Firecall Winter 2016

WINTER 2016

FIRECALL OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF DUBLIN FIRE, AMBULANCE AND EMERGENCY SERVICES

YEARS OF FIRECALL OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF DUBLIN FIRE, AMBULANCE AND EMERGENCY SERVICES

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CONTENTS

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EDITOR’S LETTER

13 07

FIRE SAFETY

Dublin Fire Brigade has been working hard to create a safer environment in Dublin city and county, spreading the message of fire safety.

FOREWORD

DFB IN BRIEF 10

CHRISTMAS CHEER A look back at the Social Club’s annual kids’ Christmas party.

SERVICE RECOGNISED Retiring members of Dublin Fire Brigade were recognised at a special function in Liffey Valley last November.

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18 MARATHON EFFORT CLASS OF 2016 Recruit Class 2-2016 participated in their passing out parade held in the OBI last October.

DFB’s Sports and Social Club recently held two social nights for members in Dublin city centre.

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OF FIRECALL We take a look back at the past four decades of Firecall.

A group of DFB personnel took part in the 2016 Dublin City Marathon.

CLUB NIGHTS

40 YEARS

20

DAMIEN FYNES

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PAUL MCCABE

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32

DOMINICK MCNABB

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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

TERRY POTTS

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JOHN MACBRIDE 42 DAVE SNEE PICTURE PARADE

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GREG O’DWYER

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54

DAN FYNES

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CONTENTS

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MASS CASUALTIES AT THE OBI The latest recruit class were put through their paces during a fullscale training exercise in November.

In memory OF IAN MCCORMACK

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The crew of B watch Dolphin’s Barn unveiled a garden memorial in the grounds of the station for their colleague Ian McCormack.

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Remember

PEARSE STREET

A ceremony was held in Glasnevin Cemetery in memory of the firefighters who lost their lives on Pearse Street in 1936.

STATION PROFILE

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TECHNOLOGICAL TOOLS

The latest in emergency service innovations.

Conor Forrest paid a visit to S/O Robert Young and the crew of B watch Kilbarrack.

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RETIRED MEMBER PROFILE

MOTORING Conor Forrest reviews the Skoda Superb and Fiat’s new Fullback.

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We sat down with retired firefighter Paul Hand, who spends his days as an active member of the Retired Members Association and as curator of the DFB museum.

THE ITALIAN JOB

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Brendan Lodola reflects on a recent cycling trip to Tuscany, a wonderful physical tonic, and an extraordinary outing in the beautiful Tuscan countryside.

DISASTER

MANAGEMENT

81

The OBI played host to students from across Europe who came to Dublin to take part in the Operational Management Course (OPM).

INTERNATIONAL 95

NEWS

Emergency services news from around the globe.

CONTENTS WINTER 02 FIRECALL

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EDITOR’S LETTER Editor: Conor Forrest ­­­ Consulting Editors: Dan Fynes & Bevin Herbert Contributors: Brendan Lodola, B watch Dolphin’s Barn

letter from the

EDITOR

Editorial and Production Manager: Mary Connaughton Design and Layout: Jennifer Reid Cover credits: Conor Forrest/Glenn Fitzgerald Photography: Paul Marsh, Sarah Good, Trevor Hunt, Glenn Fitzgerald, Dave Snee, DFB, Conor Forrest, Ray McMonagle, Brendan Lodola, B watch Dolphin’s Barn, Skoda, Fiat, O’Brien Institute, Emergency Warning Systems, Urban Aeronautics, MOVE Systems, iStock Sales Director: Paul Clemenson Production Executive: Claire Kiernan Publisher: Chesterfox Ltd, T/A Firecall Magazine, P.O. Box 6766, Dublin 2.

Tel: (01) 432 2200; Fax: (01) 672 7100 Managing Director: Gerry Tynan Chairman: Diarmaid Lennon Distribution by: Magazine Mailing Ashville Media Group Old Stone Building, Blackhall Green, Dublin 7 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 o­ missions. Statements and opinions expressed herein are not n­ ecessarily those of the Editor or of the ­publisher.

Copyright ©2017 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.

ear readers, An exercise in national commemoration, 2016 was a special year for the Irish nation, but it also represented a landmark occasion for Firecall. The magazine began life as Brigade Call back in 1976 and, four decades later, we are still here. Inside we’ve got interviews with past editors, who share their memories of their time with the publication and reflect on the past 40 years. We also take a look back at some of the letters sent in to Brigade Call editors over the years, and journey through DFB and Brigade Call history through our photographic record. My thanks to the former editors and honorary secretaries for their time in speaking with me. Thanks also to Paul Hand of the DFB museum, who facilitated our reproduction of images and text from the museum’s Brigade Call collection, which is on loan to the museum from the DFB Sports and Social Club archives.

Elsewhere, in this issue’s station profile I travelled to Kilbarrack fire station to meet S/O Robert Young and the crew of B watch, who explained the challenges and benefits of working in No 6. We also bring you photos from the latest and extensive mass casualty training incident held at the OBI, as well as our usual round-up of technological innovations for those in emergency response.

Finally, Dublin Fire Brigade firefighter and historian Las Fallon hung up his boots at the end of 2016, after a long and interesting career in the brigade. Las has done an extraordinary amount of work in researching and promoting the brigade’s history and its involvement in seminal events since its founding in 1862, including the Easter Rising and the burning of the Custom House in 1921. Over the years Las has also been a great source of information, advice and, of course, interesting articles on a diverse range of topics. We wish him, and all retiring personnel, the very best in retirement.

Hope you enjoy the read,

Conor Forrest 04 004_FC_Editors.indd 4

EDITOR’S PICKS

p

40 YEARS OF FIRECALL

Beginning with founder Damien Fynes, we chart the evolution of the magazine.

66 THE ITALIAN JOB Brendan Lodola recounts an unforgettable cycling trip to Italy.

We are updating our mailing list. If your contact details are out of date, please email: conor.forrest@ ashvillemediagroup.com.

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FOREWORD

Honorary Secretary’s

FOREWORD elcome readers to our final edition of Firecall for 2016, looking back at a busy autumn and winter for Dublin Fire Brigade and the Sports and Social Club.

The past year represents a huge period for Firecall as we celebrate four decades in existence. Throughout the magazine we chart the highs and lows of the past 40 years, speaking with past editors and honorary secretaries from the Sports and Social Club about their experiences at the helm of the magazine.

It has also been a momentous year for our country, and we have been proud to play a part in DFB’s commemorations. In the last of our comprehensive coverage of a historical year for DFB, we look back at the Pearse Street fire of 1936, with a memorial ceremony held at Glasnevin Cemetery in honour of the three firefighters who lost their lives.

Throughout the last year the DFB Sports and Social Club has granted many applications for assistance towards the costs incurred in participating in and hosting sporting events for its members. In this issue we look back on several events sponsored or organised by the Club, including the annual retired members’ function, our two social nights for all four watches in the River Bar, a cycling trip to Italy, and DFB’s first organised participation in the Dublin City Marathon.

I would like to take this opportunity to say a word of thanks to those who have assisted the Club during the past year. Thanks to CFO Mr Patrick Fleming and his staff for your continued support, and all of the senior officers and their sections who have assisted the Club in various ways throughout the year. Bevin Herbert and her staff for their continued support and assistance in promoting and organising Club events. The DFB Pipe Band (which has been, and continues to be, an excellent ambassador for Dublin Fire Brigade) has been an integral part of the success of the last year’s events, and thanks to our Retired Members Association for their continued support.

Thanks also to all who helped make our events so successful over the last year by turning up as volunteers and helping out. Last, but by no means least, I would like to sincerely thank the Chairperson, Ray Murray, the outgoing Treasurer, Tony Devoy, our new treasurer, Simon Finglas, and all of the committee who work tirelessly and in your interest all year.

Thank you all – hopefully this year will be as successful.

Dan Fynes

DAN FYNES

Following on from a very successful 2016, we have great plans for St. Patrick’s Day 2017. Notifications will be available early in the new year.

WINTER 2016

FIRECALL OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF DUBLIN FIRE, AMBULANCE AND EMERGENCY SERVICES

YEARS OF FIRECALL OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF DUBLIN FIRE, AMBULANCE AND EMERGENCY SERVICES

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DFB IN BRIEF

DFB

A recap of Dublin Fire Brigade news and events over the past few weeks and months.

Some of our firefighters received their long service recognition from the Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government including 20 and 30-year medals. Congrats to all.

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The annual commemorative mass for deceased members, serving and retired, was held on November 20th in St Saviour’s Church, Dominick Street.

New recruit firefighters starting on the right foot – they were taught very well in our training centre (photo from A watch HQ).

We were delighted to provide an honour guard, sword and mace for the visit of the President of Cyprus Nicos Anastasiades with the Lord Mayor of Dublin.

Third Officer Stephen Barriscale retired after nearly 34 years with DFB. Thanks for your service Stephen, and the memories.

4 HQ firefighters squeezed into a small opening to practice a confined spaces rescue. Hot and uncomfortable work in an empty tank.

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5

Colonel Tish Lagerwey of US Customs and Border Protection presented FF/P Jonathon Forbes with a one-off picture in recognition of his 9/11 commemoration work.

After a few stops S/O Dave Connolly finished the Dublin Marathon in 7 hrs 30 mins in full fire kit for Rory’s Wish to Walk.

Well done Dave.

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DFB IN BRIEF We’ve started to use drones to help us in our training and ops. Here a drone is surveying a road traffic collision exercise.

Dublin Fire Brigade @DubFireBrigade

Phibsboro’s D watch were at the Ilac Centre giving out some fire safety leaflets and advice as part of Fire Safety Week 2016.

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8 We have trained a new class of emergency service controllers for duty in our regional control centre.

Pictured here with Rescue 116.

We assisted in the safe landing and transfer of a patient from an Irish Air Corps air ambulance to the Mater hospital with the National Ambulance Service.

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80 years on we remember the 1936 Pearse St fire where three Dublin firemen – Malone, Nugent and McArdle – died in the line of duty.

Retiring DFB personnel at a recent function in Liffey Valley.

CFO Fleming with our latest

9 graduates from DIT outside

St Patrick’s Cathedral.

The graduates received a Bachelor of Fire Engineering.

Over 800 999/112 calls received. Dublin: 400+ fire calls and 248 ambulance calls. Thankfully, all our firefighters/paramedics went home safe on Halloween.

B watch crews from HQ, Donnybrook and North Strand took part in a high rise firefighting exercise.

20 minutes into his first shift, A watch recruit F/F Moloney from Tallaght fire station fights his first fire.

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CHRISTMAS CHEER

Santa touched down at the Clarion Hotel in Liffey Valley in December, bringing an early present for the children of DFB personnel. Thanks to the staff in the Clarion Hotel for hosting this annual event, and to all members of DFB we hope you had a very happy Christmas and have a wonderful new year.

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SOCIAL NIGHTS

THE SOCIAL SCENE

DFB’s Sports and Social Club recently held two social nights for members in Dublin City Centre.

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ublin Fire Brigade is a social organisation – different stations are involved in various events in their local communities, and firefighters across the job are often promoting or taking part in sports, historical or social events in the city.

It’s an aspect that the DFB Sports and Social Club is keen to promote and, after a period of absence due to the recession, the annual club nights returned in late 2015, initiated by committee member Paul Marsh from Dún Laoghaire and held in the River Bar on Burgh Quay. A change in the tender process for vendors for events like the kids’ summer party freed up some funds, which Marsh suggested the Club invest in reviving the social nights. “We cover the families with the kids, we cover everything from athletics to cricket – there is a gap there, I think, especially as there are two new classes of recruits,” says Paul.

The first of 2016, on November 17th, was held for those on B and D watch, while A and C watches got their turn the following Thursday night – the idea was to bring together those who wouldn’t normally meet one another starting or finishing a shift. Each night featured spot prizes, a certain amount of free drinks and party games, and pitted a member of each watch against one another. “I brought people up and had a quiz – we had a phonetic alphabet quiz for the lads in the control room, questions involving the fire

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brigade and medical questions,” says Paul. “I got one from C watch and one from A watch, just to get a bit of banter and a bit of craic going. This year, because we had two classes of recruits, we focused on them. I think the recruits enjoyed getting involved.”

Alongside increased attendance on the previous year’s social nights, the Club received a boost in the form of 20 new members. As a result, the

social nights are very much back on the Club calendar. “What we’re hoping to do this year is a 999 night – that’s what we used to do in the late nineties,” Paul adds. “We had a couple of them – nurses, guards, firefighters – when we had the Ierne ballroom. They were brilliant nights and I’d love to get them going again.”

Getting to colleagues in DFB is the idea behind these nights out – Paul explains that the fire service is a job in which morale plays a huge role.

But it’s also an opportunity to get to know people you might not ordinarily meet. “If there’s good morale you’ll work a lot better...you’re working with guys for 15 hour shifts,” he says. “The next step would be to get to know the people that are in the hospitals, or the guards when you’re out at these incidents. I just think people work better when they know each other that little bit better. You do the 40 hours a week together, but when you get to know them on a social basis as well, you’ll see a different side of them, and I think it helps.”

Top: A watch Tallaght. Above: The Club committee

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FIRE SAFETY

Dublin Fire Brigade has been working hard to create a safer environment in Dublin city and county, spreading the message of fire safety.

H

alloween was once again a busy period for Dublin Fire Brigade, which responded to almost 900 call outs between Monday October 31st and Tuesday November 1st.

The majority of the incidents were related to bonfires, and Dublin Lord Mayor Brendan Carr was emphatic in his praise of Dublin Fire Brigade’s management of the busy holiday period.

“On behalf of all Dubliners, I want to pay tribute to the 200 firefighters and paramedics in the Dublin region, who once again did a remarkable job in keeping Dublin safe this Halloween.

They responded to 842 calls between 12 noon yesterday and 6am this morning, making it their busiest night of the year so far. Thankfully all responders returned home safely at the end of their shifts with no injuries to report,” said Lord Mayor Carr, speaking on November 1st. “I also want to commend the public who largely heeded the safety messages from Dublin Fire Brigade this Halloween, and turned out in huge numbers to the many novel and safe family events organised by Dublin City Council, in association with local communities all over the city. The majority of the emergency calls in Dublin related largely to small fires arising from bonfires, along with standard calls involving domestic fires across Dublin city and county.”

To keep the public informed throughout the night, the DFB Twitter

page used the hashtag #DFBLive to share incident response, facts and figures from 4pm on October 31st to around 2.30am on November 1st.

“To improve the feature we added an interactive Google map to help assist visuals and aid understanding of the volume of incidents we attend on Halloween night. It was important for us to include every fire/incident attended

by DFB fire appliances, including those in which a district officer was the only resource allocated,” explains Ray McMonagle, a firefighter stationed in Tallaght who works on the brigade’s social media spheres alongside Trevor Hunt. It was undoubtedly a major success in promoting what Dublin Fire Brigade does – total impressions (the amount of times a user saw a tweet) on DFB’s Twitter page for October 31st alone reached over 814,000, up from 2015’s figures of 610k. To put that in context, DFB normally averages between 1.3m and 1.6m per month.

