand is now up and running.
Two crews attend a caravan fire at Liffey Valley in mid-February.
FIRECALL SPRING
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DFB IN BRIEF Bobby Lambert says farewell to his Dún Laoghaire colleagues as the station marks his retirement in December after serving for 32 years.
1916 Commemoration Medals are presented to FF/Ps at Phibsboro Fire Station in December. The Dolphin’s Barn ambulance receives a deep clean and decontamination after a suspected Covid-19 case in mid-March.
Students on a Transition Year course at the OBI with Instructors in February, just before they entered the BA exercise crawl space. Rathfarnham FFs with Toby the dog after he was rescued from a house fire at the start of January.
FF/Ps on a cage operator training course at the OBI in February.
Firefighters attend a car fire in Cherry Orchard in mid-March. A Luas v car collision attended by Phibsboro and Tara Street FF/Ps on New Year’s Day.
A Swords Station crew take a moment to mark the 13th birthday of their station on January 29.
Kilbarrack FF/Ps at a campsite fire at the Coolock Lane M50 roundabout.
SPRING 10 FIRECALL
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DFB IN BRIEF As part of a multi-agency response to a collision in the Dublin Mountains in January.
The DFB had to attend a number of grass fires such as this one in Malahide in April.
Kilbarrack FFs put out an election poster fire in January as the race for Dail seats heated up. Hi Line rescue exercises at Dublin Port for Phibsboro FF/Ps in January.
FFS from Dun Laoghaire at a gorse fire in Killiney in March.
A North Strand crew attend a collision between a car and six parked vehicles in February. Six units attended a well-developed house fire in Blanchardstown in April.
Phibsboro, Finglas and Dolphin’s Barn crews attend a multi-vehicle RTC on the Swords Road at Whitehall at the start of March.
Firefighters from Rathfarnham extinguish a gorse wildfire at the Hellfire Club under a Super Moon in April.
Dolphin_s Barn and Tallaght crews on a heavy rescue training exercise at the OBI.
Tallaght FFs at a vehicle fire in mid-March.
Behind the scenes of an upcoming TG4 documentary being filmed at Finglas Fire Station.
FIRECALL SPRING
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DFB IN BRIEF
The Instructor class who finished their Hazardous Material and Environmental Protection course in February.
A lovely gesture from Dublin City Council following their Shine Your Light initiative.
FFs from Rathfarnham, Donnybrook and Dolphin’s Barn at a house fire where BA, thermal imaging and ventilation fans were used.
A crew visits the Happy Feet Early Learning Centre in Rathcoole in March to learn how it’s done.
Extinguishing a car fire on the M50 at Tallaght at the end of February.
Five engines attend a fire spreading through the roofs of terraced houses in Cabra in March.
Finglas fire station during the Shine Your Light campaign.
Rescue swimmer training on a cold day in February.
FF/Ps extinguish a fire on a 7th floor balcony at Spencer Dock in March.
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@DubFireBrigade An ambulance crew talk to Emergency Department personnel to record a patient report on a clean form to prevent contamination.
Phibsboro and Tara Street crews attend a river rescue at Arran Quay on St Patrick’s Day.
SPRING 12 FIRECALL
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RECORD BREAKERS
The record-breaking trio receive their Guinness World Record certificate.
MAKING WAVES FF/Ps Rachael Lee and Tom Healy were part of a three-person team to make Guinness World Record swim of the North Channel.
H
aving broken the world record for the fastest relay swim of the North Channel between Northern Ireland and Scotland last July, DFB FF/ Ps Rachael Lee (Phibsboro) and Tom Healy (Dún Laoghaire), along with their sea swimming colleague Ronan Joyce, received their official certificate from the Guinness World Record organisation in March, as verified by the Irish Long Distance Swimming Association.
The trio, known as the Ocean Breakers, became the world’s fastest one-way three-person relay team to swim from Donaghadee, Co Down, to Portpatrick in Scotland by completing the 34.5km swim in nine hours and 20 minutes. The previous record was set in 2012 when US relay team The Machine Men finished the course in 10 hours and 18 minutes. FF/P Lee said after the swim, which they attempted in an effort to raise awareness of sea pollution: “It took us to the absolute brink of our capabilities, both mentally and physically.” Speaking days after receiving the official recognition for the World Record, FF/P Lee, who already holds the record for the fastest solo crossing
of the English Channel, told me: “It’s a great achievement. I mean, there are people who have Guinness World Records for the number of Malteser they can fit in their mouth, so there are loads of different records you can have, but because this was such a tough swim, and because we trained really hard for it, we are just so proud. To get the record certificate and the plaque was just brilliant, we are absolutely delighted.” That training involved not just staying supremely fit, but getting used to the extremely cold conditions. “Ordinarily we would swim in water of around 14-16 degrees, but we knew for this one the water would only be around 10 degrees,” FF/P Lee tells me. “So, we trained in water of around 12 degrees. It was tough going because you can’t wear a wetsuit for these record attempts, so we just had to get used to swimming in such cold. It’s just a matter of sucking it up.” The swim itself proved to be, as expected, extremely tough both physically and mentally. “Your body will quit once your mind tells it to,” FF/P Lee tells me, “so if you can keep your mind going, your body will follow. We just had to tell ourselves to keep going. Also, we’ve all done big swims before, so we knew we could do it, and we were working with a great team, we were sponsored by Kingspan and the EPA, so we had a lot riding on it and didn’t want to mess it up. That and the slagging we would have to deal with if we didn’t succeed.” With FF/P Healy starting the relay, the team took three turns each to swim with two-hour rests on the safety boat in between. “Tom went first because at the time he was the strongest swimmer and was coping better with the cold,” FF/P Lee says. “That meant him having to dive in off the boat, swim around 400 metres to the start of the race, then get up on a rock and dive in from there.” The cold provided an obvious but serious challenge. “It was very hard
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RECORD BREAKERS
FFP Lee at Donaghadee, Co Down.
Diving in for another session in the freezing water.
to do because you do slow down in the cold water,” FF/P Lee says. “Your muscles get cold and stiff, and it’s very hard to swim in such hostile water. The necessary support came from safety paramedic FF/P Kevin Conroy from D Watch in Finglas, as well as FF//P Lee’s mother, both of whom were of great assistance throughout the endeavour. “It was great to have them on board the safety boat, and you really do need that support,” FF/P Lee tells me. “When you get out for a two-hour break you are shaking horrifically, it was like having a seizure, uncontrollable shaking for at least an hour,” FF/P Lee tells me, “which makes you even more tired than you were. You had to try to warm up, get something to eat into you, and then it was time to get back in the water again. That was very tough.
“You are so cold that you need somebody to dry you, because you are too cold to do it yourself. You need help getting clothes on, even to hold a cup of tea for you because you are shaking so much, and even to just put an arm around you to try to get a little bit of warmth into you.” Calm waters turned very choppy as the swim went on, but having taken three turns each and upon reaching the nine-hour mark, FF/P Healy dived in for the final 20-minute stretch, with FF/P Lee and Ronan Joyce joining him for the last five minutes so they could finish the swim together, knowing the record time was in their sights. “We knew we were close to the record and that the pressure was on,” FF/P Lee tells me. “When we were coming to the end FF/P Conroy was screaming encouragement, and
although we were so cold, we were very focused.” As well as the freezing water, FF/P Lee says that the hardest part of the swim was the sheer amount of Lion’s Mane jellyfish they encountered, which meant countless painful stings. “I knew there would be a lot of them,” she says, “but I can’t get over just how many thousands of them there were. It was horrific, I’ve never experienced anything like it. The guys in the boat were blowing a whistle and telling us to swim right or left to try to avoid the jellyfish, but sometimes you just can’t. When their tentacles are down it’s fine, but when the sun is shining, they go belly up and the tentacles just come at you from all angles. The water is 400 foot deep, and it is just a dark abyss below you full of these evil creatures. You are getting stung over and over again, but you just have to keep going and not let them stop you. A lot of people don’t finish the swim because of the jellyfish, or end up in intensive care, so we are delighted to have come through it. “To have done it with my husband Tom and our best friend Ronan, with the support of my mother and our colleague Kevin, that just made it great.” Next up for the trio is an attempt at the world record for the fastest relay crossing of the English Channel in August.
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FIREFIGHTING CHEF
Food
f
or
THOUGHT Paul Knapp talks to Adam Hyland about combining his careers as a firefighter and a chef, and the importance of cooking in staying healthy in body and mind.
W
hile Paul Knapp has been a firefighter for almost 30 years, with the last 20 spent in Limerick, he has in recent years become an established name as a chef. Appearing on Ireland AM twice a month and fronting educational courses, his meat-free, plant-based cookery focuses on healthy living, but without the sermons. “I’m not there to preach, I am there to educate,” he tells me. “I have a fully plant-based diet, don’t eat any meat or dairy, but I am healthy, I haven’t died, because you can still get all the nutrients you need. People will eat what they want, but the hardest muscle to train is your brain, trying to rewire it to look at things from a different perspective. I always say it’s just food, to try it, let it speak for itself, and if you like it, that’s great. My mission is to educate and change the world one person at a time.” It has taken some time for Paul to get to this stage, with many twists and turns in life influencing his approach now, which combines a love of food with the importance of looking after yourself, both physically and mentally.
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Paul and his Limerick colleagues pay their respects to the DFB’s Dave McLoughlin on his sudden passing.
Growing up in London, Paul left school at 15, and says there were always two things he wanted to do in life. “One was to join the fire service, and the other was to travel the world,” he says. “Unfortunately, I couldn’t do either then because I was only 15, so my mother still had my passport and the fire service wouldn’t let you in until you were at least 18. But I was also interested in cooking. It was one of the things that kept me quiet and stopped me running around, so I started training as a chef, got my papers, and was fortunate enough to get to travel the world. I worked in France, Austria, Spain, was in China just after Tiananmen Square in 1989, then went to Hong Kong and on to Los Angeles, before I returned to the UK in 1991.”