The interactive map, meanwhile, achieved 48,310 views over Halloween.

The hope is that the message has reached a wider audience than ever before, encouraging people to change their attitudes towards fire safety on Halloween, in a bid to improve the holiday for everybody going forward.

“Hopefully this year we have witnessed a shift in public consciousness away from unsafe practices at Halloween.

This year we witnessed no firefighter injuries, no recorded public injuries

Incidents on Halloween night.

Map data ©2016 Google

National Fire Safety Week 2016 took place between October 3rd – 10th last, a national awareness campaign with the aim of reducing and preventing fires in the home that was launched in Dublin in the O’Brien Training Institute.

Throughout the week Dublin Fire Brigade tweeted out a number of safety messages urging people to check that alarms were working, to avoid overloading sockets, to get chimneys cleaned and to avoid the use of space heaters. Crews from across the city got involved in the campaign – for example A watch Blanchardstown paid a visit to Hope Monstessori and Autism Centre in Coolmine, while D watch Phibsborough passed out fire safety leaflets and advice in the Ilac Centre on Henry Street. DFB also gave away 40 smoke alarms (provided

by Ei Electronics) and ten carbon monoxide alarms on Facebook as part of the campaign.

FIRE SAFETY WEEK

PROMOTING FIRE SAFETY

and no public order incidents where the emergency services were called and we want to keep it that way in future,” said Lord Mayor Carr. “Together we can all make Halloween safer and Dublin City Council will continue to organise great family events across the city every Halloween, and I encourage all Dubliners to get involved, enjoy themselves and think safety first.”

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RETIRED MEMBERS

SERVICE RECOGNISED Presentations were made to retiring members of Dublin Fire Brigade at a special function in Liffey Valley in November.

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he annual Sports and Social Club retired members function took place on Friday November 25th 2016 at the Clarion Hotel in Liffey Valley. The retiring members of Dublin Fire Brigade were honoured on the night, presented with tokens of thanks from the Chief Fire Officer, Pat Fleming, and the Sports and Social Club, for their years of service.

A great night was had by all who attended and, to our departing friends and colleagues, we wish you a safe and happy retirement!

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RETIRED MEMBERS

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RETIRED MEMBERS

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RETIRED MEMBERS

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DUBLIN CITY MARATHON

MARATHON EFFORTS A group of DFB personnel took part in the Dublin City Marathon in October, one of a number of events held throughout the centenary year. Conor Forrest reports.

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s I’ve discovered over the last few years, Dublin Fire Brigade and those who work under its banner are quite energetic in everything they do – running open days, taking part in sporting events, supporting community initiatives, even go-karting from Offaly to Dublin in aid of charity. Take the Dublin City Marathon for example. Among the runners in the 2016 event was S/O Dave Connolly, who completed the marathon while dressed in full firefighting gear, including a BA set, running with the support of his wife. Dave was raising funds and awareness for Rory’s Wish to Walk (www.rorygallagherswishtowalk. com), which aims to bring four-yearold Rory Gallagher, who suffers from cerebral palsy, to the US for specialist

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treatment. With an overall target of f80,000 Dave helped raise just over f6,000 from a bucket collection on Henry Street the week before, and presented the proceeds to Rory and his family two days before the marathon.

But Dave Connolly wasn’t alone out on the tarmac. In fact, 2016 marked the first time that DFB competed in the Dublin City Marathon as a group, complete with bespoke jerseys. That was instigated by FF/P Ray McMonagle, ordinarily stationed in Tallaght but sometimes seconded to HQ as part of his role on DFB’s social media team.

Ray began running back in 2010. He took part in the Race Series the same year and then went on to complete the Dublin City Marathon, which he’s done every year since. “Every year I did it I met firefighters at it, but we were always

doing it individually, never running as a group or a team,” he says. With the same faces appearing year after year, talk always turned to an official group entry for the next event, though nothing ever came of it. The day after the 2015 event, Ray’s limping attracted some attention in the control room, and a number of people expressed an interest in taking part in 2016.

“It was left at that, I didn’t think any more after,” he says. “The Dublin Marathon organisers themselves were pushing 2016 to be their big one, because of the centenary year. With the fire brigade doing so much around 1916 I was becoming involved from a social media point of view, and I really started to get into it. I didn’t learn about 1916 at school so I didn’t really know much about it.” With his interest in the Easter

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DUBLIN CITY MARATHON

Sports and Social Club committee members.

Sarah Good (A watch No 8) and Aoife Stones (A watch No 9).

After speaking with race director Jim Aughney the DFB contingent came up with a plan of action and arranged a oneoff running kit.

Main image and above: The DFB runners. Photos: Trevor Hunt.

Rising commemorations growing, aided in no small part by the work of DFB historian Las Fallon throughout the year, Ray resolved to get a group together for 2016. “Initially we got about 50 people interested – normally 12 or 13 will do it individually. As the months went on and people realised they would have to do a bit of training for this, the numbers dwindled a little bit. Ultimately it came down to about 23 people who did it on the day,” Ray explains. “I approached the committee in June or July and asked if they would be willing to allow us to compete as a group, and get a photo at the start with the Lord Mayor, making it more of an event for the fire brigade.

And they were very accommodating, they were really on board.”

Having spoken with race director Jim Aughney, the DFB contingent came

up with a plan of action and arranged a one-off running kit, which each runner purchased. The Sports and Social Club sponsored the entry cost for each Club member who participated. With all of their training done and dusted, the DFB runners met early on the morning of Sunday October 30th and travelled to Fitzwilliam Square where an area had been reserved for them, along with the gardaí runners and invited elite athletes from East Africa. The group had their photo taken with the Lord Mayor on the start line, stood to attention when the national anthem was played by the Artane Band, before taking their positions on the start line.

“The day itself was great, it was almost what you would call a perfect marathon day – it wasn’t too warm, wasn’t too cold, there was no rain, no wind at

all,” says Ray. “The atmosphere was electric – I always mention the crowds.

I’ve done different marathons around Ireland and the crowds are always the people who bring you along; when you’re thinking about giving up the crowds are the ones cheering you on.

They’re like the voice on your shoulder saying ‘keep going, keep going’.”

The overall men’s winner on the day was Dereje Debele Tulu from Ethiopia, who finished with a time of 2:12:18.

Female runner Helalia Johannes (Namibia) crossed the finish line in 2:32:32. For his part, Ray was happy enough with how his race went. “I got out of it what I put into it,” he says.

“There were no injuries, I haven’t heard any negative feedback. Everybody who started, finished – I think everybody was happy enough with their efforts.”

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RECRUIT PASSOUT

D

CLASS OF 2016

Recruit Class 2-2016 participated in the passing out parade held in the OBI last October.

ublin Fire Brigade welcomed 50 new recruits into its ranks on October 6th last, as Class 2-2016 successfully completed their 15 weeks of training and passed out from the DFB training centre in Marino. The ceremony was attended by the Lord Mayor of Dublin, Brendan Carr, Dublin City Council Assistant Chief Executive Brendan Kenny, and the Mayor of South Dublin, Guss O’Connell.

Over the 15 weeks the recruits completed more than 37,000 combined hours of training at the hands of 60 DFB specialist instructors, complemented by instructors from An Garda Síochána, Dublin Bus, Renault Trucks and Luas. During the event they showcased their impressive range of training, covering a wide variety of skills ranging from working with BA sets and swift water rescue to dealing with road traffic collisions, Hazmat incidents and emergency first response.

Speaking on the day, Lord Mayor Carr noted the city’s pride in witnessing another cohort of highly trained firefighters beginning their new careers. “We are proud to have trained yet another class of recruits this year over the past 15 weeks. The calibre of the recruits passing out is a testament to the hard work and dedication of the instructors and of the recruits themselves,” he said. “Dublin Fire Brigade provides a vital service for the city and county of Dublin and I have no doubt that all new firefighters joining the ranks of Dublin Fire Brigade will continue to uphold that proud service.”

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RECRUIT PASSOUT

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RECRUIT PASSOUT

Speaking on the day, Lord Mayor Carr noted the city’s pride in witnessing another cohort of highly trained firefighters beginning their new careers.

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RECRUIT PASSOUT

Photos: Glenn Fitzgerald

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40 40 YEARS OF FIRECALL

YEARS OF

FIRECALL Firecall has been going strong for the past 40 years – read on to get the scoop on our last four decades.

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RETIRED MEMBERS

Damien Fynes Retired D/O Damien Fynes recounts the formation of Brigade Call, and the various trials and tribulations in its early days.

F

orty years ago, Firecall began life as Brigade Call, the brainchild of firefighters Damien Fynes and Martin O’Brien. The two would often talk in the bunk room about the various rumours floating around the brigade, and how a magazine might swap rumour for fact. “There was rumour about this, there was rumour about that – nobody ever actually had the full story. So we decided that what we needed was something to project our own image,” Damien recalls. “At this stage we were young and we wanted to get out there, so we thought we would set up a magazine. And that’s how Brigade Call came about.”

As a result a committee was formed to bring this idea to fruition – the very first issue of the magazine featured the names of T O’Connor, B Keegan, P McCabe, J Mulvaney, B Murphy and J O’Neill, alongside Damien as Secretary and Martin O’Brien as the editor. The aim from the very beginning was clear – a magazine for firefighters, written by firefighters, covering subjects pertaining to the fire services both in Ireland and further afield. “The purpose of this magazine is to improve contact within the fire service and to provide information on topical subjects. We also intend to bring you information on happenings in other fire services,” the introduction noted.

LAUNCH Damien and Martin began travelling around the stations, attending the

various events and taking photos using an old camera with a twiston flash – the front page of the first edition carried a photo of the former DFB and then New York Fire Department firefighter Jesse Owens making a presentation to DFB’s chief, T.P. O’Brien. That first issue cost the grand sum of £5 to produce, printed by Lido Print. The magazine was at least part funded by advertising from the likes of Louis Copeland & Sons and Des Kelly Carpets – Damien was placed in charge of advertising alongside Seamus O’Connor. However, there were some initial bumps in the road.

“The powers that be felt that it was a communist angle that we were coming from, that it was subversive.

We were doing stuff that they had no control over, that they had no input into,” says Damien. That particular tone was encapsulated within a cartoon drawn by Paul McCabe, which depicted an officer sitting on a toilet, with a caption reading ‘Officers take note! The job isn’t finished until the paperwork is done!’ If that didn’t set the tone then an article by Mick Gibney, featured on the same page, certainly did. A cleverly written piece, it described the author’s thought process as he pondered what to write for the first edition, noting in print the topics that he wouldn’t or couldn’t dwell on – such as promotion and ‘union efficiency’ – and yet thereby referencing the major issues of the day. “Gibney’s article was ingenious. He hit all the bases and all the points by passing over them!”

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40 YEARS OF FIRECALL

CHANGING TIMES As a result, an attempt to place a framework of acceptability around the magazine was made, and the Chief met with Gerry Bolger, secretary of the recently formed Sports and Social Club, to inform him of his unhappiness with the publication. An extraordinary meeting of the Club was convened in order to meet with Martin and Damien, which was held in the ambulance room in Dorset Street.

Gerry informed the ringleaders that he had to view everything that was to be included in each edition, and required a say in whether certain items were included. Both agreed and soon after Gerry came to review the second issue, and he duly went through the proof, making note of what could and could not be included. “Martin took umbrage to this. I said ‘Just before you go Gerry, would you sign here, this

is just to say that you’ve checked over and you’re quite happy with everything that’s going in the magazine’,” says Damien. “He signed it and as soon as they went out the door we put back everything!

And there was absolute war.”

Martin and Damien were hauled before another meeting of the Club and taken to task for their actions. They were told that from there on out each issue would have to be vetted by the chairperson and the secretary of the club. Both objected, maintaining that as it was their idea, they should have the right to oversee its publication and content. “I was flabbergasted, because all we were doing was putting out a magazine that was in the interests of everybody,” says Damien. As it transpired, Martin refused to accept the proposed conditions and resigned. Not too long later Damien followed suit and became involved in the Sports and Social Club instead, and Paul McCabe took over as the editor.

“Martin had great input into the magazine – he made up the crossword and the word search. He retired out of the brigade after 17 years of service, and has since died.

True to form he was cremated, and the last tune that they played before he went through the curtains was The Great Escape! He was an absolutely brilliant person,” Damien explains.

“I pulled out of it and Paul McCabe took over, and then after that it was Terry Potts, Dominick McNabb then John MacBride. Terry Potts was a great writer, Paul McCabe the same.

And I couldn’t speak too highly of John MacBride. He was there for a long time as editor and worked really hard at it. He didn’t get the credit that he deserved – he deserves credit for a lot of work that he put in.”

Looking back, Damien has fond memories of his short time with the magazine, and is proud to have played a part in its formation. “It’s 40 years this year,” he says. “That’s something, it’s still going strong.”

The Gibney twins featured in Firecall some years later.

THE TERRIBLE TWINS

Damien tells me with a laugh.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the chief was ‘livid’ when the first issue of Brigade Call, with its irreverent tone, appeared. At this time, Damien was living in Raheny, and would catch the bus into town, and then walk up Dorset Street. Passing by a bus stop in Raheny one day, Station Officer Joe Bell, who was training recruits in Kilbarrack at the time, spotted the young firefighter and offered him a lift into town. He asked Damien his name, and on hearing ‘Damien Fynes’, he realised who he had picked up. “He said ‘Oh. You’re one of them communists that started that magazine are you?

Do you know what the chief said about you? He said you’ll never be promoted’,” Damien recalls. “And I said ‘Can I quote you on that?’

He blew a fuse! I was sitting there as calm as you like thinking ‘Did I really say that?’ I went into work and I was telling the lads, they were laughing their heads off saying ‘Definitely, you’re gone’. Danny the Red they were calling me.”

Among the contributors to that fateful first edition, which spawned countless issues since, was S/O Mick Gibney [who, along with his brother Terry, was an identical twin (both are now deceased).]

“Mick was with us, a fantastic officer. Mick would come in and would stay up all night playing chess or playing cards or playing darts, in between turnouts,” says Damien.

“At that time in the late 1970s/mid ‘80s you never stayed in the station, you were always busy because you had guys burning the city for a few bob.

The Corporation used to pay compensation, and it wasn’t until they said they wouldn’t pay any more compensation out that all the arson stopped. Mick would keep everybody up, and everybody would go to bed for maybe half an hour [before the end of the shift]. Terry would come in then and relieve him early. Because they were identical twins, Terry would be going around [as Mick] getting everybody up as fresh as a daisy!”

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40 YEARS OF FIRECALL

Paul McCabe Retired firefighter and artist Paul McCabe speaks about his experiences as editor of Brigade Call in its early days.

P

aul McCabe is a man of many talents. Before he joined Dublin Fire Brigade in 1976 at the age of 21, he was a mechanic, a skill which would later see him drafted into the brigade’s special services in Tara Street. His career as a firefighter spanned 32 years, encompassing spells in Tara Street, Dolphin’s Barn, Rathmines, Phibsboro, Kilbarrack and finally Rathfarnham, from which he retired as a station officer. These days he plies his trade as a painter, a passion he has nurtured for many years, with his first exhibition having taken place last November 2016 at Art Source in the RDS. “I always wanted to be an artist, but it’s very hard to bring up a family, pay a mortgage and put kids through third level education when you’re painting,” he says with a smile. “It was something that I always dabbled in and kept at – I went to the National College of Art part-time at night, studying under Trevor Geoghegan. I always wanted to do it when I could afford to do it, when I didn’t have to rely on it. So when I retired that’s what I did, and that’s what I do now – I work as a full-time artist.”

Alongside his art, Paul’s creative side saw him employed as the editor of Brigade Call for a number of years beginning with the third edition of the magazine in 1977. A member of the Sports and Social Club prior to the launch of Brigade Call, he had been involved in its foundation

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and sketched the now infamous illustration of the officer which was featured in the very first issue a year previously. “John L’Estrange was a station officer at the time (a retired third officer now), and a syndicate officer of mine when I was training. I got on well with him and he knew I liked reading, writing and poetry, and he asked if I would be interested in helping out on the magazine,” Paul recalls. “At the time they were going to start a magazine, so I went to a meeting in the old club. Damien Fynes was of course the secretary, and Martin O’Brien was the very first editor.”

Paul’s first act when he took over from Martin O’Brien was to compile a comprehensive research into the history of Dublin Fire Brigade.

Trawling through the archives, it was a labour of love that took a number of months. On completion he passed the blueprint to John L’Estrange to review, and the piece was published over the course of six issues. “It wouldn’t have been anything like the history that Las Fallon produces, but we were very involved in it at the time,” says Paul. “Those were the pioneer years. It was a great time to be in the fire brigade – the fire brigade was a super job at the time.

It’s great now for those who join, but people of my era saw the best of it. To do anything you had to drive somewhere or get a bus somewhere.

It wasn’t just handy, you couldn’t just make a phone call. There were no computers or anything like that

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40 YEARS OF FIRECALL

Paul McCabe

– any information you wanted, you had to go to a library archive.”

FINDING THEIR WAY Those were the initial days of the magazine, when those involved were still finding their feet and working out how best to produce a quality publication. “We had to print it ourselves in the local printers. I got it done with a local printer here in Walkinstown originally,” Paul tells me. “He had never done anything like that, there was no Southside Express or Northside People. It was starting off from scratch and we had to find our way.” Striking the right balance was important, as was the neutral tone of Brigade Call, which persists today. “You had to create a balance where you weren’t going to insult the senior hierarchy within the fire service, and yet the lads had to feel that it was their magazine as well,” Paul explains. “It was intended firstly to get information out to the guys so that everybody felt included

in what was going on in the job – there were no mobile phones and social media at the time, so it was just word of mouth about what was going on, and rumour upon rumour.”

Resources were limited, but the editorial committee did the best with what they had. “I was very involved in it – we had to interview, talk to people...any time there was a social event going on you had to be at it, or one of the guys would have to go to it to see what was going on, take a few shots etc. It was very amateur but it was a kickstarter and it was a great thing to do, because look at the magazine they have today. It’s moved on, it’s great,” he adds.

To give them some background on producing a publication for the fire service, Paul enlisted the help of an English man who had penned a booklet on the history of Dublin Fire Brigade, which had been published during the 1940s or ‘50s. He came over from England to meet Paul – he wasn’t a firefighter himself but he

was a writer. “He was like the Joe Duffy of the time who was a big fan of the fire service and knew everything about it, the British fire service in particular. But he also had a thing for Dublin Fire Brigade,” says Paul. “He came over and we met him, and he gave us an insight into how to write things, how to publish it, how to break it down, what to leave out and what not to leave out. We stepped it up bit by bit and by the time we handed on the magazine it was better again.”

Clearly their hard work and endeavour was a success, as evidenced by the response from the readership of the time, and encouraged more members of the brigade to get involved. “It gave a good insight into what was going on in the different stations. It brought out the best in people – people who were good at writing and composing poetry or telling stories would send you in stuff,” says Paul. “Terry Potts was great – a mine of information in relation to Gaelic football and

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40 YEARS OF FIRECALL

Back in 1976, those founding members were unaware they were setting in motion something which would stand the test of time.

The cover of Paul’s first issue as Brigade Call editor.

other aspects of the job, and he was very interesting to read. He contributed a lot. Tom Geraghty was also a big contributor to the magazine. It brought out a lot in people who hadn’t got an outlet to say what they had to say.”

MODERN MAGAZINE Though he stepped down from his role as editor many years ago, Paul still receives his regular issue of Firecall. Though he notes that the content, design and overall feel of the magazine may have changed (alongside the name), he also believes that the core aim remains the same.

“It’s hugely different. All you have to do is look at the old blueprints. I was just looking at it, comparing it to the new magazine that comes in

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the door here...it’s just spaceships, it’s amazing. Before it was like a pamphlet. That was a big deal in its day, in 1976 – it was as good as it got,” he says. “But I think that the core magazine that is produced today is still the same thing. You’re also involving services and interlinked services from around the country and abroad, which we didn’t. We used to get a bit of information from the UK, and you might get some tidbits from the States if somebody had been over there. But the magazine that you get today contains all the information that you could want.”

Back in 1976, those founding members were unaware they were setting in motion something which would stand the test of time. Paul himself was only 22 and beginning

his new career, not realising that he would play a part in the history of Dublin Fire Brigade. “When we began we never knew it was going to be still there in 40 years’ time, no matter who’s running it,” he says.

“It is for the benefit of the brigade, there’s no doubt about that, and it definitely promotes the brigade in a good light. Especially with the likes of new equipment that’s on board and coming on stream now. It’s great for the likes of me who is interested in a lot of aspects, and in particular the equipment in the job, to see what is coming on stream and how much it has evolved even in the last seven years since I’ve left. There’s a lot more interesting, in-depth items in it now, it’s very easy to read.

Forty years – that’s amazing!”

FIRECALL WINTER

31/01/2017 16:52

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40 YEARS OF FIRECALL

Dominick McNabb

Currently stationed at the O’Brien Training Institute, Conor Forrest caught up with former Brigade Call editor Dominick McNabb to discover more about his role in the magazine during the early 1980s.

W

hen I meet Acting Station Officer Dominick McNabb in the O’Brien Training Institute, he’s in full flow. The OBI is a busy place these days – alongside the usual continuous professional development, the last batch of recruits have returned to complete their paramedic training.

Dominick first joined the job 36 years ago in 1980. Tara Street was the first stop in a long and eventful year, followed by 12 months in Finglas and 20 years in Kilbarrack where fellow editor Damien Fynes was the station officer. In 2004 he moved back to Tara Street when the control room was first staffed by dedicated call takers. Two years later he was asked by D/O Peter Keating to develop a training programme for call takers on the CORTEX system.

Somewhat reluctant to move to a 9-5 role, eventually he agreed. “He said it would only be 6 to 8 weeks – that was in January 2006, and I’m still here!” Dominick explains. “I was involved in changing the old ERCC training department into what is now called the Quality Improvement Unit for the ERCC, writing procedures, processes for call taking etc. I’m also currently on a committee to develop a national standard of training for fire control centre calls.”

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ANSWERING THE CALL 1980 was also the year when Dominick became involved with the relatively new Sports and Social Club. At that stage the magazine was being resurrected after a period of inactivity, an uncertain process as he described in the December issue of 1980.

“Launching out into the deep can be a very frightening experience. We are feeling quite uncertain as we launch this first issue of the new “Brigade Call” magazine. We are encouraged by the support given by the committee and the advice given by the previous editors has been most welcome and helpful,” he wrote. “We need that kind of support. We mostly need the support that only you the members of the DFB can give, and we ask you to show it by sending in material for the mag...topical news, articles and comments, anything to do with sport e.g. competitions within your station or on your watch...information from ALONE...IFE...service anniversaries, births, marriages etc.”

A partnership was struck with a firm known as CBM Publications, who provided the Club with the necessary funds to get back up and running, while they looked after the advertising. All that was left was to find somebody to fill the role of editor, and Dominick was voted in. “The first magazine we put out was 120 pages.

It was an A5 size, and that went on

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Dominick thoroughly enjoyed the experience, and saw it as an opportunity to educate and inform his colleagues in the brigade.

The cover of Dominick’s first issue as editor.

for a couple of years. In those days nothing was digital, everything was on a lightbox,” he says. “We used to get the stuff printed off, you had to cut it up and put it on a lightbox.

I spent a lot of time doing things like that – laying the magazine out, deciding what went on what page.”

The first issue set the tone for a more comprehensive Brigade Call, a 120-page publication which offered the latest news on DFB sporting activities, a short history of the Fire Brigade Sports Association of Ireland (FBSAI), the dangers of factory fires, not to mention an extensive feature on Christmas fashion. “It is our intention to use the mag as an instrument to encourage all of us to share ourselves and our knowledge on a wider scale.

It is not our intention to use it as a whipping post but as a means of communication between all watches and stations,” Dominick added in his first editorial as Brigade Call editor.

Producing Brigade Call was undoubtedly hard work – even more so when you had a full-time job in the fire brigade. However, Dominick thoroughly enjoyed the experience, and saw it as an opportunity to educate and inform his colleagues.

“We had great fun doing the magazine. It was always difficult to get articles though. In the early stages we were just packing content into it,” he says. “To me, the aim was twofold. One was the social end of things, telling people what was going on and what happened and providing reports. I saw it as an educational tool as well, printing articles that would be of interest to firefighters. It has developed a lot more since then, but at the time those were the two things we were looking at. From a social aspect, we didn’t get involved in union activities or anything like that.”

Finding the time to source content and write the magazine proved a little difficult, as the burden generally fell to Dominick alone. “I ended up doing nearly everything on it. In the early stages it was a one-man band. I got some assistance from the likes of Terry Potts and others,” he explains.

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There’s a lot more variety in it.

People are much more inclined to beat their drum now, and get a message out about their activities.

“Generally speaking you were going to events and taking photos. Then it developed that different people involved in sporting activities like soccer or volleyball began providing reports on what happened. Because you couldn’t just go to everything!”

When I ask him if he sees a difference between then and now, he immediately nods. “There is certainly a difference in the quality of the stuff that’s in it, it’s so much better now,” he says. “There’s a lot more variety in it. People are much more inclined to beat their drum now, and get a message out about their activities.”

MOVING ON Dominick’s time as editor of Brigade Call had come to an end by the summer of 1983, and he was succeeded by Terry Potts. From there he became involved with the union committee, and was then elected as chairman of the mess committee. He also became involved with the Fire Brigade Sports Association of Ireland, bringing the skills honed during his days at Brigade Call to a new publication that was unfortunately short-lived.

“I always said when I started doing it that the committee could tell me what not to put in, but if my name was going on it as editor, they couldn’t tell me to put in something that I didn’t want,” says Dominick.

“The first A4 magazine that we put out, I put it to bed with the printers and as far as I was concerned it was done. When it was printed and it came out there were two articles in it that I didn’t have anything to do

34

with. So I walked away.” The Club accepted his decision, and there were no hard feelings on the part of either party. “I was always a member of the Sports and Social Club and I was on the committee for years after that, so there was no animosity about it,” he explains.

These days the development of control centre training takes up all of his time, and is keeping him attached to the job that he has loved for so long – he still arrives into work looking forward to the day after almost 37 years, seven years after he had the chance to retire.

“It’s what’s keeping me here at the moment – I have my time done, nearly 37 years at this stage,” he says with a smile. “In two years’ time they’re going to throw me out!”

Top: Dominick’s first editorial in December 1980.

Above: A call for contributors to Brigade Call.

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40 YEARS OF FIRECALL

Letters to the Editor

r

Throughout the years, letters to the editor of Brigade Call have reflected the concerns of Dublin Fire Brigade personnel with the job, the Sports and Social Club and the magazine. We take a look at some of the letters which featured within the pages of Brigade Call between 1976 and 1990.

ge re.

1976 BRIGADE CALL, VOL. 1 NO 2, OCTOBER

1984 BRIGADE CALL, CHRISTMAS Chief Fire Officer, Tara St. Station, Dublin 2

Dear Editor, Dear Sir,

Brigade Call will start a call that will be heard all over Dublin. I can see you have firefighters who care about your city and fire department.

Last year, as you know, I visited the Dorset Street fire station. The afternoon I spent at the fire station has some of the best memories I have about my visit to Ireland.

Wishing everybody in Dublin well, I hope some day to return and come to your Social Club.

God Bless, Joseph A. McIvor Chairman of the Trustees Local 22 Firefighters, Philadelphia, PA, USA

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On behalf of the Sisters of the Holy Faith in the Coombe, I would like, through you, to express our sincerest gratitude to all your firemen who were involved in the big fire in Parks & Sons, the Coombe, on Wednesday 10 October last. This was a tremendous fire as you are well aware, but thanks to the excellent performance of your firemen even more serious damage was prevented. We are grateful to God that our school did not go up in flames – but even more so, that no lives were lost.

We were saddened to hear that three of the firemen suffered injuries. I hope and pray that none of these were too serious. We shall remember them specially in our prayers and wish each one of them a speedy and perfect recovery.

With renewed and sincere thanks, Yours sincerely, Sr. M. Consolata Regional Superior

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BRIGADE CALL, CHRISTMAS

BRIGADE CALL, CHRISTMAS

The following letter was in response to a message of sympathy which we at DFB extended to all the firefighters at the Chernobyl incident last year.

Dear Sirs, I had a fire at my house on 8th August, and I was most impressed at how the fire brigade dealt with it. They arrived quickly and had outed the blaze within minutes, without any mess.

Since they probably get at least as much blame as praise, I’d like to say thanks.

Yours faithfully, Betsy Nagle

1987

1987

40 YEARS OF FIRECALL

Dear Eddie Glackin and Fergus Ingram, The firemen of the Kiev region are grateful to you for the high appreciation of our actions to liquidate the aftermath of the accident at Chernobyl atomic power station. The risk was really great, but nevertheless we know what we had to face, and we performed our professional duty to the end.

The fire at the atomic reactor revealed clearly the immeasurable danger which nuclear war might bring to humanity and we hope that firemen whose duty calls them to protect life from fire will stand as one against the breaking out of a possible military atomic fire.

We are united with you by the sense of duty to protect the people from destructive fires and let this noble feeling help our peoples in their struggle against nuclear threat. We wish you and all of the Irish firemen further successes in fighting fires, good health and great happiness.

On behalf of the firemen of the Kiev region, Victor Triputin Head of the Fire Protection Department (A translation from the original Russian version)

BRIGADE CALL, DECEMBER BRIGADE CALL, SUMMER

It gives me great pleasure to offer my congratulations and best wishes for the future to the officers and men of Dublin Fire Brigade on the occasion of the Brigade’s 125th anniversary. Since the Brigade was established in 1862, after the passing of the Dublin Fire Brigades Act in the British House of Parliament, it has earned the respect and gratitude of the citizens of Dublin by a continuous performance to the highest standards.