FIREFIGHTING Even though cooking was providing a good living, at 21, Paul was now old enough to pursue his other interest in becoming a firefighter, and in 1992 he joined the London Fire Service. “After training, I passed out, got my handshake from the Chief, and was then told where I was going to be stationed. I had no idea up to that point. When I joined there were 112 stations and 5,500 operational firefighters. He said: ‘Congratulations, you are going to Clerkenwell, you will be working with a great bunch.’ I had no clue where Clerkenwell was, because I was from south London and Clerkenwell is
north of the river, where I never really had to go. “What I didn’t know then was that Clerkenwell had been one of the first stations, along with Soho, to attend the King’s Cross fire, and I worked with five or six lads who were at that incident, so I was immediately working with some firefighting legends.” A change of scene came next, with Paul’s then wife wanting to move home to her native county with their two young children to avail of family support, so busy London was swapped for Limerick.
LIMERICK “I had looked into transferring to Dublin and a few other places,” Paul tells me, “but you had to leave and rejoin, and by chance, my brother in law bumped into someone from the Limerick Fire Service and mentioned they were recruiting. I ended up leaving the London Fire Service one Friday, travelled to Ireland, unloaded
Firefighting chef Paul Knapp.
the van, and joined the Limerick Fire Service on the Monday. Then I went back to England to do 15 weeks of training, before starting work.” This meant some big changes. “I went from a city with 112 fire stations, one of Europe’s biggest and busiest fire services, to a service that had one station and six firefighters,” Paul says, but while there were differences, some things remained the same. “The job never changed,” he says, “a fire is a fire and an RTC is an RTC, you are still going out there and helping people, so while the accents may have changed, the job didn’t.”
If you ask any firefighter across the world how important the mess table is, every one of them will say it is of huge importance, because you share so much around that table. FIRECALL SPRING
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COOKING The route into cooking and presenting his unique take on food and wellbeing was a long but worthwhile one for Paul. “I got into adult education about ten years ago,” he tells me. “When I was in school, I always thought I was stupid, but it was down to how I was being taught. When I did an instructor course for adult education, the teacher didn’t use books or PowerPoints, we just talked, and I learned so much, just from talking. “It was brilliant because it was like this room full of knowledge had just been unlocked. I wanted to share it, so I started doing adult education classes within and outside the fire service. Then about four years ago I got involved with ASIST (Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training), and started doing four courses a year, so I was becoming more involved in the mental health side of things. From that, I got involved in wellbeing seminars and at one there was a guy
doing a food demo, and I thought it was really boring. It should be fun, it should be interactive, because food really brings a fire station together. Food speaks all languages and is a brilliant way to get people to open up and talk, so I thought I would give it a go. “There is a correlation between food and mental health, getting people to sit down together and talk. So, I was doing these courses and using food as my medium, my crutch, my PowerPoint presentation on how to look after yourself.”
WELLBEING This message of mental wellbeing through cooking and eating food together is one he feels is very important in the fire service. “If you ask any firefighter across the world how important the mess table is, every one of them will say it is of huge importance, because you share so much around that table. I told people I was getting married around that table,
Paul during one of his healthy food demos.
told people I was getting divorced around that table, told people my parents had passed away, when my kids were born, some of the best and worst times were shared around that table, with a cup of tea and some food, and it always helped to talk about it.” In terms of cookery styles, Paul agrees that being a firefighter does in some ways influence what he cooks because “there is an element of being able to throw something in the oven and leave it in there if you get a call out”, but it is also influenced by his lifestyle. “I’m into running and cycling, and I always say that my cooking thrives on neglect, in that you can chuck something in the oven and forget about it until it’s ready,” he says. “There is nothing worse than coming home from exercise and having to cook something, whereas if you can make something that you can just throw in the oven and you know it is going to be in there, cooking low and slow for a couple of hours, you come back to a meal ready to eat.” While his meals are all plant-based, containing no meat or dairy, the message is more about being healthy and using ingredients that are good for you. “Most people understand that if you eat a deep fried Mars bar, it’s not going to be that good for you, or something that’s been in a packet for six months,” Paul says, “whereas having fresh food, locally sourced, means you can have a very healthy and nutritious diet.” Getting this message across to his colleagues in Limerick has been a struggle at times, Paul admits. “By their nature, bigger cities like London and Dublin are a lot more broad-minded when it comes to food, they are more cosmopolitan,” he says, “whereas smaller cities can be less open to trying new things. Also, I work with people who come from farming backgrounds, so trying to convince them to try a plant-based meal can be difficult, but I always say to just try it, and if you like it, consider having a meat-free meal once or twice a week.”
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Serving up plant-based food on Ireland AM.
There is a correlation between food and mental health, getting people to sit down together and talk. He does, however, succeed more often than not. “In Limerick, we have an ageing workforce, and things start to go south the older you get,” he says. “So, we need to put a preventative maintenance schedule in place for ourselves. In the fire service we are always checking our equipment, but we don’t always check on our own health, and you have to look after yourself. Food will either kill you or cure you, everything is out there in nature to look after you. There are foods that are anti-inflammatory, antioxidants, we just need to know what they are and use them in our diet. It’s really simple once you have the education, and my role is to educate. “We tend to work on a quantity over quality basis as firefighters. We are all animals, we will eat anything, and as long as there is a big pile of it, they are happy. My colleagues do love their meat and veg, but some of them also like my cooking,” Paul says, “even if they are not ready to come out of the
closet, so to speak, and say they like my plant-based meals. But I am always on a mission to change people’s minds, and I will continue to do that.”
EDUCATION Paul has been the plant-based chef on Ireland AM for two and a half years now, which started out with a simple email asking if the show was interested in his unique take on cookery and wellbeing, and he feels his stint is proving successful and is revealing his healthy approach to a wider audience. “When it comes to healthy cooking and eating, if people have their eyes open, they can see it, if their ears are open, they can hear it, and if they have their mouths open, they can taste it,” Paul says, “so if I can get people to change how they look at food and cooking a plant-based meal, to try it and taste it and start cooking like this regularly, that is my goal.” This goal also ties in with his approach to wellbeing and mental
health, and he uses the analogy of driving back from the Ireland AM studios to Limerick as an analogy. “There are a lot of different roads I can take,” he tells me, “and similarly with cooking there are lots of different ways to cook a healthy and nutritious meal. Make it your own journey, because in my approach I am just a guide to this. I encourage people to take what I do on board and then make it their own, make their own dish using the ingredients they want, and then share it with other people. “Sharing is so important. Share your joys, your sorrows, your stories, share your food. It’s important to open your mouth not only to try the food, but to talk to people about what is on your mind. If you are not feeling great, tell someone, be honest with yourself and with others, and in my opinion, doing it through cooking and eating food together is very effective in helping people through good times and bad.”
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WHISKEY CLUB
IN FINE
Spirits The first whiskey tasting at the Palace Bar.
The first tasting introduced members to whiskies from around the world.
The DFB 1875 Club celebrates the taste, variety and history of whiskey, S/O Declan Rice tells Adam Hyland.
A
ny DFB members with an interest in whiskey and the rich history of distilling in Dublin can now indulge their passion by joining the 1875 Club. This new group is named after the Great Liberties Whiskey Fire of 1875, which is covered in detail elsewhere in this issue, and as S/O Declan Rice, who formed the club with FF/P Enda McKenna, tells me: “It made a lot of sense to combine whiskey, the history of Dublin, and the DFB, because it is very much the ethos of the club that we focus not just on drinking whiskey, but on the history of whiskey, and the DFB’s links to Dublin history.”
He continues: “We were very conscious about it not just being about drinking whiskey. It’s not about getting drunk, it’s about education on whiskey.” The idea for the club came about when Declan, a whiskey enthusiast, noticed that he kept bumping into other firefighters at the many tastings and launches he was going to as a member of the Irish Whiskey Society. “I realised there were quite a few people in the job who were going to these things, and I thought, why are we going to other people’s clubs, why not set up our own?” he tells me. “With the Sports and Social Club behind us, word started to spread and there was a lot of interest from early on.” A first tasting took place in October of last year at the Palace Bar on Fleet Street, followed by two more successful events, with DFB historian Las Fallon taking the opportunity to launch his new book on the 1875 fire at one of these.
“The Palace Bar kindly gave us the use of a lovely room they have upstairs in their bar, and they were great. They didn’t charge for the room and they left us to it, and they have a great selection of whiskies there, so it was perfect,” says Declan. “That first tasting was to introduce the different styles of whiskey around the world, and it coincided with the Rugby World Cup, so we had whiskeys from Ireland, Canada, the US, Scotland, Japan, and one Irish whiskey that was finished in a Japanese cask: The Writer’s Tears Mizunara Cask Finish – that proved to be the favourite on the night. “We wanted to gauge what the interest would be and talked about the plans for the year, with four tastings scheduled – spring, summer, autumn and winter – with the focus on these being an education through these tastings, giving people a knowledge of whiskey and whiskey history.” From that first tasting, it became clear that while whiskeys from other countries were enjoyed, there was a big interest in Irish whiskey, so the focus for
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this year’s tastings, when they happen, club, given the historical link between will be on our country’s finest. them and the DFB that started with the “The four tastings that were planned 1875 fire, and recent events have shown for this year were going to explore that work is being done in this respect. the different styles of Irish whiskey, Teeling’s launched its Front Line Heroes the different barrels, different age Special Release bottle at the start statements, different finishes, giving of April as a fundraiser for charities people a good idea of what’s out helping society during the current there, the old stuff and the new,” crisis, which gives a clear salute to the Declan tells me. emergency services, while they (along Interest has grown and at the moment with the Listoke Gin Distillery) also there are around 60 members, with donated hand sanitiser to the DFB. a WhatsApp group and Twitter and “We were obviously very busy at the Instagram accounts set up, through time of that Special Release, so a lot of which you can join, while Declan and our members didn’t hear about it in time other members are reaching out to and we missed out on getting a bottle,” distillers to plan the tastings. Declan says, “but we contacted “We want to get the distillers Teeling’s and they kindly agreed to come to our tastings and talk to come to the next tasting we about their products,” he says. have, and to donate a bottle to “There are a few members the club.” who already have a good Unfortunately, the current knowledge of Irish whiskey COVID-19 pandemic means and have connections with that this year’s planned events brand ambassadors, so they have been put on ice, but are working to bring them when normality resumes, these on board while we are also should prove very interesting. chasing up the possibility of The Club did manage getting our own cask to put together a from which we can “Lockdown lockbottle a whiskey. in” at the end There are also a of April, with few of us doing Dublin Liberties the research and Distillery collecting bottles providing a and putting those masterclass tastings together. tasting via a Zoom “The Palace was meeting, and a great starting members being point for us, but able to enjoy we will be looking home-delivered to move around to tastings. other locations too, The tastings to keep it fresh. are spread out Distillers have their in such a way as own tasting rooms to facilitate all too, so we would Watches being be looking to do able to attend at distillery tours and least one, and as tastings in these.” Declan explains, It would be making the club fitting for Dublin’s accessible to all is distillers to form a very important. relationship with “A lot of our the DFB’s whiskey focus socially is Teeling’s Front Line Heroes Special Release.