My first contact with Dublin Fire Brigade was in 1949. On a visit to Dublin, my mother and I stayed overnight with her first cousin, Val Walsh, who at that time was Chief Officer. I joined the Brigade in 1973 as a Fire Prevention Officer and spent eleven happy years working there. I have many happy memories of people like T.P. O’Brien, Larry Carroll, Bill Collins, Harry Dickenson and Peter Hanley who has since passed away. RIP. I also remember people like Brian Larkin, Joe Kiernan, Paddy Leavy, Jimmy Conway, Paddy Finlay and Vera Hutchinson, all now retired.

Since leaving the Brigade in 1984 to take up duty as Chief Officer in Dún Laoghaire, I have maintained friendship with serving Dublin Fire Brigade personnel too numerous to mention. I have regular contact with Dublin Fire Brigade over a wide spectrum of areas and I have to say that my dealings are always of a pleasant nature.

If I have spent a lot of time talking about personalities, Mr Editor, I offer your readers an apology. It is the efforts of people like those I have mentioned who have made Dublin Fire Brigade what it is today. Their humour, dedication, determination and integrity have made an impression on me which will not fade with time. The best I can wish for Dublin Fire Brigade is that you will continue to be blessed with people like them in the years to come.

T. McDonald B.E, C. Eng., M.I.E.I., M.I.C.E., M.I Struct. E., M.I.F.E., Chief Fire Officer

To whom it may concern, This is just a little note to express our gratitude and appreciation of your help and kindness.

Our apartment in Errigal House, Eglinton Court, Dublin 4 was recently (7/11/88) badly damaged by fire. You were very efficient and thoughtful at all times.

Thank you again for your help.

Yours sincerely, Aisling O’Mahony Katherine Sullivan Rathmines, Dublin 6

1988

1990

BRIGADE CALL, APRIL We the men of ‘A’ watch No. 3 would like to express our sincere thanks to Paddy Redmond ‘A’ watch HQ for organising and delivering hot soup and bread to us while we were fighting the fire at the Bark Kitchen in early March. His consideration for his colleagues on an extremely cold and windy night was greatly appreciated.

‘A’ watch No. 3

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40 YEARS OF FIRECALL

Terry Potts Editor of Brigade Call between 1983 and 1985, Terry Potts reflects on his life within the fire brigade and with the Sports and Social Club.

T

erry Potts is one of the Dublin Fire Brigade old guard.

He joined in 1964 with 64 fellow potential firefighters, during the time when the job was making the transition from 72 hours per week to 42 hours.

Following his training he began life in his new career in June of that year in Rathmines fire station, working under Station Officer Fergus O’Flanagan.

“I learned more from him than I ever learned in school. He was a great teacher, he was a great firefighter, he was full of common sense. Ever since that I’ve never met anyone like him in the fire brigade,” he recalls.

Clearly those early days made an impression on the young Terry, and he would go on to spend 43 years with DFB, turning out to incidents across the city. “The academic side didn’t appeal to me, rightly or wrongly. Joe Kiernan was the Third Officer and was in charge of training – he asked me to go training with the lads, and I said no. It was 9 to 5 in Marino, but turning out appealed to me more. It was more variety, there was a lot of job satisfaction in answering the call,” he explains. “It was a great job, and it still is a good job. You won’t starve if you work in the fire brigade.”

Like many of his colleagues, Terry joined the Sports and Social Club (formed in 1972) in 1977, which had been established on the back of a huge fire at Smurfits in Ballymount Lane.

As a token of appreciation, Smurfits had made a donation intended for

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the Dublin Fire Brigade’s Sports and Social Club, which wasn’t yet in existence at that time – one was duly set up. Attending a Club meeting full of ideas of how it should be run, Terry wound up getting a job as secretary, and soon became involved in the publication of Brigade Call. “ I walked into it. Jimmy Mulvaney was there before me and a few others – Paul McCabe – they had a bulletin,” he explains. “I changed it into a periodical magazine and these two gentlemen, Mannix and O’Brien, decided that they would produce a magazine, give the club £400 and they would produce it from then on.” The Chief Fire Officer at the time, Captain O’Brien, was consulted. The decision as to whether Terry would be suitable for the job of running the magazine was left in the hands of Third Officer Joe Kiernan, who decided to give Terry a chance. He quickly got to work producing a publication for the benefit of the members, something that, in his own words, they could ‘dig their teeth into’, although securing the support of Club members proved difficult at times.

SPORTING ACHIEVEMENTS Alongside history and the regular goings on in Dublin Fire Brigade, much of the magazine’s focus was on the various sports DFB and Club members were involved in – mostly soccer and athletics. During those early years, Terry was involved in

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40 YEARS OF FIRECALL

Terry introduced a focus on technology to Brigade Call.

He was also instrumental in spreading the game of volleyball, which was duly covered in the magazine. Having undertaken a course in the rudiments of the game, teams were quickly organised. the formation of the fire brigade’s Gaelic football team alongside Paddy Hobbs. From those foundations the team went on to win the All-Ireland Factories League, beating a team from Limerick in the final. He was also instrumental in spreading the game of volleyball, which was duly covered in the magazine. Having undertaken a course in the rudiments of the game, teams were quickly organised.

“I introduced volleyball into the club. It was a means of keeping fit.

It went down a bomb, people loved it, we had nets across the yards for a game of volleyball,” says Terry.

“I looked on that as a form of drill.

We entered the team in the national leagues, and we won the junior and the intermediate league. They still play it in the yards around the job, it’s a non-contact sport. We used to get trips out of it around Europe, that was a redeeming feature of it. We got to Germany, The Hague, Amsterdam, Gibraltar...we saw the world. We weren’t as successful as the water polo team. They won the European championship three years in a row.”

In his first year as editor, Terry noted the growing popularity of the magazine among its readership, alongside the magazine’s partnership with Regal Publications, in his editorial in the Christmas issue of 1983. “Brigade Call is slowly but surely growing in popularity. The compliments received from our own overseas readers is very encouraging.

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It’s all about the training etc. and though that’s great, [there should be] more around the stations or things that happened in the job.

Terry Potts

Our own readers, here in Dublin, too, are asking ‘When is the next mag due out?’ Some members are asking for copies to send to friends. All this is very heartening indeed. The work that goes into compiling the editorial is demanding and time consuming.

Help in any shape or form would be greatly appreciated,” he wrote. “Our Benevolent Fund set up in the summer is financed in the main by Regal Publications, our official publishers.

The fact that they are expanding their commercial enterprise, at a steady rate, raises the question – will they continue to give Brigade Call the same consideration and attention? We have

40 038_FC_Terry.indd 40

been assured by both Pat Mannix and Sean O’Brien that our magazine will always be No 1 on their agenda.”

EVOLUTION Terry retired in 2007, having enjoyed a career which spanned four decades, finishing as the mobilisation officer in Tara Street on B watch. Times have very much changed within the job, he tells me. “It was a great job with ups and downs, but mostly ups. When I started first going through the streets, the bells going, when we’d be passing by, people used to bless themselves... every woman in Dublin would bless themselves,” he says. “I used to say

‘Why are they doing that?’ And it was because of where we could be going. They don’t do it now – the fire brigade isn’t like that now as it was then. It’s looked as a service that is a taxpayer’s burden. In the old days people used to say ‘Stand aside, let them at it, they know what they’re doing’. You don’t hear that now.”

Times have also changed for Brigade Call, beyond its name change in the nineties. “The last issue, I thought it was good. Harry O’Keeffe – I worked with him,” says Terry. “There’s too many ads, that was always my bugbear. There’s not enough about the fire brigade in it, there’s not enough of the nitty gritty.

It’s all about the training etc. and though that’s great, [there should be] more around the stations or things that happened in the job.” He gives the humour within the job as one example. “I was in Rathmines, Tara Street and Dolphin’s Barn; I met plenty of humorous lads, full of laughs, great company. [For example], there was one mess man, I remember I said to him one day ‘Is that beef or mutton?’ ‘It’s all the same, isn’t it?’ says he!”

FIRECALL WINTER

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40 YEARS OF FIRECALL

John MacBride

One of the longest serving Brigade Call editors, John MacBride reflects on the evolution of the magazine from the 1970s to the 1990s.

W

hen John MacBride joined Dublin Fire Brigade in January 1971 there was no Sports and Social Club, and no magazine. Both, however, would later became important facets of his life and his career. Several years after joining he became involved in the Club through his interest in sport, and he was nominated as the committee member for Rathmines. Then, following Terry Pott’s departure from Brigade Call magazine, his opportunity came to leave a mark on the job. “I always fancied it.

I used to take photographs around the stations anyway,” he explains.

One of John’s major focuses during his time with the magazine revolved around recording the lives of those who were retiring from the job or who had passed on, in a bid to ensure that their contributions over the years were not forgotten. “The person has been there for maybe 30 or 40 years, and then he’s gone and nobody knows anything about him. And I always felt that should be recorded to some degree, even if only for that person’s family,” he says.

That desire was sparked during his early years with the magazine.

While attending a St. Patrick’s Day parade in the city during the 1980s, he was introduced to a retired member in his late 70s, who had left the job two decades earlier. During their conversation, John discovered that this

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man had left the job and lost touch with his former friends and colleagues – at that time there was no focal point in the guise of a club or a committee. John took the man’s photograph with a crowd of uniformed firefighters, and when he returned to the station he began doing a little research for an article, unearthing information about where he served and the incidents he attended.

“I did an article in the next issue that was coming out, and sent it off to his wife to discover that he had passed away in the meantime. His family were delighted with it,” he tells me. “Then I did an obituary on him, and I went around some of the other, older retired men who would have served with him, and they were able to tell me stories. I put that in, and I got the idea from then on that’s what I would do. So I did my best that every time someone would retire or get married etc. we would have something in there about it, and try not let it go by. Because what’s happening today is the history of tomorrow.”

He’s still continuing that mission today, posting photographs from his vast collection on Facebook for an enthusiastic online audience. He’s also campaigning to ensure that all members of the watch are informed when a former member passes away, giving people the opportunity to show their respect. “There were people who came into Dublin Fire Brigade, served 30 years, and walked out, retired, and

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40 YEARS OF FIRECALL nobody knew anything about them.

They gave a lot, it’s as simple as that,” he states. “They should have some sort of recognition.”

COLLECTING CONTENT As with his predecessors, one of John’s main challenges was procuring regular and interesting content for the publication, and throughout his time he continued to cultivate contacts. An article by Tom Geraghty on health and safety was picked up in New Zealand and won an award, brought to the attention of the New Zealand fire department by a Dublin firefighter who had a friend in Auckland to whom he would send the magazine.

John also developed a relationship with fire departments in Washington DC and in Newton, a town outside of Boston, who later provided articles on a large fire in an industrial estate which resulted in numerous fatalities. A London firefighter was another regular contributor, writing on topics such as the King’s Cross fire in November 1987.

John also arranged for members from sports teams, for example, to keep a record of scores and events, which they would supply in time for the next

John MacBride

issue. But the magazine’s content went beyond the mere recording of football matches and golf tournaments.

One of John’s more memorable interviews was with the 98-year old daughter of firefighter Tim Ryan, part of the first family to move into Dorset Street fire station around 1911. “She had written down her memories of the fire brigade in her father’s time.

They had central heating for the first time in the station and the families all lived there. They used to hang their clothes down in the boiler room with ropes hung across, but if a fire inspector came to visit from Tara Street – because they weren’t allowed to dry their clothes there – they would have to whip down the clothes,” John recalls of that interview. She also told the story of the firefighters and their civvy suits (suits they were required to keep on hand in the event of the termination of their employment).

Every now and then a sub officer would arrive unannounced from Tara Street and conduct an inspection of those suits, always on a Monday morning. “Monday morning would be when the wives would be bringing the good suits to the pawnshop,” he says.

“They used to go down and say ‘I’ll have his suit down here, but we have to wait until the inspection.’ So they’d allow them the ten shillings on the firefighter’s good suit. The sub officer would come over, they’d lay the suit on the bed, he’d see that each man had his suit, and as soon as he was gone it was back down to the pawnshop!”

PASSING THE TORCH Today, Firecall thrives because of our access to stations and personnel within the job, made possible through the support of senior personnel within Dublin Fire Brigade. The same was true in John’s day, and he makes specific mention of the brigade’s chief fire officers for allowing him to attend and record the various events featured within the pages of Brigade Call. “Any time down through all those years, if I wanted to go somewhere, even if I was on duty, I could call up the chief and he would say ‘Yes’, and away I’d go,” he explains. “I’ve got great pictures of district officers – all of them, which is very hard to get. There’s always somebody missing, sick, not in that day or off. In a lot of cases I used to try and get that so you have a pictorial record to

As with his predecessors, one of John’s main challenges was procuring regular and interesting content for the publication.

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look back on.”

It was during John’s time that it was decided that an officer would be brought in as editor of the magazine, with officers also making up the editorial board. Although that never came to pass, with the role instead passing to civilian editors working in tandem with the Club’s honorary secretary, John moved on, taking his considerable talents to develop the journal of the Institution of Fire Engineers in Ireland, which he did for the following five years. In his absence Brigade Call became Firecall, morphing, in his words, into “more of a professional publication.”

“I’m very proud of it. To be able to leave something behind, even if it was only my name somewhere. I didn’t just go into the fire brigade, take the money each week and leave. I always thought that I left something behind that I’m

44 042_FC_John.indd 44

proud of. And I’m sure – and I’m patting myself on the back here – there were other people down through those years that were glad that I did that,” he says.

“My daughter is going to Trinity and she’s doing English – she’s hoping to do script writing. She’s a big, big reader. I always say to her ‘If you’re as good as your old da, if you go into the National Library you’ll probably find some of my literature’, just to wind her up! I didn’t tell her that all magazines go in there!”

After years of interviewing fellow firefighters, John’s time in the spotlight came at his retirement, when he was interviewed for Firecall about his life in the brigade. “Somebody asked me to sum it all up, and I summed it up in the words of another firefighter who retired years before me, when I was interviewing him at his retirement,” he explains. “He said ‘It was the greatest show on Earth, and we got in free every day’.”

PHOTOGRAPHIC RECORD

John’s first editorial as editor of Brigade Call.

John’s trusty camera came with him as he travelled throughout the brigade, snapping photos and recording events and people throughout the years.

His collection is vast, comprising thousands of photos covering a vast swath of the brigade’s history, and he has enlisted the services of a Belfast-based firm to put them on disc.

Some of those photos were put to good use during an event in Dublin Castle for Dublin Fire Brigade’s 150th anniversary, highlighting many of the brigade’s members over the years.

“When we went to Dublin Castle they had a loop and they had all of the pictures up there. This was when I was really proud of the fact that I had done it – all the guys were standing and when a picture would come up (there were around 900 of them) they were all shouting out the names…’There’s so-and-so’, ‘There’s me!’,” he says. “That was great. I know if I hadn’t taken those photographs, that wouldn’t have been up there that night.

All of those people, the hundreds of firefighters who were in there that night, were able to look back and have a laugh and a joke at the hairstyles, or remember someone who’s dead. That was nice, to know that you were a part of that.”

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40 YEARS OF FIRECALL

Dave Snee Former Sports and Social Club Secretary and current trustee Dave Snee reflects on his life with the Club, and the changing nature of Firecall over the years.