around making sure the club is open to all levels of staff, whether you are in the office, the training centre, the fire prevention unit, any of the stations once you are in any part of the Dublin Fire Brigade,” he tells me. “I’m glad to say that we have had people from fire prevention, from the OBI, retired members, come along to the first few tastings so far. Anyone who is in the job, or was in the job, is welcome. With the retirement age of 55, we see a lot of people leaving and feeling they have no connection with the job anymore, but this allows them to at least once a quarter meet up with former colleagues and their peers, and enjoy a social as well as an educational event.” Membership does indeed show that there is an interest in whiskey across the DFB. “We have a good mix of ages in the club,” Declan points out. “We have had members from the last recruit class, Assistant Chiefs, retired members, and a number of women, so it is a very good spread. “We try to have 40 people for every tasting,” he adds, “and if we don’t fill it out, we open it up to people to bring a partner or friend, but we want to reach out especially to current and retired members to join.” On the subject of his favourite whiskey, Declan tells me that his go-to tipple is Power’s John’s Lane, or a Redbreast. For him, Irish whiskey tops its Scottish counterpart, for reasons other than taste. “There are many of us in the club who don’t really go for a Scottish whiskey,” he says, “because every time we have a whiskey that smells of smoke, it reminds us of work, it smells like our turnout gear. So I prefer an Irish whiskey.” Whatever your preference, if you want to gain a better knowledge of whiskey and its historical link to Dublin, the 1875 Club is open to all DFB members past and present. To join, contact dfb1875club@gmail.com or check us out at www.instagram.com/ dfb1875_whiskey_club
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DFB PIPE BAND
FROM WITHIN THE CIRCLE While COVID-19 has put paid to plans, DFB Pipe Band members have been active, and the Band will see many new faces in action soon, writes Secretary John McNally.
S
ince our last article, the Band have been in a quiet period due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We held our AGM in late November and the new committee was elected with great people on board for the year ahead. We started the new year with continuing plans for a trip to Savannah, Georgia for the St Patrick’s Day festivities in March. A lot of work was done in the background to plan this trip, with constant communication back and forth across the pond. Unfortunately, at the 11th hour, the trip was cancelled due to COVID-19. We hope to travel to Savannah or elsewhere when the pandemic is over. We recently received some new uniform clothing from the DFB. Many thanks to Chief Fire Officer Dennis Keeley for kindly donating the items, and to Third Officer John Keogh for organising it.
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In this decade of centenaries, we look forward to taking part in more events, like our memorable parade past the GPO for the 100th Anniversary of the 1916 Rising.
The DFB Pipe Band.
The Band was given a new home in late 2019 when Third Officer Brendan Carroll kindly designated a new band room in the OBI. The new room is bigger and is easier to access than the previous room, and should make practice and gigs easier for our members. As mentioned, we have had no gigs since the new year, but having said that, there is always a requirement for solo pipers to play at various events such as the RNLI memorial in Dún Laoghaire in December, the freedom of the city ceremony for Jim Gavin at the Mansion House in January, as well as funerals of retired members such as S/O Bill Murphy, RIP. Unfortunately, we lost yet another firefighter recently when Dave McLoughlin of C Watch, Finglas, passed away suddenly in early April. Although Dave did not receive the full
DFB funeral that he deserved due to COVID-19 restrictions and isolation measures, the DFB nonetheless gave him a send-off that was in keeping with social distancing. Many thanks to Piper Seamie O’Rourke and Drummer Tom McLoughlin who performed at the flag lowering ceremony for Dave at No.3 station. Also, a big thanks to Pipe Major Mark Toner who played at Dave’s funeral service. While it is never easy playing at a member’s funeral, we are always happy and honoured to take part as a show of support, solidarity and appreciation to the families, friends, and colleagues of DFB firefighters such as Dave. He will be fondly remembered by us all, and the Band send their condolences to Dave’s Wife, daughter, his brother FF/P Paul McLoughlin, Dave’s Mam and his Dad Jack from Dublin Airport Fire Service. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam. There is no doubt that when the COVICD-19 restrictions are lifted and we go back to normality that the Band will be as busy as ever. When that happens, you may notice some new faces wearing the uniform, as we have some learners who have transitioned to playing members in recent months. It is great to see new members on board
and this is always a positive for the Band, the DFB and DCC. The Band are forever grateful for the support of associate members, DFB management and DCC. Without that continued support the Band could not exist. As has been said many times in past articles, we are always here to welcome new members. New blood is vital to ensure that the Band survives into the future. Whether you are interested in piping or drumming (maybe you would like to try both) the door is always open to new members. So, if you think you have what it takes (or would like to give it a try), why not come along to the OBI any Monday night from 1930hrs and learn a new instrument? Beginners are very welcome and musical ability is not necessary. We would also like to welcome previous members back as well as people who may already have piping or drumming experience. You will be given top class instruction by our two world class instructors Dave Rickard (Bagpipes) and Ciaran Mordaunt (Drums). The Band can be reached at any time through any band member, social media or by emailing: dfbpbsec@gmail.com
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CISM
CISM AT STATION LEVEL New Station Officers have received Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) training to further enhance the DFB’s ability to recognise and respond to stress scenarios, writes Adam Hyland.
“
T
he great thing for us is that CISM and mental wellbeing has gone from being something people might have been embarrassed about to something that is expected,” FF/P, CISM Coordinator and Clinical Lead Aidan Raynor tells me. “The response to it has definitely changed. I have been a firefighter for more than 20 years, and when CISM started, if I walked into a station to talk about it, there wasn’t very much openness to it. Whereas now it’s very much expected that if a critical event occurs, a CISM team member will come out to talk to you. When we ring people now after incidents, we find that they are very happy to receive the call and to talk to us. That comes with the big shift in attitudes towards mental health in general, a seismic change, and while we have had to put in a lot of hard work to get us where we are, we are definitely seeing the benefits of it now. “The whole idea is that it is peer to peer support, that’s why it works so well,” FF/P Raynor continues. “We are in the same job, we have had similar issues, have been to similar incidents, and we share the same characteristics. It’s designed and run
by firefighters for firefighters. We don’t consider rank within the CISM group. Everybody is seen as the same, and it is all confidential.” As described in the Summer/Autumn 2019 issue of Firecall, the CISM team was set up by Mark Brannigan in 1999. A team of 12, including FF/P Raynor, were trained by Professor Jeffrey Mitchell, with Adrian O’Grady becoming Team Coordinator until his sad passing, when FF/P Raynor took over the role, having already been Clinical Lead. A new team is now in place with senior members from the previous team, FF/P Brian Doyle and FF/AP Michelle O’Toole playing an important part in the management, training and development of the team, more importantly, providing continuity from the previous team to the next.
STATION OFFICERS Recognising the importance of putting a system in place that allows all DFB members to access help and talk to their peers about potentially stressful incidents as soon as they arise, the DFB has recently run a CISM course for newly appointed Station Officers that will enable them to recognise and manage workplace stress. Along with other senior trainers, FF/P Raynor led the course in February and March, focusing on both ‘Assisting Individuals in Crisis’ and on ‘Group Crisis Intervention’, with the result being that the 24 S/Os who took part are now qualified by the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation (ICISF) to carry out one-on-one interventions and defusings at station level. This compliments the number of S/Os and D/Os who trained in previous years.
With a focus on pre-education, the CISM team ensure that all firefighters coming in as recruits are given training in CISM and stress-management techniques, while station-based lectures about stress management are also given to current staff. A CISM icon on all desktops provides links to information and CISM resources and refresher training is also provided through DFB’s eLearning platform. The team also provides CISM information to recruits’ friends and families at the CISM open night, usually held towards the end of every recruit course. All DFB members are also made aware of the three 24-hour confidential telephone lines manned by the main CISM team. “We work off a ‘Terrible Ten’ list, and these are immediately flagged to us by the East Region Control Centre (ERCC) as incidents that might require intervention. When the ERCC becomes aware of such an incident, the CISM team receives a phone SMS message to respond. We also receive notifications of incidents at station level where the ERCC may not have been aware of the particular nature of an incident,” FF/P Raynor tells me. “Any incident could cause stress though, if it has a particular resonance to a firefighter, so we are very aware of that. A CISM action can be activated by a firefighter, or any officer. Anyone can instigate a CISM response. “However, the ongoing message is that all FF/Ps can talk to a qualified Station Officer about an incident, if and when they need to, while S/Os themselves can recognise when to act and what they need to do,” he adds. This process is completely confidential.
INTERACTION FF/P Raynor explains why this is as important now as it has ever been. “When we started off, the Fire Brigade was very sport-orientated, there were no mobile phones, no TVs in the fire stations. So we used to talk a lot more, we would play a lot of group sports out in the yard, and over the years
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CISM Course Coordinator and Clinical Lead Aidan Raynor.
Senior CISM Team Member Brian Doyle.
We have our icon on all the desktops in every station, so that gives all firefighters and officers the link directly to information on the system. that has decreased as people started using personal devices. There’s not as much inter-person interaction. Social interaction is scientifically one of the best protectors we have against stress, but over the years, people generally have become less talkative and a little more insular. “The idea around what we do is that we formalise those chats that we used to have around the station. That’s how we get people to talk about incidents that the stations may have dealt with, and that negates the need for us to get involved. We try to instil that in every firefighter and in every S/O: If you do the basics very well, you don’t need the more serious interventions as much. It’s really about looking after each other. If somebody is down, colleagues at the station should be able to recognise this and look out for them.