T

hese days Firecall is organised a little differently to its early days in the 1970s and 80s. Where once the editor was drawn from the fire service and collaborated with the Sports and Social Club, today the editors are civilians, with the Club’s honorary secretary acting as a consulting editor. The former was still the case during the late 1980s – Brigade Call still had an editor within the fire brigade (John MacBride) and the honorary secretary played more of an outside role.

“John McBride always drove that end of it. John got the material, put it together, edited it, sent it to print – he did everything,” explains Dave Snee (Sneezer), former Honorary Secretary with the Sports and Social Club, who now acts as a trustee.

“It was on the go for a long time.

It was a great magazine. We had lots of contributors, with the golf societies in particular who sent in their results. We always had the fallbacks of the Christmas party for the kids, the summer party, the retirement party – there was always plenty of material, if you could get it from the members.”

JOINING THE CLUB Sneezer’s main interest, however was the Sports and Social Club, of which Brigade Call was just one arm. “I joined the job in 1985 and I immediately became involved with the Social Club. I remember

I was on the committee for nearly a year and a half or more, and I would have been very quiet at committee meetings because I had all these older guys around me, and they were all expressing their opinions,” he says. “I can always remember that I would be afraid to open my mouth. But I remember Jim McDonnell (Retired District Officer) used to say to me ‘Here, young fella, what do you think?’ I would have to have a think about it, and I would say what I thought.

In fairness to them, they took it on board to a degree. I assume they wanted the future of the job to know what the people wanted.”

At the time Sneezer joined the club, Tony Howard was the secretary and had decided to retire. Having impressed the committee, Sneezer landed the vacant gig around the time the club was searching for a new premises, having previously rented locations across the city including the CY in Fairview and the Teacher’s Club in Parnell Square.

The hunt for a new premises was long and arduous – Sneezer explains that he visited between 500 and 600 properties over the course of three to four years, ranging from a lighthouse boat lying derelict in Howth Harbour and a castle in Arklow to their eventual new home, the Ierne Ballroom in Parnell Square. Enquiries to purchase the ballroom had been made previously and it had been priced at £10m, which was reduced to £5m, and

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40 YEARS OF FIRECALL then eventually between £2 to £3m.

At first, the owner proposed a partnership in which the Club would invest money, he would refurbish the building, and give the Club a number of rooms. However, the Club put together a package to buy the Ierne, negotiating the price down to a mere (in comparison to the original figure) £550,000, with the Club taking possession of the entire building. Despite some initial concerns over giving the owner a 10 per cent deposit, which represented the bulk of the Club’s savings at the time, the support of the members and the banks was secured. “I enjoyed the whole process and in the end it was a success. I remember the day going out to the Pembroke Road to the solicitor’s office to collect the keys,” says Sneezer.

Though the original plan was to do some limited refurbishment, the process expanded as time went on, and the entire building was refreshed, providing Club members with a fantastic facility at which they could host a variety of events, or simply come to relax. “It took a lot of time and effort to get it going. It was a fantastic facility, it was very central,” Sneezer recalls.

“On a Thursday at six o’clock we would put on a load of sausages and pudding, and the guys would come down for a few pints.”

As the years went by, Sneezer tells me that the Club’s emphasis moved from the social to the sporting side of things. From being open every day of the week, the Ierne began to open only on a Sunday night, while it also lost a major revenue stream in the form of a tenant who had rented the facility for regular dance nights. After over a decade in the Ierne, the Club decided to close it down and sell the building, and sought different avenues in which to invest the resultant money.

However, the memories remain.

As part of the refurbishment process, Sneezer sought to have a custom carpet made for the new premises. Enlisting the services of

46

It was a great magazine. We had lots of contributors, with the golf societies in particular who sent in their results.

The original plans for the Ierne renovations.

Ulster Carpets in Merrion Square, they designed a carpet featuring the old yellow DFB helmet and the crossed axes. Though it was expensive (priced around £16,000), the committee approved the design after some small amendments.

“I’ll never forget the day that we were there, we knew the carpet was on its way. Everybody was there and the truck arrived with these huge bales in a roll,” says Sneezer. “They were all brought into the ballroom, we couldn’t wait to see it. The carpet was rolled out and we looked at it. I was expecting ‘It’s magnificent, isn’t it?’ But when I looked at it I

thought ‘There’s something wrong here’. Straight away they spotted that we were actually looking at it as if it was upside down. And when it was upside down it looked like chickens!”

That particular incident set in motion a joke that would last for many years. Word went out across the world, with people coming from as far away as America to see the famed chickens. “We were trying to raise money for something, and it was Damien Fynes who suggested that we should number every one of the chickens and raise a certificate against each one,” he adds. “It never took off as an idea, but it could have been huge.”

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The members’ bar in the Ierne.

CHANGING TIMES As many of the former editors have noted, the core aim of the magazine hasn’t changed all that much over the years – communicating with the members of Dublin Fire Brigade, keeping people up to date with the various goings on around the brigade, and informing the members of Club events over the coming months. The latter can

be a little difficult to coordinate at times, which has always been the case, Sneezer tells me.

“The committee used to always talk about it being a great vehicle for getting stuff out there. But we never actually got around to using it. It was only ever used, in my opinion, as a post match tool where they would show the photographs from the retirement party or the children’s

sneezer is also full of praise for the magazine’s evolution over the years – the introduction of colour, the expansion of its focus and the improved aesthetics, with a complete redesign introduced during the summer of 2015.

party or the summer party,” he says. “The golf society was always a great unit that used it, primarily for post reports. They always produced something.” Advertising is another avenue which has developed over the years. “At the time advertising was a whole new concept. If they were concentrating on No 3 station they would hit the area for advertising,” says Sneezer.

“That would have never met its full potential because now, if you look at it today, the advertising can be from all over the country, or even some international ads.”

Sneezer is also full of praise for the magazine’s evolution over the years – the introduction of colour, the expansion of its focus and the improved aesthetics, with a complete redesign introduced during the summer of 2015. “I enjoy getting my magazine, I always have a quick flick through it, and then I take it down and dissect it meticulously after a while. Even up to three, four years ago I’d open it and flick through it, to see if there’s anything of interest to me, then I’d scan through it to see if I see my own name. I don’t bother doing that anymore now because I know I’m gone beyond the stage where I’m going to be getting mentioned!” he says. “You look at it now – at the time the only comparable magazine really was An Cosantóir, the Army magazine. You could go into Easons and buy An Cosantóir. I know at the time you wouldn’t even think of paying for Brigade Call as it was. The content would have been great but the production – there was never much colour in it, the only bit of colour was the red on the cover. Technically speaking, though, production has improved so much over the years. It has gone from one extreme to the other, where I think people would [buy it] if it was on the shelves of Easons. It was a professional outfit [back then], but it wouldn’t have been to the same standard as it is now, which is fantastic to see.”

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PICTURE Brigade Call Volume 1, Issue 1

Andy Byrne, B watch HQ, in Brigade Call in 1980.

The Sports and Social Club Working Committe from 1983/84.

FDNY members celebrating Dublin’s 2011 All-Ireland win.

Tallaght fire station was among those profiled in 1984.

Three fathers, three sons: Noel and Jim Keegan, Damien and Dan Fynes, and Peter and Stephen Treacy in 2004.

48

Recruit class 1-85 president M. Bills with city manager Frank Feeley.

Training day in late 1993.

B watch Rathfarnham featured in the spring issue, 1984.

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DFB marchers in the Easter Rising State commemorative parade, March 2016.

In the grounds of Dublin Castle for DFB’s 150th anniversary.

Profiling D watch Tallaght in Firecall in 2000.

Picture Parade from 1989.

T/O J. Kiernan retires in 1985.

9

Students on the OBI’s very first BA class in 1984.

The 1994 FBSAI team, managed by Noel Hosback.

Picture Parade, December 1988.

The newly appointed S/O Bob Hedderman, 1994.

ACFO Richie Hedderman, interviewed in Firecall winter 2006.

A new era for DFB with the acquistion of a drone in 2015.

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40 YEARS OF FIRECALL

Greg O’Dwyer We catch up with Greg O’Dwyer, former honorary secretary and consulting editor of Firecall.

I

n recent years, Greg O’Dwyer has been one of a number of public faces of Dublin Fire Brigade.

As Third Officer, his role has focused on major emergency management, alongside various other special projects and managing the Eastern Regional Control Centre (ERCC) based in Townsend Street. He has also been responsible for a lot of media work, acting as DFB’s media liaison for print and social media, as well as taking part in the RTE show Firefighters.

In addition he has been one of the most visible faces of Firecall over the past two decades. Having joined Dublin Fire Brigade in 1989, he became involved in the Sports and Social Club in 1992 on the advice of fellow trainee and current chairman Ray Murray, and took up the position of honorary secretary from the departing Dave Snee in 1994, a role he only relinquished, with some hesitance, in 2015. As Honorary Secretary, Greg was heavily involved in all manner of Club activities and events, including the annual family fun days and Christmas parties, the purchase of the Ierne Ballroom and, of course, Firecall.

“Brigade Call was our previous magazine and it ran for several successful years in the safe editorial hands of John MacBride. After it ceased publication we made a

50

couple of attempts at reviving it, but it proved costly and arduous for us to produce and distribute at the level we wanted to achieve. Then, in 1997, I was approached by Ashville Media Group, who basically sold the concept of Ashville providing a magazine for us – we would provide the content and they would sell ads to fund the magazine. What we would get in return was a high quality magazine which was posted to all of our members.” After discussions, the Club committee decided to accept the offer. Producing the magazine on their own, which was relaunched as Firecall, had proven a difficult task, with much of the work falling to Greg as the secretary. “We were very happy with the end product, we had a high quality, glossy magazine posted to everybody and it went from strength to strength. I have to say my experience with Ashville has always been positive. As a result, we’re still partners in it today,” he says.

EVOLUTION Given Greg’s lengthy period of service, the magazine underwent some considerable evolution during his time as consulting editor. During the early days, as the magazine of the Sports and Social Club, it very much focused on those two aspects – the various sporting events in which the membership were involved,

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alongside the annual and regular social events held in the Ierne and other venues such as the OBI. Once the partnership with Ashville Media Group began, the focus was broadened, and the magazine began to incorporate regular features such as training courses, new equipment, innovation within the industry, international news, and lifestyle-orientated content including motoring and travel sections.

“I think what also became more professional was the way we covered the actual stations themselves, focusing on the first person as we called it, either on an individual who had contributed a lot over the years or who had just retired,” Greg explains. “It gave people better ownership of the magazine and a feeling that it was their magazine, and that it was covering their interests and their activities.

And we very soon started to get requests from stations wanting to be covered in the magazine.”

This focus on the first person also manifested itself in profiles on those new to the job. “When we took on recruits we always did profiles on the new recruits, their training and so on. It was a good introduction for them to the rest of the job because people could open up the magazine and see these recruits before they

actually arrived,” he adds. “From the recruits’ point of view, they felt like they were entering into part of an organisation. We always went out to meet the new recruits and gave them back copies of Firecall very early on into their training, so they felt part of this magazine before they ever received it in the post.”

As others have echoed, Greg also mentions the impact of the obituaries included in the magazine over the years, recalling the life of the deceased member to mark their service and ensure their name is remembered. “They were always really well appreciated. I have seen the joy it has brought to families, to have their loved ones’ life and contributions celebrated like that.

It’s a full tribute to the person that is captured in solid print for a long time to come,” he says.

MAKING MEMORIES Throughout the past 40 years, both Brigade Call and Firecall have been there to record momentous events in Dublin Fire Brigade and beyond, as well as the achievements of its highly energetic personnel, ranging from climbing Mount Everest to breaking the Irish record for swimming the Channel. “They’re a great morale booster for the organisation itself.

Some of the bigger events we’ve

covered are the World Police and Fire Games (WPFG). They will always stand out because I was fortunate enough to go on many of these trips and to represent DFB abroad,” says Greg. “One of the things that really stands out for me is, for such a small country and a small brigade, how we stack up internationally on the medal table. Our people go away and they’re an absolute credit – they’re not going away on a booze holiday, they’re going away to compete and they train really hard before they go, and they compete really hard. They take it really seriously, and as a result we’ve been water polo champions for years, swimming champions, athletics champions and many other events – we still hold WPFG records.”

Perhaps one of the biggest issues in recent years marked the tenth anniversary of 9/11, a sombre tribute to the firefighters and other emergency services personnel who lost their lives in a bid to save others from the wreckage of the World Trade Centre. “They couldn’t get enough of them – we printed an extra batch that year and we sent them over to the States,” he recalls. “That was a really nice tribute magazine – that’s not just a piece of DFB history, that’s a piece of history.” Firecall was also there to cover DFB’s 150th anniversary in 2012, a momentous occasion which

Once the partnership with Ashville Media Group began, the focus was broadened, and the magazine began to incorporate regular features such as training courses, new equipment, innovation within the industry, international news, and lifestyle-orientated content.

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40 YEARS OF FIRECALL

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Greg (fourth from right) at the retirement party for Tony Devoy (second from right).

Left: The DFB 150th anniversary issue. Right: Commemorating the 10th anniversary of 9/11 in Firecall.

PEOPLE POWER

saw DFB’s contribution to Dublin over those years honoured across the city. “Firecall did another great issue there – a historical look back over the 150 years. That was a great year, there were a number of big events that we held, a parade through the city, memorial services and large social events as well,” says Greg.

When asked about his personal stand out memories with the magazine over the past 20 years, Greg once again highlights the importance of people, the characters within the job and those who make Dublin Fire Brigade such a welcoming and exciting organisation, as well as those who have gone before him. “It really is people. It’s the people that have gone through, the characters,” he says. “I’d really like to thank all of my predecessors, the people who started it off. The likes of Terry Potts, John MacBride, Damien Fynes. The old stalwarts of the club – Willie O’Leary, Jim McDonald, Jimmy Conway, Jim Sergeant, Shea (RAF) O’Connor and the people that helped me the most and closest over the years, Ray Murray (Chairperson), Tony Devoy (outgoing Treasurer) and many others. I’d also like to wish the magazine, the new committee and the new secretary the best of luck.

They have a good guy in Dan Fynes, he has a new perspective on things.

I wish him well, and I hope he gets a great 21 years as secretary as I did.”

It’s clear that Greg looks back on his time, both with the Club and Firecall, with great fondness. But why does he think the magazine has endured for so long? The answer to that, he believes, is twofold. “One of the strengths of the magazine, why it’s still going and it’s still popular, is because it has always kept a neutral line and never took one side or the other,” he explains.

“And because it’s a high quality product we have kept copies of them all in the museum, as part of our history. They are capturing part of Dublin Fire Brigade’s history.”

Part of the reason behind the success of Firecall throughout the years has been the response from the readership, their active involvement in the publication and their positive response.

“Overall the reaction has been very positive. They feel like they have ownership of it,” Greg agrees. “One of the things that the magazine was always doing, in every single editor’s note and the secretary’s foreword, was always requesting input from the members themselves – if they had any contributions or news that they wanted to be included in the magazine. It was always open for everybody, so I think from that perspective it has always received good press. It really receives good press from new people coming into the job – new recruits love to see it and read it, to see pictures of themselves starting off in a new and exciting career in a great job and a great organisation.”

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40 YEARS OF FIRECALL

Dan Fynes Dan Fynes, Dublin Fire Brigade Sports and Social Club honorary secretary and current consulting editor of Firecall, explains how he’s adjusted to his new roles over the past 18 months, and his plans to rejuvenate both Club and magazine.

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recognisable face throughout the job thanks to his new role as honorary secretary with the Dublin Fire Brigade Sports and Social Club, Dan Fynes is a 13-year veteran of the brigade.

He started his training in the OBI at the end of 2003, and was posted to Finglas fire station to complete his ambulance internship. From there he spent a year in Kilbarrack, followed by a further 12 months in Townsend Street, and has been stationed in Swords ever since, bar a spell as an instructor in the OBI at present. As with many of Dublin’s firefighters, he gravitated towards the Sports and Social Club, joining four years after being recruited.

Having spent a number of years on the Club committee, he took what was meant to be a temporary position as honorary secretary following the departure of Greg O’Dwyer in early 2015, and he’s been there ever since.

Forty years ago it was his father, Damien, who kick-started Brigade Call along with Martin O’Brien. It’s a matter of personal pride for Dan that four decades later he’s following in his father’s footsteps with Firecall.

“It’s gone full circle now. My dad’s involvement was not something that I initially knew about, and only subsequently found out about the more I became involved in the Club, and the more I spoke to him, the more stories I heard,” he says. Dan

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recalls a magazine that had something for everyone between the pages – articles, features and editorials for the serving or retired members, and a few interactive additions for the younger readers. “I would remember that magazine growing up as a child, we would have had it in the house, and there were crosswords or colouring competitions or different things that we as kids would have associated with the Sports and Social Club,” says Dan. “Things that I have seen that aren’t necessarily there at the moment but possibly something that would be good to reintroduce going forward. It wasn’t just your dad’s magazine coming in, there was some part of it that you could get involved in as well, and gave us some insight into what was going on, particularly as we got older.”

Learning more about life within the brigade certainly sparked an interest in the fire service in the young Dan. As he explains, “from an early age it would have given me an interest in the job without ever realising that was where it was coming from.”

CHANGING FOCUS Now in his role as Firecall consulting editor for a little over 18 months, Dan has been influencing the tone and content of the magazine, ensuring that its direction is of benefit to the readership within Dublin Fire Brigade. An increasing emphasis is being placed on highlighting the

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40 YEARS OF FIRECALL

activities of DFB members in relation NG TECHNOLOGY OLOGY

FIRECALL

to sporting, charitable or other SUMMER 2015 activities, particularly those sponsored by the Club. And, given the year that was in it, a stronger spotlight G TECHNOLOGY has been shone on the fire brigade’s AGEMENT TECHNOLOGY history – important events such as CONTROLLERS the Pearse Street fire of 1936, and the lives of key members throughout ENSERS EMENT OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF DUBLIN FIRE, AMBULANCE AND EMERGENCY SERVICES the brigade’s existence, but also in ENT relation to DFB’s role during the ONTROLLERS ORK Easter Rising and the revolutionary ROLLERS years that followed. Dan highlights NSERS ANKS RS Firecall’s coverage of the various RK commemorative events in which SIONING Dublin Fire Brigade was involved NKS DFB AND THE NING last year as some of the stories which BURNING OF THE ONING stick out most in his mind over the NG CUSTOM HOUSE past year and a half. “That was a great ING honour to be part of it. As part of the Dublin Fire Brigade 1916 committee we had the opportunity to witness it from the start right through to the finish, and it was great to see the different aspects involved,” he says.

“Las Fallon put an awful lot of work into it and the historical pieces will be great records going forward as to rRefuelling all your Refuelling Requirements Requirements what happened during the year and of the SALES INSTALLATION - SERVICE NSTALLATION SERVICE the people who deserve recognition.”lall your Refuelling Requirements your Refuelling Requirements Other -changes have also come - INSTALLATION SERVICE -ALES SALES - INSTALLATION - SERVICE DFB’S NEWEST RECRUITS ON TV into play over the past 18 months.

The station profile, for example, has expanded beyond its www.fuellingtechnology.ie traditional www.fuellingtechnology.ie NEPAL STRUGGLES TO REBUILD www.fuellingtechnology.ie remit, with the OBI and the retained www.fuellingtechnology.ie 6264977 info@fuellingtechnology.ie info@fuellingtechnology.ie 977 info@fuellingtechnology.ie stations of Skerries and Balbriggan all 264977 info@fuellingtechnology.ie profiled in the last year. “There are so many aspects to Dublin Fire Brigade now and it’s growing every day. You can see it through the likes of the two features that we did on the OBI, not just with recruits but with the specialist instructors that are there, and the drones,” says Dan. “Then you have the recruits, the retained recruits and the emergency service controller recruits, and they all represent different aspects to the job. We all wear the same uniform so we all deserve the same amount of time in the spotlight, if you ask me. Everyone who wears the same uniform should be treated equally and there’ll be no difference, especially from anyone in the Sports and Social Club.”

FIRECALL

The

The cover of the first redesigned Firecall in summer 2015.

FIREMEN’S TALE

MEET FIREFIGHTERS

VOLUME SEVENTEEN ISSUE TWO

03/07/2015 17:06

RISING FROM THE RUBBLE

It’s a matter of personal pride for Dan that four decades later he’s following in his father’s footsteps with Firecall.

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DFB IN BRIEF

DFB IN BRIEF

DFB

Dublin Fire Brigade @DubFireBrigade

A recap of Dublin Fire Brigade news and events over the past few weeks and months.

A #TreeOfHope was planted at Tallaght Fire Station to show support to all affected by mental health issues.

7 It’s #WorldPhotoDay, here’s the view from the top of our turntable ladder in Tara St #HeadForHeights #DontLookDown.

Congrats to D Watch HQ who won the King of Greystones sprint relay triathlon with a little help from Damien Duff.

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A weekend of farewells... FF/P Dave Byrne and Martin ‘The Gonz’ Healy retiring after 30 years service, you’ll be missed.

F/F Gary Corcoran went on his final turnout in Rathfarnham. Gary had previously served with Dublin Airport Police, Fire and Rescue Service and Dublin Civil Defence in South Dublin Auxiliary Fire Service. Gary will be missed in Dublin Fire Brigade.

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Class 2/2016 has officially passed out from the OBI Training Centre. Well done to all of the firefighters and 7best of luck in your new careers. Photo: Glenn Fitzgerald.

S/O Connolly and FF/P Birmingham did DFB proud picking up gold medals at the Red Head Convention.

F/F Tony Phelan has departed after 36 years’ service, including working in our old Rathmines station as a recruit. Thanks Tony.

A weekend of farewells...

FF/P Dave Byrne and Martin ‘The Gonz’ Healy retiring after 30 years’ service.

We said goodbye to Tony Fitzgerald who retired after an incredible 44 years service with us, first in Malahide station, then Finglas. Thanks Tony for everything.

Some of our best rescue swimmers took to the Liffey in early August for a different reason: to take part in the 97th Liffey Swim. DFB has a good record in the Liffey Swim with first place finishes in both the male and female events.

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Our museum curator presented our CFO with a #1916 helmet for display 5in HQs main reception.

As with fire services all over the world, the firefighters/ paramedics of Dublin Fire Brigade remembered the sacrifices made by all first responders on 9/11, but particularly those of the 343 members of the New York City Fire Department (FDNY). We had the honour of being invited to the US Ambassador to Ireland’s residence to participate in a 9/11 memorial service. Dublin Airport hosted a 9/11 mass which we also were kindly invited to. The crew from B watch Tallaght fire station sent us a picture (above), standing shoulder to shoulder, representative of how firefighters all over the world stand together in the line of duty.

Tallaght, Dolphin’s Barn and HQ crews responded to two 40ft containers on fire on Station Road in Clondalkin. The container was full of discarded aerosol spray cans. The picture shows our thermal imaging camera indicating that the fire was burning at almost 500 degrees Celsius.

Firecall introduced a new social AUTUMN 08 FIRECALL media section under Dan’s direction.

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DIGITAL VIEW Firecall is just one strand in an increasingly all-encompassing communications strategy for the Sports and Social Club. Take, for example, the introduction of the DFB in Brief section at the front of the magazine, which focuses on some of the main stories and incidents promoted through DFB social media channels over a three-month period. That has coincided with the development of the Club’s social media outlets and its digital strategy, which aims to make its resources increasingly accessible to a wide audience by moving content online – applications, loans and general Club information. One of the proposals the Club is currently considering is the development of a web-based newsletter which would be sent out to the membership after every committee meeting, to let people know what’s happening on a regular basis. But if you have difficulties accessing social media (or have no interest in doing so) or event information, you can still keep up with

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New bus route 999 starting shortly... serving all of Dublin. Thanks to Dublin Bus, our new bus will be invaluable.

Well done Jim, Kevin, Peter and Oran on their graduation from UL with BSc Hons in Paramedic Studies.

Martin Keane and Brian Flood at our Dublin City Hall exhibition. Martin’s dad was a fireman in 1916 during the Rising.

We said goodbye to Phil McDermott from C watch, Tallaght, after 30 years’ service. Happy retirement Macker!

FIRECALL AUTUMN

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the various channels in print format.

“With the growing popularity of social media over the last few years, we have been able to introduce that into the magazine and give snippets of different incidents and events that have gone on, and to highlight all of the events that are funded or partly funded by the Sports and Social Club,” Dan explains. “That’s important from my point of view, as secretary of the Sports and Social Club, to ensure that our members can see where their money is being spent, the different events and functions that we’re sponsoring and funding. Not only are you getting your magazine, it’s telling you what the Club is doing and what you can be involved with. Incorporating our own social media avenues ensures that if you’re not social media friendly, at least you’re going to get some update or some insight.”

Throughout our conversation, Dan repeatedly returns to one point in particular – the influence of the Club membership (and the wider Dublin Fire Brigade personnel) on

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the magazine, and how the magazine needs to service those members’ needs. After all, the stories within each issue can only exist through the activities and cooperation of Dublin Fire Brigade personnel at all levels of the organisation – in some cases penned by firefighters themselves, both active and retired.

“I’d like to take the opportunity to invite anyone who has stories or articles that they feel would be of interest to the general public, or to Dublin Fire Brigade members in particular, to contact us and make it known to us. We’ll certainly do our best to accommodate you and include your story, be it an old story or a new story.

No reasonable offers will be refused!”

Dan says with a laugh. “For me the focus should be on the membership – it’s a fire brigade magazine for firefighters, for members of Dublin Fire Brigade. For me that encompasses everyone, be it the retained, emergency controllers, whoever. If you wear a uniform then you’re part of DFB and Firecall is your magazine.”

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CONGRATULATIONS

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RECRUIT TRAINING

TRAINING DAY The OBI played host to a two-part mass casualty training exercise last November, writes Conor Forrest.

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Instructor Dan Fynes readies his crew to enter the building.

ast November, recruits from Class 1-2016 reported to the OBI as part of their paramedic training, having graduated earlier this year and spent the intervening time in their respective stations. They would be taking part in a mass casualty training exercise that day, a test of their skills in the field based on course objectives which have been set by PHECC (the Pre-Hospital Emergency Care Council) on gathering vital information, delivering a clear picture of the scene to control and command, and designating certain areas for casualty clearance, ambulance arrival, etc.

Several years ago I had the opportunity to attend a similar exercise held in the Phoenix Park, which featured the aftermath of a house party gone wrong. This one, however, was a little different in terms of scale. Though the recruits were told they would be taking part in a mass casualty exercise, they weren’t told what to expect. The brainchild of tutor Joe Brady, one of the first practitioners to reach the scene of the recent shooting in Whitehall, onlookers watched as two vehicles entered the yard at speed, screeching to a halt. A mass of armed gardaí tumbled from the vehicles and spread out, bearing down on the rear of the building where there were reports of shooters inside a nightclub. Following an explosion, several masked men emerged from the building and engaged in a shootout with gardaí. The armed unit then moved into the building, clearing it room by room, ensuring the scene was safe for first responders to enter.

Once they got the go ahead, DFB crews began to arrive – some began to assess

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RECRUIT TRAINING

Above: One of the injured is escorted to a waiting ambulance. Below: Removing patients from the building.

the emerging casualties, while others entered the building to assess and remove the more critically wounded.

With music pumping inside the club, the responders had to focus on the tasks at hand and ignore any distractions – their instructors were looking for mental strength in the face of disorientation and pressure. Outside on the quad a casualty clearance station area was set up, with patients brought in, assessed, and then transferred into the waiting ambulances.

Though some might have been expecting a different scenario, a second exercise began with the shooting of the assembled crowd from the earlier incident.

“The exercise was designed to test their response to a mass casualty incident; we were looking at their role as first practitioners on the scene, their communication skills, their ability to do what is called a triage sieve – a first look at the patient and then allocate a triage card. If they’re really badly injured they get a red, if they’re not so badly injured they get a yellow, and then the walking wounded can be brought off to a separate area and then bussed off scene,” explains Paul Lambert, EMS training coordinator in the OBI. “It’s about getting into the practice of encountering something that they won’t come across that often, it’s not normal medicine, they don’t come and treat the first person they see – their job is to categorise all of the casualties and to find out which is the highest priority.”

COORDINATION Understandably, organising this exercise was a complex process, liaising with An Garda Síochána and the Civil Defence.

“Joe Brady decided that since it was in the news and something that there is a possibility of happening – an active shooter scenario – he decided on this format. He interfaced with a number of other agencies, the civil defence, An Garda Síochána and the Garda Emergency Response Unit,” Lambert explains. “Logistically it was a big ask, because there are a lot of factors to take into account to develop an exercise that will run well.”

The first thing to consider was health and safety – designing an exercise plan,

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Volunteer hikers were in plentiful supply throughout the month. Photo: Sarah Good

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RECRUIT TRAINING

Above: Members of the ERU arrive on scene. Left: The crews worked quickly and efficiently to dispatch patients to hospital.

“Our first practitioners on scene performed very well, and then our subsequent crews performed very well. It was quite arduous – we had 53 casualties and there were two separate exercises, so it was quite physically and mentally demanding on them. They had to make rapid decisions under pressure and then physically had to remove and treat the patients. It was a lot of pressure for them but we’re very happy with how they performed, and I think they found it to be a very valuable learning experience,” Lambert explains.

Thanks are due to all who volunteered their time in coordinating the two exercises, totalling over 100 casualties.

Joe Brady deserves a special mention for his hard work in bringing his idea from concept to execution, liaising with outside agencies and with various elements within DFB, organising the moulage which provided a layer of added realism, and whose effort was vindicated at the end of the day. “I was also very impressed with the tutors in the OBI and the amount of hard work they have done,” says Lambert. “It was a very well thought out exercise, and very well executed.”