We encourage people to have group talks at break times or quiet times, to promote group cohesion. The idea is that we really want to be able to look after each other and be thinking about each other’s wellbeing and welfare.” Station Officers need to be able to lead this interaction and recognise when further action is required. “The first level of CISM is education and training, and as well as the lectures and talks, we hand out information leaflets on recognising stress and what to do if you feel you or a colleague are affected by it,” FF/P Raynor says. “We have our icon on all the desktops in every station, so that gives all firefighters and officers the link directly to the system. The second level is ‘One to Ones’, ‘Defusings’ and ‘Debriefings’ (with mental health professional guidance)
provided by the DFB CISM team and CISM trained DFB officers. Finally, the third level support is provided through DCC staff support counsellors and our occupational health provider Corporate Health Ireland.
STRESS MANAGEMENT “Now that they are trained up, the S/ Os will be able to confidently manage CISM interventions on a one-to-one level at the station after an incident,” FF/P Raynor says. This includes set protocols, a ‘Triangle of care’ that outlines the required level of intervention, from Awareness to Peer Support and Trauma Counselling, the clear steps the S/O needs to follow, and the relevant contact information for each scenario. “Also involved are defusings, which are short chats with crews after an incident, advising on things to do, and things not to do. What to look out for in colleagues around the station, from a psychological perspective,” he adds. “It’s basically psychoeducation. We are training people to look out for the needs of their colleagues, to assess if they need a little bit more help. “For instance, after a defusing, the S/O might say, ‘that new recruit looked a little bit affected by that incident, or that senior firefighter looked a little bit like that incident triggered something from a previous incident’, and now they know how to handle that situation themselves, whether it be a
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S/Os and Instructors from Classes 1 and 2.
Having Station Officers trained in CISM is obviously a huge benefit to the DFB, but it is also a major benefit to the S/Os. one-to-one talk, a defusing or in some circumstances, where to look for more assistance, if they require it.” If a situation is deemed to be of a more serious nature, S/Os can request a group psychological debriefing, which is always conducted by a mental health professional in the DFB, assisted by two or three CISM team members. “These are guided talks that we do, bringing people through incidents,” FF/P Raynor says. “We would have done these for major incidents over the years. But the pre-education and the
training provided enables people to recognise when there is a need to go to this higher level, so it all ties in.”
BENEFITS Having Station Officers trained in CISM is obviously a huge benefit to the DFB, but it is also a major benefit to the S/Os. “What we showed at the start of the course is how to communicate with people, how to deal with difficult situations, how to know what to look for and when to look for it,” FF/P
Raynor tells me. “When you become an S/O, all of a sudden you are in charge of a station, and it can be quite difficult for some people to move from the role of Sub Officer to being in charge. Therefore, the general communication techniques in the CISM training enable them to interact better with people one-on-one, and in groups. Elements of the course concentrated on communications skills that are needed in multi-agency call outs and major incidents. But it also enhanced
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level of training at stations. “Ideally, we would also like to train up all SubOfficers too,” he tells me, “and also it is planned to start with the Control Room Officers. Hopefully that will happen later in the year.”
CURRENT ACTIVITIES At the time of writing, the CISM team are busy keeping in touch with staff who are off, due to contact with the Covid-19 virus, and personnel who are self-isolating as a precaution, and maintaining a high level of education around mental health and wellbeing. “We set up a system to contact everybody in this situation,” FF/P Raynor says, “and we are putting a lot of information on Facebook and on the DFB daily COVID-19 Bulletin around how to look after yourself mentally, because we basically need to present ourselves as an information hub for anything to do with mental health. “A lot of the information is very basic, but it all helps to normalise things for a person. When something happens to a person they can feel like it’s the end of the world, but if you can show them the information, and talk them through what they are going through, and help them to describe it, they can come to recognise their feelings and state of mind, and realise through talking about it, that it is normal to feel that way.” With the newly-appointed Station Officers now qualified to manage stress cases at station level, the ability of the DFB to promote mental wellbeing, and recognise and respond to stressful incidents, sees a significant step forward, and much of this success is down to the great work of the CISM teams. “We wouldn’t be where we are now without the hard work of the CISM teams over the years, including the current team. In particular, we must mention the work of Mark Brannigan in setting up the team, and Adrian O’Grady for his work developing it to where it is today, before their untimely deaths,” Course Coordinator and Clinical Lead Raynor says. “CISM
team members are all volunteers who are working very hard on top of their own roles in the DFB, giving up their time to dedicate themselves to this work. Thanks must also go to Chief Fire Officer Dennis Keeley, ACFO Michael O’Reilly, Third Officer Brendan McNicholas and Brigade Training Officer, Third Officer Brendan Carroll who have done great work on this over the years and really pushed for training to be given to all officers, They really saw the value in CISM, and the need for it.”
CONTACT THE CISM TEAM
their everyday communication skills, teaching them how to consider the different groups and individuals, religious backgrounds, and sexual orientation, as a large element of the S/O’s job involves interpersonal communication, whether it is firefighters at station level, or the general public and family members after an incident, if somebody is injured or worse. “Another element that proves useful to S/Os in doing their job is learning psychological education techniques. Being able to recognise stress in others and finding ways to listen to them and communicate effectively. Enabling them to normalise a situation and help their colleague come to terms with what they are going through, showing them that they are not abnormal, they are not overreacting, and what they are experiencing is in fact a very normal reaction to an abnormal situation. “This all benefits both the S/O and everybody at the station, but it also benefits people outside the station because they are trained in communication with individual and groups that have experienced critical and acute stress. During the course, we show the officers not just how to deliver information, we also concentrate on developing their listening skills. This included running scenarios and using psychological techniques to improve their overall communication skills. Some of these skills can be quite difficult to master and require ongoing practice to maintain proficiency. I have to commend all the officers that took part in the training. It can be quite difficult at the start of the course, when you have to sit in front of your peers and conduct your first ‘one to one’ CISM intervention. However, over the course of the training, one and all, through hard work and perseverance mastered all the skills required. Course Coordinator Raynor says that ideally, the plan would be to have the full complement of S/Os trained in CISM (about 80% are trained so far) but also to increase the
THE 24/7 PHONE NUMBERS OFFERING CONFIDENTIAL ADVICE AND SUPPORT ARE: CISM 1: 086 815 0181 CISM 2: 087 210 5276 CISM 3: 086 815 0183 Facebook: DFB Stress Matters Twitter: @Dfbstress For further information, see www.cismnetworkireland.ie
FIRECALL SPRING
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DAVE MCLOUGHLIN
Dave’s colleagues from C Watch Finglas gather around his turnout gear to pay their respects. Every Watch at every station paid their respects in the same way, with the C Watch crews shown below representative of the support shown across the entire DFB.
I FF/P Dave McLoughlin, who will be sadly missed.
DFB and emergency services personnel salute FF/P Dave McLoughlin on his last turnout.
UNITED IN SYMPATHY The DFB and firefighters from around the world came together to show support to the family of FF/P Dave McLoughlin, writes Dan Fynes.
t was with great sadness that we heard of the sudden passing of FF/P Dave McLoughlin, who was a member of the C Watch crew based at Finglas Fire Station. Dave was from a family steeped in service to the DFB, with his brother Paul also serving at Finglas with B Watch. He was an excellent firefighter and very popular member of his crew. Firefighters from around Dublin, Ireland and across the world showed their compassion and support by posting moving messages in the book of condolences opened in Facebook, with more than 1,000 people expressing their sympathy and support for Dave’s family. Every DFB station marked Dave’s passing by coming together to observe a minute’s silence and to remember his life, with his C Watch colleagues in Finglas laying out Dave’s turnout gear as they stood in unison to pay their respects. Fire stations across Ireland, from New Ross to Letterkenny and everywhere in between, also posted messages of condolences and showed their crews taking the time to honour Dave and to show their support for his family and colleagues. Many fire stations abroad also posted pictures showing their crews
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DAVE MCLOUGHLIN Swords C Watch pay their respects.
North Strand C Watch pay their respects.
Rathfarnham C Watch pay their respects.
Tallaght C Watch pay their respects.
Dolphin’s Barn C Watch pay their respects.
Donnybrook C Watch pay their respects.
Dun Laoghire C Watch pay their respects.
Kilbarrack C Watch pay their respects.
Phibsboro C Watch pay their respects.
Blanchardstown C Watch pay their respects.
HQ C Watch pay their respects.
Balbriggan Fire Station pay their respects.
Skerries Fire Station pay their respects.
Blue Watch Waterford.
Dublin Airport Police, Fire and Rescue Service.
paying their respects and showing their support from afar, and we must express our thanks to them for their support. Our colleagues from Mölnlycke in Sweden flew their flag at half-mast and took a minute of contemplation to remember FF/P McLoughlin, while our friends at Southampton FD in New York did the same, as did crews in Toronto, and in many other cities and towns around the world. This was a unique situation at a very difficult time, but it was moving to see so many of our members and our national and international colleagues show their respect and support. Dublin City Council also lowered their flag to half-mast on the Civic
Offices and wrote a heartfelt message of sympathy. Social distancing measures meant we couldn’t take part in his funeral procession in the normal way, which proved to be an additional challenge for his family and co-workers, but at this most difficult time it was inspirational to see the tremendous level of support given. Members of the DFB lined out at safe distances to see FF/P McLoughlin make his last turnout, standing alongside members of the Dublin Airport Fire & Rescue Service, Gardaí, NAS and Civil Defence, among others, to salute Dave and pay their respects.
Southampton FD, New York, pay their respects.
Mölnlycke firefighters observe a minute’s silence.
A virtual funeral was held online, allowing DFB stations and Watches to gather and say farewell – staying apart, but being there together for Dave on his last turnout. They were joined by emergency services across the country and the world to pay their respects, with more than 800 personnel in attendance. You can watch the moving and emotional video here: https://tinyurl.com/vxvmt85 This is an incredibly sad time for Dave’s family and friends, and we will be here to support them in their time of need. Our thoughts are with them.