TRICKY TRIAGE

conducting a risk assessment, mitigating any potential risks that arose during the planning stage and appointing a safety officer to oversee the process. Ensuring all of the necessary equipment was in place was another challenge – given the scale and scope of the exercise, the organisers needed additional trauma bags, spinal boards, field stretchers, scoop stretchers and defibrillators, and a casualty clearing station. A number of ambulances were also requisitioned from the workshop, placed on standby for use in the exercise. As the scenario involved a shooting at a nightclub, casualties were also required, provided through the voluntary emergency response organisations. Their varied injuries were made more realistic by the work of makeup students from Dún Laoghaire. The talented students provided moulage [applying mock injuries for emergency services training purposes) – injuries such as eviscerations, penetrating injuries, everything from bruising to a major haemorrhage and eye avulsions, making for a more realistic scene and placing increased pressure on the responders.

Among the many skills being tested through the incident was the firefighters’ ability to perform a triage sort, a more in depth way of assessing a patient. “They assess the respiratory rate, their systolic blood pressure and their Glasgow coma score, and based on those three things they apportion them a score, and then those patients are moved to the hospital first – it’s like a filtering system,” Lambert explains.

“We filter through the casualty clearing station, the people that need to get off scene quickest, and then we can designate those to the hospitals to make sure that the hospitals receive the most critical patients first.”

Firefighters were also tasked with relaying a methane message – declaring a major emergency, providing the exact location, the type of incident, hazards, access, the number and severity of the injured and any extra resources required.

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STATION PROFILE

STATION PROFILE KILBARRACK

L-R Andy Campbell, Graham Forde, Ronan O’Leary, Kevin Rowe, S/O Robert Young, Rory Prevett, Clinton Jacobs and Alan Canavan. Missing are Bryan Quinn and Martin Troy.

CONOR FORREST PAID A VISIT TO KILBARRACK FIRE STATION AND THE CREW ON B WATCH NO 6, HEADED UP BY RECENT ARRIVAL S/O ROBERT YOUNG.

K

ilbarrack is a station with a few new faces. One of the most recent additions to B watch No 6 is Graham Forde, a new recruit who passed out from the OBI last October. When we spoke he was only six weeks into his new career, but was very much enjoying it. Graham’s background is in the financial sector, and he spent seven years there before travelling to Australia. It was while he was overseas that he heard that DFB was recruiting, so he flew home to put his name in the hat.

“I’ve always had an interest in being involved in emergency services, and the fire brigade was obviously my number one choice,” he says. “There were 50 of us in the class. There were tough days and not so tough days [in training], but we all got

through it together. The BA course was the toughest course but the most enjoyable at the same time.”

Graham and his classmates are due to return to the OBI in the new year to undergo their paramedic training, but for now he’s relishing the chance to learn on the job. “It’s always something different in every call that you’re going out to,” he explains. “It’s good to get that early experience. Soon after leaving the O’Brien Institute and before we go back to do paramedic training we’ve got some exposure to what we’re going to be dealing with down the line.”

Station Officer Robert Young is another recent addition, having transferred from Tallaght to Kilbarrack

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STATION PROFILE

My immediate impression was of a tight-knit group of firefighters, well able to have the craic but also more than willing to work hard when required. in June 2016. S/O Young joined the job back in 1995 and has experienced life in quite a number of stations during those 21 years, first as a firefighter and then as a floating sub officer and station officer on A and D watch, based in Tara Street but covering all the stations north and south of the Liffey.

“The last officer they had was here for a good number of years and it was a big change for them – they didn’t know me and I didn’t know them, because I had never worked on B watch. When I arrived it was a clean slate and I decided that I was not going to change anything, I was just going to work away and we would find each other along the way.

But straight away I felt comfortable, we had a good rapport.

We have a lot of craic but we get the job done – they’re very professional,” he explains. The challenges and

risk factors compared to his previous post in Tallaght have changed. “It’s an older population here – we have several nursing homes in the locality. We also have the DART line and local station here, we cover Howth, near the harbour and Clontarf – there are a lot of gorse fires during the summer,” he adds. “We also cover the Airport and Beaumont Hospital, so it’s a large area to cover with a lot of risks, as in most areas.”

Talk soon turns to the crew on B watch. My immediate impression was of a tight-knit group of firefighters, well able to have the craic but also more than willing to work hard when required. It’s a sentiment with which their S/O agrees.

“We have a great diverse crew, all very enthusiastic. We also have an advanced paramedic, Clint, which gives us another dimension to have when we arrive at certain incidents. But the rest of the crew are well capable of doing it as well, they have great knowledge,” he says. “Every generation it’s different, technology keeps changing and the training keeps changing. Graham hasn’t completed his paramedic course yet, but when he does he will be extremely well trained compared to the standard years ago.”

There are plenty of old hands too at No 6. The crew’s mess man, for example, is Bryan Quinn, a 16-year veteran of the job. Following six months in Tara Street, a year in Blanchardstown and a second six-month stint in HQ he was posted to Kilbarrack, where he has been ever since. “The job is great – day to day you don’t know what’s next or what’s going to happen,” he reflects.

“It’s a family. Without a doubt I would recommend this job to anyone. It’s

Graham Forde

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STATION PROFILE

S/O Young agrees when I comment that there must be a strong community spirit in the area, and fostering and developing that is something he feels is quite important. an honest living, and generally speaking you are well respected.”

BEHIND THE WHEEL Alongside his role as station officer at No 6, S/O Young is also one of six DFB driving instructors, a role he’s held for the past 12 years. All of the instructors have been trained to the RSA ESDS (Emergency Services Driving Standard) and whenever a new vehicle enters service, the instructors ensure the capabilities of those who’ll be behind the wheel. For example, Dublin Bus recently donated a double-decker bus to DFB, which will undoubtedly be put to good use. Around 72 personnel within the job previously worked as bus drivers or mechanics, and hold the relevant licence. S/O Young was dispatched to the OBI to provide a refresher course in bus driving should the need ever arise.

“Twelve years ago they were looking for driving instructors, and I was asked if I would be interested in it,” he recalls. “We completed a course with the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) in England – they came over and trained

S/O Robert Young

us for three weeks in advanced driving techniques. We also had to complete our approved driving instructor (ADI) training with the RSA.” For anybody interested in becoming a driver, the first step after approval is to undertake a provisional C licence.

Following four days of training on the truck in the OBI, a fifth day is spent testing your abilities in the test centre in Finglas. If you pass you’ll return to your station and gradually take on driving responsibilities, firstly on returning from an incident outside of an emergency situation, for a total of about 40 hours. That’s followed by a return to the OBI to undergo the ESDS course for two weeks, training with blue lights and driving both the ambulance and fire appliance. The next step is even further advanced driver training, after which you’ll be ready to drive in any situation. “ That process has changed over the years – at one stage, if you had the licence, you would present yourself at the workshop, undergo a simple test and then you were good to go,” S/O Young explains. “The standard has come up a lot over the

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STATION PROFILE

years, and it needs to – traffic has become heavier, vehicles are more powerful. It’s a serious situation, driving around the city in blue lights, for up to 15 hours sometimes. You need to have your wits about you.”

TRAINING DAYS One of the first things I noticed when I stepped foot inside S/O Young’s office is the amount of cards hanging in the window. Most are messages of thanks to crews across all four watches, for lives and homes saved, prompt responses and even educational visits hosted in the station or the community’s schools. S/O Young agrees when I comment that there must be a strong community spirit in the area, and fostering and developing that is something he feels is quite important. “We do a lot of community visits, there’s a great community spirit in the area. We do school visits, host fun days and many other events,” he tells me. “We also have a lot of visitors who come in. We recently hosted the local Men’s Shed, from all different walks of life, all now retired, and they were very impressed.”

The sheer amount of wide open space within the confines of the station also caught my eye. S/O Young explains that prior to the opening of the OBI for training purposes in 1985, for many decades recruits honed their craft in Kilbarrack – hence the impressive yard space. Alongside the usual appliances and the training tower, there are a number of features within the yard that are somewhat unusual. Take, for example, the standalone gym, built using funds saved by the station’s focus in recent years on renewable energy. A string of windmills whir away mounted high up in the yard, and at the rear of the station, beneath several leafy trees, is a garden featuring benches and a commemorative monument, a symbol of Dublin Fire Brigade and its strong links with communities across the city and county. The garden is maintained by a number of retired DFB personnel, who come in every Monday to ensure it’s kept in tip-top shape. They also keep an eye on the station’s beehive which was introduced several years ago to promote biodiversity within the grounds. “They never bother us

at all, they just stay over there and there are no issues,” S/O Young says with a laugh. “There are a few racket balls in there that we can’t retrieve at the moment. But nobody to my knowledge has ever been stung.”

Before I leave, I ask S/O Young what he enjoys most about the job.

He smiles and leans back, considering his answer. He touches briefly on the craic the crew enjoy every day, and enjoying a job in which no two days are the same. Finally he settles on the opportunity Dublin Fire Brigade personnel have every day – to save lives and make a difference to Dublin’s citizens, though he’s quick to note that they’re just doing their job. “Normally when people meet us it’s not a good occasion.

You’re not looking for thanks, but you do feel you make a difference in the area, and you hope you leave a good impression of the brigade,” he says. “I hope my son Karl, who is a firefighter in the retained station in Skerries, experiences as much enjoyment and fulfilment in his career as I have experienced during my time in the brigade.”

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CYCLING TRIP

THE ITALIAN JOB

Part II

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Brendan Lodola reflects on a recent cycling trip to Tuscany, a wonderful physical tonic, and an extraordinary outing in the beautiful Tuscan countryside.

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CYCLING TRIP

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CYCLING TRIP

T

uscany is one of the heartlands of Italian cycling and, having cycled in Italy for the past few years, an opportunity to share my wonderful experience is precisely what I had in mind when I decided to try gather a group of enthusiastic cyclists from DFB to ride through this beautiful part of the world. The group who came on this trip could be forgiven for thinking that this would be a leisurely spin over rolling hills, dropping into Tuscan village cafés, sipping Italian morning espresso, lazing over lunches in medieval towns and sloshing back one or two glasses of Chianti Classico in the local vineyards. That wasn’t quite my plan!

Little did they know that they would take in the four corners of Tuscany, conquering sections of the eight and ninth stages of the 2016 Giro D’Italia, stepping in and out of the Strada Bianche professional route (which starts and finishes in the medieval town of Siena) and covering part of the terrain of the L’Eroica amateur route over its white gravel roads which starts and ends in the town of Gaiole, not far from our base.

With six months of training in Dublin, the Wicklow Mountains and further afield, we were ready for the challenge, or so we thought!

These hills are described as rolling, but include climbs of over 20 per cent and long drags that go on for miles with decent gradients. This was going to be four consecutive days

of cycling, more than 400 kilometres right in the thick of the hills.

After our journey from Pisa airport it was great to arrive at our base, Norcenni Girasole, warmly greeted

by Paulo and his staff. Villa Norcenni, a rustic Tuscan villa and villino, is set in the heart of the Chianti hills with spectacular views of the surrounding countryside. We settled into our rooms and headed down to the restaurant where we were greeted

by Claudia, Maria and Oanna who would look after us for the five nights.

We had been travelling from early that day, so we were hungry and ready for some local Italian cuisine and we were not disappointed – traditional food at its best, washed down with a glass of Chianti Classico.

SIENA The next morning we strolled down for breakfast, the sun taking the edge off the early morning chill.

Sitting, discussing the day ahead over coffee, there was a buzz in the air.

Everyone was excited with what the day would bring. Our bike supplier Marco was spot on time again to set up everyone with their full carbon road race bikes. We had Jimmy and Domo (the backup support team) ready and waiting with the support car full of food and water – nothing could dampen our enthusiasm for the day’s cycling. We were off!

As we left Norcenni we took a left, straight onto a 10km drag, climbing

past the small villages of Ponte Agli Stolli and Dudda. We were immersed within the historic olive groves, honey-coloured stone farmhouses and immaculately maintained rows of vines down sloping hills, with dense forests as far as the eye could see.

What an opening to a day’s cycling.

We pushed up past our first peak, with Ciaran and Barry biting on the bit, then prepared for our first long descent into Greve! Dave O’Toole wove in and out, changing positions, capturing each rider as they descended down the winding roads at great speeds with the GoPro fixed to his seat post. It promised to be a special piece of footage, hopefully available on YouTube soon. We would get to climb up this 20km descent another day.

Greve in Chianti was the finish of the ninth stage of the 2016 Giro D’Italia and we were about to cover a good section of that stage through the towns of Panzano and the fortress town of Castellina in Chianti. This is where we would try to contact our support team while taking a couple of snapshots of Mick and his big Gallo Nero on our way to Siena. Eventually we got on our way again with some big climbs towards a region between San Leonino and Topina, which I have to say took my breath away. A classical image of Tuscany rolled into view, with lines of cypress trees standing tall on driveways leading up to hillside

Overlooking Florence from Fiesole.

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CYCLING TRIP estates, small olive groves sitting next to symmetrical lines of vines sloping down the rolling hills towards us, and hilltop houses and towers covered in terracotta tiles with fading hills behind. Did our multicoloured mob of road cyclists know we were, and would be for the next four days, riding through one of the most beautiful parts of the world? With all that in mind we still had 35km of hills to climb before lunch in Siena.

Piazza del Campo, the venue for the Palio di Sien, where jockeys ride bareback circles of the piazza on thick layers of dirt, was a welcome restful haven. This magnificent medieval piazza is a focal point for the Italian cool with its narrow cobbled streets and stylish coffee shops surrounding the piazza.

After a few tellings off from the locals because we were cycling on the pedestrian streets, we arrived at the Ristorante Alla Speranza.

The sun beamed down as we had a few moments to absorb the historic Gothic architecture of the arena.

After much needed sustenance for the homeward stage, and with some tired legs, we gathered our bikes with a little encouragement from the local carabinieri. They didn’t like our 15 bikes propping up the historic pillars! We eventually reached our destination after a bit of assistance from Garmin, through challenging hills and parts of the L’Eroica route.

This is a vintage race held every year from the town of Gaiole where cyclists dress up in vintage gear and ride vintage bikes over white gravel and tarmac roads. As we made our way down long descents towards Montevarchi the light was starting to fade, so we pushed it hard on the flat through San Giovani and on home to Norcenni. We covered nearly 140km with an elevation of just under 2,400m, with a lot of tired legs.

CAPRESE MICHELANGELO Another beautiful day greeted us the next morning as we were about to take on a round trip of 150km to the birthplace of Michelangelo

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The Garmin facing off against our transport department’s trusty map.

Tuscany is one of the heartlands of Italian cycling and, having cycled in Italy for the past few years, an opportunity to share my wonderful experience is precisely what I had in mind. in Caprese Michelangelo. This was to be a route with a few drags and then a steep climb before we reached Caprese. Little did we know how much of an adventure the day was going to be!

We started out from Norcenni and turned right down the 4km descent into Figline Valdarno, the local town, with everyone feeling good after the spin yesterday. With barely 10km completed we came across our first obstacle; a road that finishes on one side of a stream and starts again on the other, without a bridge! And so the slagging began.

We crossed the river with bikes

over our shoulders and continued our spin on our first taste of the controversial gravel roads. “Do you know where you’re going Lodola?” echoed more than once from the back of the double line of 15 cyclists. “Of course I do, and I didn’t even charge you extra for the gravel,” I replied.

You can imagine the response.