Rest in Peace, Badge 1376. FIRECALL SPRING
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INTERNATIONAL PROFILE
CERN Working with the fire service at the international organisation seeking to discover what the universe is made of is a unique and exciting experience, Operational Leader Stephen Gunning tells Adam Hyland.
S
cientists from all over the world continue to search for answers to the big questions relating to the fundamental physics of our universe using CERN’s unique range of particle accelerator facilities, but while they push the frontiers of science and technology, their work with the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) and other unique pieces of equipment couldn’t be done safely without the presence of CERN Fire and Rescue Service.
While most people know about CERN (the European Organisation for Nuclear Research), the LHC and the study of the particles that make up matter, few of us would think about the work being done above and below ground by what is probably the most unique fire service in the world. Operational Leader Stephen Gunning, who had served for 30 years as a firefighter and senior manager in Scotland, was only too happy to find out about them. “I was leaving the Scottish Fire Service and looking to see what different opportunities were there,” he tells me. “I knew about CERN because I am interested in physics, and I saw that they were looking for officers, so I applied. They needed someone with my skills (in-depth experience in people and asset management, and fore and accident investigation and analysis) and the two things aligned. The opportunity to come and work here was fantastic, to
get to learn about physics and see how experiments are produced in such a large international organisation.”
DIVERSITY CERN’s workforce of over 2,500 staff members and approximately 14,000 users is hugely diverse, and the fire service mirrors this, with ten different nationalities forming the Group. While some fire services around Europe offer secondment, other firefighters, like Stephen, come because of the chance to work in such a unique environment. Contracts are on a five-year basis, with the option to extend that for another three years, and as Stephen says, “our set-up does present a few differences when you come from another fire service”. He continues: “We don’t have ranks similar to the UK, for example, but we do fit into a similar structure. We have a non-uniformed manager who oversees
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INTERNATIONAL PROFILE
CERN firefighters.
our group from an organisation perspective, including how CERN operates, and we provide the strategic overview of how to operate the fire service. As one of three Operational Leaders, I am akin to a Senior Officer, then we have Officers, Watch Managers, Firefighters. Because there are only 48 firefighters forming four teams, they do need to change, and this is why we bring people in from different fire services, so we can interchange them based on what we need.”
SPECIALISTS There are three specialities within the team, Stephen tells me: The technical firefighters with core skills in radiation, chemicals and rope rescue, the safety control room firefighters whose skills are vital as they need to make a lot of immediate critical decisions based on the information they receive, and the ambulance crews, trained to technician level. “CERN provides different levels of integration and brings people with different levels of experience into the organisation, with huge links to universities because of the mission of pushing international learning and research,” he tells me, “but when it comes to the fire service, you obviously can’t take people in who have no experience. You need to have a minimum of five years’ experience in a fire service, so you must already have the core skills. What you do develop are the specialist skills you need to work here. You bring your set of skills and use them in a completely new environment.” That new environment includes over 50km of tunnels up to 140metres below ground, and requires unique pieces
of equipment and strategic planning. As well as having two fire appliances and ambulances, the crews rely on specialised trolleys that can bring them deep into the tunnels quickly. “A lot of our equipment is stored on trolleys so we can take what we need at any given time,” Stephen tells me, “because we can’t carry all of the equipment at once – it won’t fit. We also strategically locate equipment around the laboratory complex, such as at the LHC area, but the specially-designed trolleys that transport us through the tunnels are a unique aspect to a unique environment. Firefighters who come here will have never seen anything like this, unless they have worked in a specialist tunnel environment.” He continues: “To be able to go into the experiment halls and caverns and to see what is being done, and thinking about how you would handle potential fires in these areas, that is unique. “We also have quite a large area above ground, with lots of standard buildings, but we also have areas that have specialist equipment and radiation requirements. But the dominant risk is underground. You have to think about how you would handle an incident in a tunnel – and we have more than 50km of tunnels in a huge network – you go down a shaft, gain access to a tunnel, and travel along several kilometres underground just to get to a potential fire.”
DUTIES The main call outs for the teams involve responding to fire alarms around the vast complex, which have to be investigated, and medical incidents, and not surprisingly given the enormous amount of energy being used, electrical
CERN Fire Service Operational Leader Stephen Gunning.
fires. CERN has its own electrical network and receives 400,000 volts which is reduced and distributed to all of its sites, meaning “there is high voltage all over” as Stephen points out. The levels of radiation used, and the fact that CERN is probably the biggest cryogenics plant in the world and uses the most helium of any organisation (in order to cool the magnets in the accelerators to -271.3C), mean that the crews really need to be aware of the potential dangers. “Generally, and thankfully, we don’t have a lot of large fires here,” Stephen says. “Any fires or safety hazards are identified quickly because of the number of technicians and controls in the experiments. This is because of the way in which the technology is running, the experiments have so much remote monitoring, so if they get a leak in cryogenics, or an electrical fault, they know immediately, because of the in-built safety systems necessary for conducting experiments on such a large scale. There is a very high level of perfection. There needs to be.” As a result, understanding those risks and the topography of the area are crucial. “It’s really important for us to understand where the risks are in a place like this,” Stephen says. “You need to understand the physics of what is happening here, and know what to do if there is an incident, because the
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INTERNATIONAL PROFILE
risks associated with the technologies are huge, and every firefighter has to have a very in-depth knowledge and appreciation of the circumstances. “That is why one of the most important things we do on a daily basis is learn and revise the topography, where we are in the tunnel structure. We also do a lot of visitations to the various departments to keep everybody up to speed on fire safety and risk knowledge, because we have to make sure that incidents are prevented, rather than having to be dealt with.”
KNOWLEDGE SHARING Stephen says there is a positive twoway sharing of knowledge within the organisation. “The physicists here all know the risks, the machines and experiments are so critical to them, so they are maintained to the highest level,” he tells me. “And scientists are generally open to education from us. There is a balance there, where we ask the questions about physics, and then we teach them about the fire safety and prevention necessary to run their experiments, and we come to an agreement on what is required. These experiments have to go ahead, but there has to be safety and an understanding of operational tactics from our end.” This exchange of information sees the fire service play an integral role in the planning stage of CERN’s experiments. “We are constantly making sure the fire service here is involved from the early stages, and this is one of the key reasons for somebody like myself coming here,” says Stephen. “You are able to be involved in the design of the building in which these major experiments are taking place, and that is such an exciting thing to be a part of. CERN works with our group to look at how they can incorporate our input into how we can tackle a fire in these new structures. Normally you have building regulations, and that is true for the most part, but there is no code on how to build complex and sometimes unique experimental structures and equipment, such as the LHC. You’ve got the tunnels and the
Working in confined spaces brings a unique experience.
distances between them, so you have to have some realisation of how you are going to tackle a fire. Fire engineering and tactical firefighting are coming together in the development of these new technologies. If we want something done in the design of the shaft, or want extra fire doors put in, there is an understanding of why that is needed. “Of course, you will see from any photos of the CERN infrastructure that it is extremely difficult to have compartmentalisation, so you are not in an ideal world, because you can’t stop the accelerator, it has to be continuous, but we are looking at how we can improve and perfect fire prevention and fire management. Fire engineering is an emerging field in this respect: Looking at what the potential fire risks are in a building or structure design, and how we can use fire engineering modelling to assist us in developing our intravention plans.” Being part of something so interesting is definitely one of the best aspects of the job for Stephen. “It is fascinating to me,” he admits. “You go into these experiment halls and see these huge experiments, but you also get to see
how these things start, from very small experiments in a lab that just keep building to an enormous scale. It’s something very few firefighters in the world get to see. “If people have the opportunity to come here, I would recommend they do. If you want to gain experience working with a major international organisation, a unique understanding of tunnels, radiation, cryogenics, this is the place. We don’t have a lot of operational activity, and that is a good thing. But we are here because of the risk of that.” If a major incident were to occur, the CERN Fire and Rescue Service has a strong working relationship with the neighbouring fire services in France and Switzerland. “Our primary role in an incident is to give an initial assessment and to prevent it turning into anything significant,” Stephen says. “If we do get a large fire, our French and Swiss counterparts will supply whatever is needed, and to facilitate this we train regularly with these host states, both officers and firefighters. “It takes up to five years to understand the physics and topography, and the structure of CERN, and to ask
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All images © CERN.
INTERNATIONAL PROFILE
another fire service to come here and handle an incident would be difficult, it is too different. So, if we have a large incident the roles change, we oversee the strategic approach, providing the knowledge needed to handle the situation. And we all need that knowledge. “CERN will handle the incident as much as it can, but is always able to call upon host countries for help. But as mentioned, one of the key roles for us is fast intervention, to resolve the incident quickly, control it, before it gets any bigger.”
DEVELOPMENT The dynamic nature of the role is mirrored by the constant rate of development at CERN, and while Stephen has been there for two and a half years, he is still excited by events at the organisation. “There are new experiments being done all the time,” Stephen says. “As we speak, there is a new tunnel being dug out, so the people here now will see this from the construction phase right up to a new experiment being put in place. “Not every organisation could have as a requirement that you have to stay for at least five years and still get the level of interest we do, and in the next two years there will be a high level of
recruitment. Many firefighters choose to bring their families over, because as part of the contract you need to live within the area, but not all do. Some travel back and forth on their time off, but many see it as a chance to have a new experience. They bring their family over, see another culture, put their children into school to learn another language, and get to work in a fascinating environment. It’s a great opportunity. “Another unique thing about working at CERN is that we sit right on the border, so one minute you are working in France, the next you are in Switzerland, and we are underground within those two countries a lot of the time. Even some of our main buildings are half in France and half in Switzerland, so you cross borders walking across the lobby.” While the environment may be unique, Stephen is also quick to point out that the job is still very much one of a firefighter. “No matter where you come from, firefighters essentially all do the same thing. Some countries emphasise different aspects of the job, but that is part of the uniqueness of CERN – you get to learn from other firefighters around Europe, and that is just another interesting aspect of working here.”
THE LARGE HADRON COLLIDER: AN OVERVIEW
Control room personnel are trained to assess potential problems immediately.
The Large Hadron Collider is the most powerful particle accelerator ever built. Sitting in a tunnel 100 metres underground, the LHC consists of a 27km ring of superconducting magnets that push protons or ions to near the speed of light, forming two beams that travel in opposite directions that are forced to collide, recreating microscopic versions of the Big Bang that produce, for an instant, dense matter that can be studied to reveal its make-up, shedding light on how the universe was formed and what it consists of.
FIRECALL SPRING
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THE GREAT WHISKEY FIRE
An illustration of the fire as it swept through the Liberties.
A FORGOTTEN CALAMITY DFB historian Las Fallon talks to Adam Hyland about his new book on the Great Liberties Whiskey Fire of 1875.
A
mong the strange and eye-opening stories that lie within Dublin Fire Brigade lore, the fire that threatened to destroy a large part of the south inner-city in 1875 when a whiskey warehouse suddenly began throwing flaming liquid into the streets is probably one of the strangest. Stranger still is the fact that many elements of the story have remained unknown, but in his latest book, DFB historian and former firefighter Las Fallon has pieced together the events of that night. The Great Liberties Whiskey Fire details what happened, and the repercussions from a bizarre incident when burning whiskey flowed through the Liberties, much to the delight, then dismay, of the citizens of Dublin.
“The story of the whiskey fire interested me particularly because it happened in my area,” Las tells me. “I was a firefighter in Dolphin’s Barn for 30 years, so the Liberties area was just down the road. I had fought fires on those streets, and knew the area. “I’d heard of the whiskey fire before, but it was one of those stories that had grown legs over the years, so I had sort of written it off as an exaggeration. But the first mention of it I read was in Tom Geraghty’s work on the history of the Dublin Fire Brigade, and all of a sudden, I realised, oh, this did happen, and it was on the scale that people had told me about.” With his interest piqued, Las started researching and found old British newspaper archives containing illustrations to accompany the reports. “Once you see the illustrations depicting the scale and madness of the incident, I got very interested,” he tells me. “These images were not favourable
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THE GREAT WHISKEY FIRE
to Irish people, and even though there was probably some exaggeration, not every one of these newspapers could have been exaggerating the incident, so I began to see how big the story was. It was essentially the largest fire in Dublin in the 19th century in terms of the area affected, in financial terms, and in terms of loss of life. I started looking into as many records as I could, anything I could get my hands on, and slowly started to gather the story together.”
THE STORY The story itself is a remarkable one. On 18 June, 1875, a huge bonded whiskey warehouse in the Liberties area containing at least half a million litres of whiskey owned by Dublin’s major distilleries, suddenly erupted in flames, sending burning whiskey flowing into the streets. The fire quickly spread along the narrow roads and alleyways, igniting buildings and sending the city into a panic. Locals, however, ignoring the obvious danger, saw their chance to enjoy a free drink, and reportedly began scooping the whiskey up into whatever receptacle they could find, or simply drank it straight from their cupped hands. Word of this sudden bonanza spread as quickly as the fire, and soon the streets were packed with people, increasing the danger and adding to a scene of mayhem. Responding to the fire were just 15 men from the then newly-established Dublin Fire Brigade, led by their Fire Captain, Robert Ingram. Aided by 150 policemen and 200 soldiers, their actions and quick-thinking helped quell the fire and save the city, but not before 13 people had consumed lethal amounts of spirits. The story has never been fully told, until now. Las was approached by Micheál Ó Doibhilín of Kilmainham Tales, who had seen Las talk on the subject, and suggested he put pen to paper and write a book about the fire.
RESEARCH The timing was also perfect for a book on the whiskey fire, with the
The standard 1875 firefighter model.
rejuvenation of the whiskey industry in the very same area of Dublin city taking hold, but while more material was coming to light, there were still many problems in finding all of the details regarding the fire and its aftermath. “One of the big problems I had was that I knew 13 people had died, but I couldn’t find any trace of them,” Las says. “I went to the register of deaths, but unless you know the name of the person who died, you won’t find them.
“I went into the national archives, got the coroner’s records for Dublin, but nothing was coming up. I did find a report of a woman who had died of alcohol poisoning a few days after the fire, so that was a starting point. Eventually I turned up five names, all of whom died in the same way in the immediate aftermath of the fire.” The information that could be gathered showed that Dublin at the time had a thriving whiskey industry. A change in the licensing act in 1823
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THE GREAT WHISKEY FIRE Casks at the bonded warehouse would have been stored in the same way as these in Bow Street in 1945.
The Shand Mason Steam Fire Engine used by the DFB at the time of the Whiskey Fire.
meant that distillers only had to pay tax on their whiskey when it became available for sale, rather than when it was first barrelled, and this opened up the market to commercial bonders who would store the barrels for the distilleries. Lawrence Malone quickly became the biggest name in the bonded warehouse business, establishing a huge storage warehouse in the Liberties. “There were others, but Malone was the biggest,” Las tells me, “and while he created an industry in Dublin, he also created a ticking timebomb. There was now a huge amount of flammable liquid in one huge building, sitting behind narrow city streets, without any provision for fire safety.” The cause of the fire remains unknown, but what is strange is that the first reports describe it as a major fire bursting through the roof of the warehouse, some 30-foot high. “It must have been burning for some time before it got to that level, but nobody reported smelling smoke, nobody saw anything, until it was fully developed,” Las says.
MAYHEM When the fire was reported, the Dublin Fire Brigade (which consisted of just 23 men, 15 of whom were available including Fire Captain Robert Ingram) arrived within ten minutes, and when the Police got to the scene, “they obviously got a sense of not just what was happening, but what might happen, because they sent for massive reinforcements of 150 men,” Las says. “Two premises were on fire, flames shooting into the air through the roof, flammable liquid was flowing out under doors and through windows, blue flames flowing down the streets. It’s the worst of two possible calamities – a flood finding its way under doorways and into houses, into every crack and crevice and down every street and alley, and it’s also burning as it goes. They couldn’t put water on it because it is already liquid, so it was like petrol. There’s also a very steep drop on those streets.” Soldiers – some 200 – were also sent for. “Soldiers were important because they could help with salvage, but also man the pumps so the firefighters could use the hoses, and control the
crowds, which was becoming evermore important,” Las tells me. “Some soldiers arrived armed and threatened a bayonet charge on a group of citizens who attacked them as they tried to guard 60 barrels of whiskey that had been salvaged.” The utter chaos of the scene is hard to imagine, even with the vivid illustrations of the day. “There were 13 deaths, but not one of them was caused by fire itself,” Las says. “They were all to do with the madness that took hold. Some of the stories were very sad, but some of them were also bizarre. My favourite is the house where there was a wake going on. The people there put themselves at risk to save the corpse, but they only save him enough to make sure he doesn’t burn, before they all run back to get themselves some free whiskey. I like that because it is just so human. “The madness started early, as soon as it became clear that this was whiskey flowing down the street. The thing was that it was a mixture of whiskey, immature spirits, probably some brandy and wine too. The sight would have been unusual. People wouldn’t have seen this type of flaming
SPRING 42 FIRECALL
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THE GREAT WHISKEY FIRE
blue liquid before, like the flames on a lit Christmas pudding, but on a massive scale. “Buildings started to burn with proper fires as well as this burning liquid fire, and a tannery went on fire. At the time, many people kept pigs to supplement their family income, while there were also a large number of stables in the area, so when the fire broke out, there were animals everywhere, pigs, dogs, horses running around.”
SAVING THE CITY Captain Ingram came up with an ingenious idea, Las tells me. “He realised that he needed something to slow the whiskey fire down, and soak it up, something organic. That’s when he decided to use the holy trinity of ashes, tan and manure, because that’s what was available. It was a poor area, so there were a lot of tanneries around. It was brilliant thinking. A hundred years later they would have fought the fire with foam, which is organic too, so using what was available, he was a hundred years ahead of his time.” Ingram’s actions were successful, managing to first block and then extinguish the many fires that had been caused by the flaming blue liquid. “Had they not contained that fire, it would potentially have flown to Christchurch and could have destroyed a huge area. In theory Christchurch itself could have been in danger,” Las says.
A FORGOTTEN STORY Though the DFB had saved the city, the story was very quickly forgotten about, even to this day, and as Las explains, there were many reasons for this. “In the immediate aftermath of the fire, Dublin became a laughing stock,” he says. “There happened to be a huge number of British and American journalists in town to cover a rifle match in Sandymount, and they were witnesses to this bizarre event. The press wanted local colour, and the scenes they saw were gold to them. You couldn’t make it up. There was
no point in writing about a big fire in Dublin for American or British readers, there were big fires everywhere, but the story of Irish people running around, the streets in flames, scooping up and drinking whiskey off the road had been played up by the British and American press.” Because of this, the Irish press quickly began to play the incident down. “There was a sense of embarrassment,” Las tells me. “We made eejits of ourselves, had fulfilled every stereotype. Within days the papers were talking about the great law-abiding citizens. On the night itself you couldn’t move for the amount of people trying to get to the whiskey, but suddenly the story was changed and they were all law-abiding citizens who came to offer assistance. “The whiskey industry, which was huge, didn’t want the story to be of people drinking their product and dying. So, they used their influence to play it down. Social norms at the time also meant that poor people were considered as lesser, so 13 poor people dying was quickly forgotten. If the fire had been at Merrion Square it would have been a different story.” Nevertheless, some important legacies did arise out of the incident. “Fire safety and the fire brigade having a role in it were still 100 years away,” Las says, “but this made the distillers aware of the fragility of their product. They started to set up fire brigades of their own within the distilleries. “The major legacy is that this fire happened only 13 years after the establishment of the Dublin Fire Brigade, and there were still a lot of people in the city who didn’t understand why Dublin needed a full-time fire brigade. It was seen as an unnecessary financial burden. But all of a sudden, they realised that but for the fire brigade, there would have been a major incident that could have destroyed a significant part of the city, and the businesses within it. So, in a way it was the incident that justified the fire brigade. It was the fire that showed their importance. They saved the city.”
The Great Liberties Whiskey Fire by Las Fallon.
CAPTAIN INGRAM The loss of 13 lives is obviously tragic, but to some degree the fate of Captain Ingram is also tinged with sadness. Though he was the father of the Dublin Fire Brigade, his legacy is almost forgotten. “Ingram died in 1882, and he just seemed to slip by in the history of Dublin,” Las tells me. “There is no statue, nothing to commemorate him, there is only one, blurred photo of him – which is strange given that he lived in a time when photography was becoming established – and his grave is an unmarked patch of dirt in Mount Jerome cemetery. “He was promoting a fire service that the business people of Dublin didn’t want. It was for the benefit of everybody, but not everybody was paying for it, is how they saw it, and so he fought an uphill battle to have the organisation recognised, and his own input acknowledged. I hope this book can bring him and his contribution to the fore for historians and the people of Dublin alike.” The Great Liberties Whiskey Fire by Las Fallon is available online from www.kilmainhamtales.ie and from Teeling’s Distillery and the Irish Whiskey Museum. Kilmainham Tales is an innovative publisher of academically rigorous but affordable and easily read books covering the period during which Kilmainham Gaol was in operation (1796 – 1924). Listen to Las talk about the fire on the Three Castles Burning podcast here: https://tinyurl.com/s9gtvb2
SPRING 44 FIRECALL
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DFB RUGBY
The combined Irish Fire Service team and Welsh Fire Service team before a very close match.
TAKING ON THE WELSH
A combined Irish Fire Services team played a strong Welsh Fire Service team in February, writes Keith Mason.
O
n 7 February, a strong contingent of players from the Dublin Fire Brigade Rugby Team travelled north to Instonians RFC in Belfast to join up with their NIFRS colleagues to play a match against the Welsh Fire Service. Both of our teams provided more players than we could field on the day, so as Chairman and Coach I found it very tough to keep our contingent to 11, with quality, committed players not getting their game on this occasion. Those that were selected did themselves proud, though. Veteran player Stephen Cunningham controlled the game well at out-half, with his experience invaluable in a
combined team scenario where neither group were familiar with the other. Kevin Conroy got over the line for the first try of the game, which was well deserved as he has been committed to the development of this new DFB team and has been excellent in the fullback position. Our forwards combined well with their NIFRS colleagues, and there was some great ball carrying and support play from Cathal McNally, who consistently brings a level of aggression that the opposition found very difficult to deal with on this occasion. Matt Crehan paired up very well with NIFRS second row and captain Peter Bradley, winning almost all of the Irish side’s lineouts and stealing a few opposition ones as well. Stephen Weldon and David Sheridan battled hard in the back row against an experienced Welsh pack, and dogged determination from both limited the
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DFB RUGBY
The close final score showed that the team we selected is capable of competing against very tough sides. The Irish lineout did very well against the Welsh.
damage that could have come from the powerful Welsh scrum. Brian Tyrell did struggle for pace a little at scrum-half, with slow passes from the base of the ruck putting his backs under pressure, but even though he is clearly not a scrum-half, he battled it out with his head held high. In fact, he held his head a little too high in the ruck and sustained an injury to his ear that required a few stitches! Brian doesn’t ask questions, and when tasked with playing at scrum-half he responded with a nod and a wink, and got on with it with the right attitude. Stephen Breen and Brian Twamley have also been a great addition to this team. With poor weather conditions in Belfast on the day, the ball rarely made its way to the wing, but as always Stephen and Brian were very effective when it did, and were excellent in defence.
Stephen Weldon and David Sheridan battled hard in the back row against an experienced Welsh pack.
Alaric Collier came off the bench and made some good carries too. Committed to the sport and to ensuring this DFB team continues to grow, he puts his age to the back of his mind and gives 100% at all times. The game, played in very difficult conditions, was very attritional. The pack worked tirelessly throughout and did well to provide a platform for the backs, who planned and developed some clever moves in the hour prior to the game. The combined Irish Fire Services team were ahead for almost 70 minutes and had victory in our sights, but a late try for the Welsh, who seemed to find another gear in the closing quarter of the game, proved a tough pill to swallow for the whole
team, and in the end the final score was 27-25 to Wales. This Welsh team are a seasoned group who have been training and playing together for several years, so while for the game to finish the way it did was a little disappointing, the close final score showed that the team we selected is capable of competing against very tough sides. The long-term plan is for this combined Irish Fire Services team to get together more regularly through training sessions and a few games each year. DFB RFC is continuing to grow, and more players are always welcome and needed. Anybody interested in joining the team should contact me at A Watch, Tallaght. Special thanks must go to the travelling support from players who were not selected to play on the day, and from those who have historically supported the development of our team and have always enjoyed a trip away. The team enjoyed the hospitality of the NIFRS team, and we look forward to meeting up with them again soon. Thanks as always to the DFB Sports and Social Club for their support, Flashpoint Medical Systems for their continued support, and our sponsor Dubco Credit Union.
SPRING 48 FIRECALL
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INTERNATIONAL NEWS
INTERNATIONAL NEWS Emergency Services News From Around the Globe.
UAE
FRANCE
Flawed firefighting tactics and inadequate accident site surveillance contributed to the death of a firefighter after an Emirates Boeing 777-300 crashed on the runway at Dubai airport after a failed go-round in 2016, an official inquiry has now revealed. The findings were released in February 2020, and highlighted deficiencies in the communications system and the consequences of decisions taken based on poor information. While two foam vehicles arrived at the scene within 90 seconds, they had parked behind the trailing edge of the right wing which was in contact with the ground due to the retracted landing gear and separation of the right engine. This obscured the view of the fuselage underside and a fire that had broken out in the right-hand landing gear bay. The fire commander’s own vehicle was also parked in a location that limited his view of the site. Firefighters should still have realised the developing situation and relayed the information to the commander, the inquiry heard. Both foam vehicles exhausted their water supply 20 seconds before residual fuel in the centre tank ignited in a vapour explosion, tearing a panel from the wing that struck and killed one of the attending firefighters.
Firefighters demonstrating for better working conditions were involved in scuffles with police in Paris at the end of January. Unions organised the protest for fire service workers from all over the country, setting off firecrackers in the capital’s Place de la Republique to bring attention to their cause. They are demanding an increase in risk pay from 19% to 25% to fulfil their missions, which they say reductions in personnel have made increasingly difficult. They say attacks against them are also on the rise. French Police used water cannon to disperse crowds of firefighters who tried to break down or scale fencing around the Nation area. Firefighters had previously demonstrated nationwide in October of last year, which was also marked by clashes with the police, with one protester in Dijon losing the sight in one eye after a scuffle.
DUBAI DEATH CAUSED BY POOR TACTICS
FIREFIGHTERS AND POLICE CLASH IN PARIS
✶
NORTHERN IRELAND
EUROPE-WIDE HYDROGEN SAFETY PROJECT
A €1million project coordinated by Ulster University under the EU Horizon 2020 research programme is set to provide hydrogen-specific safety training to firefighters across Europe. HyResponder will develop operational and educational training in hydrogen safety for first responders, with the CTIF aiming to implement a sustainable “train the trainer” approach. After an initial meeting in Belfast in January, the project aims to underpin the improvement of resilience and preparedness through enhanced emergency planning, intervention tactics and strategy by developing first responder skills for appropriate accident management and recovery in hydrogen incidents across the globe.
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INTERNATIONAL NEWS ✶
ENGLAND
CHALLENGING TIME-WASTING CALLS SAVING LONDON FIRE BRIGADE MONEY Control Operators in London challenged more than 2,000 time-wasting 999 callers last year, saving London Fire Brigade almost £800k. Figures reveal hoax calls attended by fire engines cost the Brigade £420,000 in 2019, with the Brigade receiving 1,163 calls that led to firefighters being sent to an incident which was recorded as a maliciously created false alarm. Another 2,346 calls were challenged by Control staff and didn’t result in fire engines being dispatched. The Brigade’s Assistant Commissioner for Control and Mobilising, Jonathan Smith, said: “Our Control Officers will challenge callers if they believe the information being given sounds suspicious. The dedication of our Control Officers means we have seen a fall in the number of hoax incidents our firefighters are attending, and this is a credit to their training to identify suspicious callers. “The fact they identified more than 2,000 calls which were suspicious means they have not sent fire engines out unnecessarily and firefighters’ time was better spent attending genuine incidents.”
GERMANY
MAJOR FIRE SERVICE FAIR POSTPONED The INTERSCHUTZ event, last held in 2015 and set to take place in Hannover from 15 to 20 June has been postponed until 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. As major events all over the world faced cancellation or postponement due to the escalating Coronavirus crisis, organisers of the trade fair for the fire and rescue services, civil protection and security industries from across the globe made the decision in mid-March to postpone it for a year. The fair was planned to coincide with the city hosting the German Firefighting Convention, but will now take place from 14 to 19 June next year. The postponement is an obvious result of the risks involved in gathering large numbers of frontline personnel in the one place, but also because of the fact that fire and rescue services staff are in increasingly high demand as the pandemic worsens.
USA
GENDER-BASED TURNOUT GEAR REPORT A Florida researcher has underlined the need for female firefighter gear to be altered to suit their bodies. Assistant Professor Meredith McQuerry investigated differences in mobility for male and female firefighters while wearing their protective gear, and determined that female firefighters should have suits designed specifically for their body shape. McQuerry’s study surveyed 16 career firefighters (10 men and six women) from the Tallahassee Fire Department on the fit and mobility of their firefighting gear. The research measured range of motion in a base layer, with the “turnout suit” and with a full “turnout ensemble” that includes a breathing apparatus and helmet. The subjects were measured in a threedimensional body scanner, then performed a range-of-motion tests to record how comfortable they were and how easy it was to move. McQuerry found that for both male and female firefighters turnout equipment significantly reduced mobility, but the men and women reported significant differences with the parts of the suit that gave them problems. Women reported more problems with the upper body during overhead activities. Men expressed more dissatisfaction with restrictions in the crotch and pant leg during lower body movements. Because these restrictions are gender specific, there is a strong need to develop a female-specific turnout gear sizing system in addition to the existing gear designed for men, McQuerry noted. “There’s not enough research to say 100% ‘This is what a female turnout suit needs to be,’ but we do know women need a suit designed for them. There are female and male sizes, but those are oversimplifications that don’t take different anthropometric proportions into account, like the waist-to-hip ratio, the bust or shoulder breadth.” The finding backs up previous calls for female-specific firefighting gear. “PPE is a very important part of occupational safety. It is not a gender equality thing to provide everybody with correctly fitting fire gear, it is a basic safety issue”, said Mira Leinonen, chair of the CTIF Commission for Women in Fire & Rescue Services.
SPRING 52 FIRECALL
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BOOK REVIEW
BOOKSHELF HARRY BOLAND:
A Biography, by Jim Maher
T
hough his life was short-lived, Harry Boland played an incredibly significant role in the making of modern Ireland, and in this definitive updated biography, historian Jim Maher offers a detailed and dramatic account of the part he played in the country’s struggle towards independence. An ardent Republican, close ally of Eamon De Valera and later Michael Collins, Boland fought in the 1916 Rising and was heavily involved with Sinn Féin’s 1918 election campaign when he was elected as an absentia MP for South Roscommon before taking a seat in the First Dáil. Maher covers the period when Boland played a prominent role in drumming up American support for Irish freedom with great detail and insight, and recounts Boland’s political and personal life and importance through these years very well. His return from America to a country facing civil war, when he was re-elected as an Anti-Treaty candidate in 1922, and his ultimately ill-fated attempts to stop it that saw him killed in the Civil War, makes for sad but extremely interesting reading, as Maher depicts the life of a revered but tragic figure who fought for what he believed in, and died defending it.
A DREAM OF DEATH:
A Comprehensive Account of Ireland’s Most Notorious Unsolved Murder, by Ralph Riegel Everybody knows the story of French film-maker Sophie Toscan du Plantier and her dream to live in the beautiful surroundings of Schull in west Cork. What nobody knows is how she came to be brutally murdered outside the holiday home she lived in there on 23 December, 1996, and the definite identity of the person who killed her and left her body to be found with the poetry book she had been reading left open on a page containing the Yeats poem “A Dream of Death”. For the last 23 years, the story of her murder and the repeated attempts by gardaí and police in France to identify the killer has been in the public eye, with chief suspect Ian Bailey insisting on his innocence despite being found guilty in absentia at a trial in Paris last year. Experienced journalist Ralph Riegel here pieces together a definitive account of what has become Ireland’s most notorious unsolved crime, delving into the known facts and numerous theories regarding this crime that sent shock waves through the victim’s native France and the quiet Cork countryside she had chosen as her retreat. We are left to draw our own conclusions from the evidence, and sometimes lack of it, but the twists and turns in the investigation will no doubt see this case come to our attention again in the future.
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BOOK REVIEW THE IMPOSSIBLE DREAM:
The Story of One of the Celtic Tiger’s Most Ludicrous Episodes, by Barry J Whyte It’s fair to say the Celtic Tiger years saw a lot of people lose the run of themselves, and in this enjoyably bizarre book, Business Post writer Whyte revels in the retelling of what was definitely one of the strangest cases of undeserved optimism modern Ireland has ever seen. In a time when a can-do attitude saw the economy soar and numerous homegrown success stories being told, one previously unknown Irish tech company by the name of Steorn thought that they could even defy the laws of physics in their attempts to succeed, by claiming they had mastered perpetual motion. What’s both enjoyably funny and frightening to read is that not only did they believe they had made the scientific breakthrough of all time that would immediately solve the global energy crisis, but that high-profile entrepreneurs and institutions also bought into it. The story is a darkly comic one of failure and ineptitude, culminating in a disastrous demonstration that included malfunctions and an exploding battery, in many ways a fitting metaphor for a time when much of the country believed its own hype before crashing horribly back to reality.
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY,
by Rory Best
Irish rugby legend Rory Best signed his book deal well in advance of last year’s deflating performance at the Rugby World Cup in Japan, so it’s not surprising that some of the final chapters of his farewell story aren’t as joyous as they could, or should, have been, but the Ulsterman’s take on his career is still a powerful and entertaining read. Mirroring the intelligence and grit he showed in winning 124 caps for Ireland and more than 200 for Ulster, Best’s leadership qualities and determination shine through as he discusses his relentless drive to make the best of not only his own talent but that of his teammates. He offers insights into how he managed to play his best rugby well into his 30s, despite the physical demands of the front row, and how he came to captain Ireland during their most successful era, as well as revealing the details of his relationships with Joe Schmidt, Lions coach Warren Gatland, Brian O’Driscoll, Johnny Sexton and Paul O’Connell. A must-read for Irish sports fans.
OUR LITTLE CRUELTIES,
by Liz Nugent
Three brothers are at a funeral, one of them is in the coffin, murdered by another, but which one is dead and which one is his killer? The opening situation created by award-winning Dublin novelist Liz Nugent opens a web of intrigue and plot
twists as each brother tells his own side of their story and the truth about what has happened slowly reveals itself. Following on from her first three bestsellers, the author is again on winning form here, revealing the intricacies of sibling rivalry and family dynamics, and the levels of cruelty we can show towards the people we are closest to.
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Leydens Ltd. imports and distributes wholesale cash and carry products. The Company offers a wide range of grocery, spirits and hardware products to local retailers, publicans, caterers and supermarkets. Leydens serves clients in the grocery, retail, convenience store, and other similar industries throughout Ireland. Leydens has emerged as the leading distributor of major Sports Nutrition brands in Ireland we distribute around the country to Gyms, personal trainers and Health shops.
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Do you have an interesting story or topic to share, or would you like to submit an article for consideration for our next issue?
We love to hear from Dublin Fire Brigade personnel both serving and retired – stories and memories from your career, interesting events, technology and training, questions, comments and much more besides.
For further information contact the editor by email adam.hyland@ashvillemediagroup.com Firecall call for submissions.indd 1
29/04/2020 15:37
TECHNOLOGY
TECHNOLOGICAL TOOLS
THE LATEST INNOVATIONS FOR THE WORLD’S EMERGENCY SERVICES.
WILDFIRE FIGHTING American aviation technology company Erickson has signed a deal with Sikorsky Aerospace to incorporate Sikorsky’s Matrix Technology into their fleet of S64 Air Crane helicopters to enhance a pilot’s firefighting capabilities in the wake of increasing wildfire activity across the globe. “The Northern and Southern hemisphere fire seasons are starting to merge, and we're also seeing the fires intensifying,” said Hayden Olson, general manager of Erickson Aerosystems. “We need to be able to fight fires at night and in reduced visibility conditions. This technology is going to give our pilots that ability, so they can focus on the mission.” A demo flight of a Matrix-equipped S64 is expected sometime next year, the companies said. Matrix also captures a vast amount of data, and Erickson believes that can provide keys for optimising firefighting operations in the future. Though initially intended to augment the aircraft’s standard two-pilot crew, when the system is fully matured, Sikorsky plans for Matrix-equipped aircraft to be operated either by two pilots, one pilot, or autonomously, simply by toggling a switch between the three options. That selection would be based on the task and the danger involved, such as high-risk scenarios where unmanned aerial firefighting would be necessary.
TOUCHBASED GUIDANCE Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) in Pittsburgh are exploring the use of touch-based haptic interfaces as alternative communication channels for firefighters, enabling personnel to interact with a computer through their body movements. The team has modified a firefighter’s helmet by adding haptic actuators, a control box with a radio module, and other devices to provide real-time information to firefighters. The helmet communicates directions to a firefighter by sending a buzz to the front, back or sides of the head, indicating to move forward, stop, or turn left or right. The haptic signals are sent to the helmet from an RF remote controller or a virtual reality simulator. The system has been tested at a firefighter training facility in Colorado, with firefighter feedback praising the efficiency, wearability and user-friendly nature of the device. The helmet was first revealed at the 2020 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas and will undergo further testing to improve its functionality in broader firefighting activities.
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TECHNOLOGY
HEALTH MONITOR A device that can monitor health threats to firefighters in real time has received financial and technical support from IBM that will help roll it out more widely. A research team based in Barcelona has been deploying cutting edge technology in an open-source application called Prometeo, using a device the size of a smartphone that can be strapped to the arm. Using artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things, the device has sensors that monitor temperature, smoke concentration and humidity, and can send colour-coded alerts via a Cloud platform to command centres. That information can then be used to recognise dangerous situations and extract firefighters, as well as tracking their long-term exposure. Daniel Krook, chief technology officer of the IBM Code and Response initiative, said it would work with Prometeo to make the open-source
VITALS APP
technology available to firefighting teams across Europe, North and South America, and Australia, with the device planned to be trialled in the Catalan region first. "What we are doing here is taking care of the health of firefighters, and we hope that with our project we will be able to get a better life expectancy (for them)," said Josep Ràfols, an IT worker who leads the Prometeo development team. He said the goal was to help realise the dream of veteran Catalan firefighter Joan Herrera, who
had struggled to find a way to track the rising health risks facing his profession. Herrera - after suffering headaches and breathing problems from smoke inhalation, and seeing other firefighters die in his arms - launched an effort over a decade ago with emergency nurse Vicenç Ferrés Padró to collect data by following teams in the field. But new IT devices and technology mean that painstaking task can now be done more cheaply and efficiently, said Ràfols.
The community of Kandiyohi County in Minnesota has developed an app that improves interaction between first responders and people with visible and invisible conditions and disabilities by communicating critical information in real time to fire and rescue personnel. When in close proximity to a Bluetooth beacon worn by the vulnerable person, the Vitals App sends an alert to the fire, ambulance or other first response personnel, who can access a profile uploaded by a caregiver, family member or guardian. This information includes the person’s identity, condition, emergency contact and de-escalation techniques for that individual, helping the emergency services to communicate with and treat the person more effectively. Originally designed for law enforcement, the app has since been recognised as a useful tool for EMS as well, particularly when it comes to attending incidents involving elderly people or people with dementia, epilepsy, diabetes, brain injuries, Parkinson’s disease, stroke or hearing impairment, who might not be able to communicate their situation. First responders in the county have had the technology installed in their everyday equipment so that smartphones are not needed to communicate the information, with all emergency services personnel now carrying the app.
SPRING 60 FIRECALL
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Supporting The Fire Brigade In Promoting Road Safety
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29/04/2020 05/02/2020 14:31 09:56
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