A little more concentration was required on the 5km of gravel before we reached a smooth surface again.

We continued on and had our first bike casualty. Five of Barry’s spokes failed (nothing to do with all the bunny hopping he was doing) and we had to pull in and call for the

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CYCLING TRIP backup team who were on the scene in minutes. After they finished their cappuccino of course! With the bike and rider in the support vehicle we began a section of stage eight of the 2016 Giro from Quarata to Anghiari with a little unexpected detour.

After contacting the transport department and arranging to meet them for a pit stop near Chiassa Superiore, we were fuelled up and began to head towards our first taste of a real Strade Bianche road (which I have to say was not in the original plans). I felt an air of disbelief from the group as the Garmin was bleeping for a left turn off the smooth surface.

There were a few expletives heard in the background, not mentioning any names, but we pressed on. On such a bright day the white gravel really reflected back at us as we steadily munched our way along its surface.

I was hoping that this would just be a few hundred metres and then we’d get back to the smooth stuff. It wasn’t to be. It took a while to adjust to the uncertain feel beneath the tyres. The road started to kick up in the thick of the forest and it became more difficult to control our bikes.

“I’m expecting a bear to jump out from the trees and give me a hug,” a concerned Peter White explained.

This road had concealed sloping edges that could send you slipping off the road into the ditch if you strayed too close to the edge. The tight cambered corners have ridges embedded into their surface from the weight of heavy farm vehicles, which force you to ride wide rather than lose speed and rhythm on the bumpy inside line. This forced you to relax your body using your arms as natural suspension. You also learned to pedal smoothly and stay seated, which was more difficult – standing out of the saddle was not an option as the rear wheel would spin. Anticipating and absorbing any changes in the surface without overreacting or disrupting your tempo was a must or you ended up on your backside.

The only sound to be heard on the car-free road was laboured breathing;

Our first experience of a Strade Bianche road.

a delicious bowl of pasta ragu freshly made by our host, some chunky pieces of bread and aqua frizante (sparkling water) was just the tonic. we had climbed over 500m in only 8km. We regrouped at the top of the climb with some pretty tired legs and a few looks of disbelief that we actually took that on and got to the top unscathed. Fausto Coppi and his arch-rival Gino Bartali would have been proud of us. They are probably the most famous Italian cyclists who raced in arguably the most famous Giro of them all, the 1949 Giro D’Italia. Tuscany was the home of Bartali, Coppi was from neighbouring Piedmont, and they were fierce rivals.

With a few punchy climbs and a couple of steep sections of descent, which were pretty challenging, concentration was a must as we approached Caprese. Not surprisingly Michelangelo was not at home and the town was having a nap, so our lunch stop would be a short one.

Time was not on our side so a steady but determined mindset was needed to set off positively homeward bound, as this would be one of the most challenging sections of the day. Not only were we tired from

our morning climbs, but we would encounter some more significant hills. Searching for somewhere to eat on the way home we came across a welcome osteria which could cater for 15 very hungry cyclists. A delicious bowl of pasta ragu freshly made by our host, some local chunky pieces of bread and aqua frizante (sparkling water) was just the tonic to recharge our batteries as we prepared to beat the fading light. With one more pit stop near San Giustino Valdarno, Dave P Byrne and Mick Whelan would get on their way with the transport team to get the other cars.

The final stretch of the day’s ride was about sheer determination and the group pushed hard along the relentless rolling tarmac, but we were forced to succumb to the light and pull into a mountainside town called Loro Ciuffenna and wait for transport. This was certainly a longer, more lively and interesting day’s cycling, where fitness and skill on the bike was very evident. There would be some very tired legs in the morning!

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CYCLING TRIP MONTEFIORALLE The weather on our third day was once again sublime. There was a slightly pensive mood over breakfast brought about by our increased awareness of what we were about to let ourselves in for. On paper, this was to be the most difficult of the four days, with a loop of over 125km with nine big climbs and a total elevation of more than 3,500m without too many flat sections. As arranged the day before, Marco arrived at reception with a new wheel to restore our group to full strength.

Between one thing and another we were behind time. With a sense of joy because of the fantastic countryside, and apprehension because we knew the terrain, we set off left up the Via di Norcenni, our legs adjusting again to a hard day’s cycle. We had covered this climb on the way to Greve on the first day and we looked forward to the upcoming long descent.

In the arched loggias of the main piazza in Greve, while sipping on our espressos and cappuccinos, it was apparent that time would not allow us to get to reach San Gimignano before dark. Disappointed in not being able to see this medieval town, a decision was made to do a much harder but shorter course. Some would do hill repeats into a beautiful little town called Montefioralle, while a few others would, let’s say, have a longer brunch, then head back and practice for the evening tennis match. A likely story!

The transport team had already done a recce to the town of Montefioralle and beyond, warning us that even the support vehicle found it hard climbing the hills which led to this town. They weren’t joking – in 32km we climbed 930m. To take a passage from Dino Buzzati’s coverage of the 1949 Giro: “Surely it was a crime, in a sense, to make use of such enchanting scenery for such unrewarding, bestial labour”.

I thought there would be a crime committed when we reached the top with the looks I was getting!

Once again vineyards, cypress trees,

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hilltop villages and villas were regular features of the surrounding countryside, providing a welcome distraction from the relentless hard pedalling! Montefioralle (sometimes claimed to be the birthplace of the explorer Amerigo Vespucci), is a magnificent medieval village with narrow cobbled streets lined with small entrances to traditional shops and restaurants. Aromas of local Tuscan cuisine filled the air as we painfully climbed these great hills, giving us something to look forward to on our way back down later for lunch.

We welcomed the sight of the Taverna del Guerrino where we stopped for some lunch. Sitting on the veranda, we had a few moments to absorb this postcard-perfect part of the Tuscan landscape and enjoyed a well deserved meal of pasta, antipasti, dolci and a small glass of vino. Fuelled up and ready for the 20km climb on the way back that we had come down on the first day, we set off knowing the pool was waiting, not to mention the Dún Laoghaire tennis aces ready to give us a display of their ability. The two professional players were brought in to give the group a tennis demonstration – Domo ‘Statue of Liberty’ Campbell

and Mick ‘Good at Corners’ Whelan.

It was obvious from early on that the opposition wasn’t up to much, with Dave ‘Good on the Dance Floor’ Kenyon and Ciaran ‘Shep’ McConnell not returning any serves.

It was decided to split the teams up with one professional playing with one of the novices. This livened the game up a bit and drew a small crowd of onlookers. The serves were cutting and the slagging was quick and accurate. It wasn’t long before both teams warmed up and got into the cheating at full match pace. This encouraged the onlooking crowd to join in the banter much to the amusement of any passing onlookers.

Eventually, after a couple of fiercely disputed sets, a ceasefire was called with all parties retiring to the bar for some well earned wine tasting.

FIESOLE The final day’s cycling would be all smooth roads, as I knew this route from previous years. We would cycle an 85km loop with a 1,250m elevation gain – flat compared to the previous three days. We were heading north into a town called Fiesole which overlooks the city of Florence.

With some tired legs and bodies out there a casual pace would be a

Piazza del Camp, Siena

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CYCLING TRIP

Tuscany’s rolling hills and cypress groves.

welcome relief. But we were in the Chianti hills after all, so there were still hills to climb. “Pull it back half a click” was heard more than once through the group and the ones who didn’t say it were thinking it!

A long downhill brought us to the start of the mayhem of Florentine traffic. Surprisingly we got through without incident, apart from a few expletives from the local drivers.

One more long drag would get us to the finishing town of the 2014 world championships, Fiesole. The mystical beauty of Fiesole, less than 10km outside of Florence, encompasses centuries of history and it is amazingly well preserved. Largely unknown by many, this small town hides a wealth of surprises including the green hilltop where Leonardo da Vinci first experimented with the concept of flight, and the Roman amphitheatre that still serves as a stage for the Estate Fiesolana summer events. We were greeted with O Sole Mio by a local while having lunch, and we sang along with our version, Just One Cornetto!

The last stretch of the final day’s ride would give us some nervous -15 per cent to -20 per cent descents out of Fiesole, with very tight hairpin turns requiring alł of our

Hard earned refreshments in Siena.

concentration. We cycled back for the last time to Norcenni in relative silence with the occasional bit of encouragement shared. There was just one more kilłer 3km climb left up to our base and there was still a lot left in some legs for a token race.

The jury is still out on that one!

This was definitely a trip to remember. After what had seemed like torture at times, I think that there was a great sense of achievement.

This group covered more than 400km over four days, on very tough terrain, with more than 20 hours in the saddle conquering some of the steepest hills you can find. Pretty heroic I think! So with that in mind I’d like to say that it’s the group that makes the trip, not

the trip that makes the group, so well done everyone and thanks a million.

On behalf of the group, I’d like to say thanks to Dublin Fire Brigade, Dublin City Council and Dublin Fire Brigade Sports and Social Club for their support. A big thanks to Liz Hanley for organising the fabulous cycling gear, to Mick Whelan and his brother-in-law for their support, and to Jimmy and Domo from the transport dept. Thanks also to CFO Pat Fleming, the Red Torch Restaurant, and everyone at Norcenni Girasole for looking after us so well. Next it was time to have a few well deserved drinks and maybe a twirl or two on the dance floor. Until 2018 then, salute!

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MEMORIAL

IN MEMORY OF

Ian McCormack

The crew of B watch Dolphin’s Barn unveiled a garden memorial in the grounds of the station for their colleague Ian McCormack.

O

n Saturday August 20th 2016, friends, family and colleagues of Ian ‘Frodo’ McCormack gathered in the garden of Dolphin’s Barn fire station for the unveiling and blessing of a memorial axe in his memory. The date marked six months that weekend since Ian’s passing.

Ian’s colleagues on B watch invited a small group of close relatives and friends for the unveiling shortly after the beginning of the night duty, with refreshments afterwards in the station mess hall. After an introduction from S/O Tom Doolan the local priest said a few short words and Ian’s son Alex cut the ribbon and unveiled the axe. The

74

axe itself simply has the words ‘Frodo 1170’ sandblasted and painted onto it and is embedded into a granite stone in the garden and lit up in the evening with spotlights.

There are words of thanks needed for some people who were involved in bringing the evening together with the small project taking a few weeks to plan. The garden was brought back to life and rejuvenated by Chris Keeley (B watch) who spent days working tirelessly in the garden alongside an army of helpers with Martin Keogh there to supervise! The sand blasting was done by a local stonemason from Loughlinstown called Peter Kelly who gave his services for free and

did a superb job as anyone who has seen the finished memorial would agree. A special thanks to Stephen McMenamy for sourcing the axe that was used. Finally, a mention to Craig Lancaster who is manager of the Tesco Express in Dolphin’s Barn for his contribution of a community voucher to assist us in organising the refreshments, along with Third Officer John Keogh who also assisted us in the organisation of the evening.

Ian is sadly missed by everyone but hopefully this small memorial will help his memory live on and serve as a reminder to us of the laughter and memories he gave us.

B watch No 2

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FIRECALL WINTER 01/02/2017 10:40

RETIRED MEMBERS

RETIRED MEMBER PROFILE Paul Hand

From Dolphin’s Barn to the DFB museum, Paul Hand has seen and done it all. Conor Forrest caught up with the busy retired firefighter and current museum curator, to learn more about a career spanning three decades.

A

s Paul Hand describes it, February 13th 1978 was a fateful day. That was the former butcher’s first day in Dublin Fire Brigade, walking through the doors of Kilbarrack fire station to begin his training in a career that he would leave only following his retirement 32 years later. He was encouraged to join by friends of his already serving

in the brigade – Timmy Horgan, Eddie Finley, Jim Murphy and others.

“When they heard it was coming up, they said ‘Go for it, why not?’ And I never looked back,” says Paul. When his training was completed, Paul was first sent to Tara Street. “The first night in Tara Street I was checking the motors, and this gentleman tapped me on the shoulder and said ‘Do as I tell you and you’ll be alright’,” he recalls. “I said ‘I’m your man’.”

Having seen service in Tara Street, Rathmines, Dolphin’s Barn, Finglas, Kilbarrack and Buckingham Street,

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RETIRED MEMBERS

In 1981 Paul was serving on D watch, which responded to the fire at the Stardust nightclub in Artane on the night of February 14th.

Opening image: Class of 1978, including Paul Hand (back row, fifth from the left); Above: Paul (red jumper) with Greg McCann (on his left) and Greg’s family, one of many visitors to the DFB museum.

Right: Among the extensive collection in the museum is a range of DFB uniforms throughout the years.

Paul spent most of his career in North Strand, a busy station with a broad area of responsibility on the city’s northside.

“I was sent to No 4 in 1980 and I was there for 30 years. When I went there first there were three cars there, 4-1, 4-2 and 3-2. Dorset Street had closed and they moved the car over to North Strand. It was one of the busiest cars in the city at the time. If you were on 3-2, forget about it – you were out all night.

If there was relief needed anywhere in the city you were up first for that,” he says. “I stayed there and I retired out of there, and I have some great memories. They were good, solid men.

The likes of Joe O’Brien, Jack O’Rourke and Martin Messitt – they wouldn’t let you go wrong. They were good men, family men. We were all there just to earn a wage to rear our families.”

Family was important to those within the brigade, but those in the job also

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thought of one another as their second family, Paul explains. “That’s what the fire brigade was all about. You were part of a family. I had a family at home, I had a wife and three kids, they were my family. But the fire brigade was the other family, they really were,” he says. “When I look at photographs, I look at Terry Fitzpatrick, an elderly man back then, he was an out and out gentleman, he wouldn’t let you go wrong. Officers would say to him ‘What do you think Terry?’”

LEARNING FROM THE BEST Though his training undoubtedly prepared him for life in Dublin Fire Brigade, Paul would go on to learn more about the intricacies of fighting fires from the senior men in the job. “In Tara Street, some of the characters in there, some of the senior men, I must only say they were brilliant, they were never off-

putting or gruff. They would tell you ‘Do as I tell you, and if I say stop, you stop.’ And that was the teaching we got,” he says. “When I went to North Strand first, Paddy Leavey was the District Officer there, a gentleman. He had a son in the job and his grandson is in the job today. Tony Rowan, he was a station officer, and Johnny McMahon, probably one of the best fire officers in Dublin Fire Brigade. He was straight down the line, he would tell you ‘Do your work and there’ll be no problem’. And you did your work, you weren’t afraid to work.”

It was teaching that would serve Paul and Dublin Fire Brigade’s new recruits well, as they would attend some major incidents over the following years. When he was stationed in North Strand, large scale blazes weren’t out of the ordinary, and Paul tells me about a fire in North

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RETIRED MEMBERS Wall that took 20 appliances to contain, following a night of difficult firefighting.

“It was a raging inferno. You don’t see that anymore because now it’s all units, so it’s surround and drown. But the likes of Castleforbes was so big that you couldn’t, you had to go in and go after it. We knocked the fire down that night,” he tells me. “Thermal imaging was only in its infancy back then. Nearly every truck now has two or three imaging cameras on it, and rightly so.”

In 1981 Paul was serving on D watch, which responded to the fire at the Stardust nightclub in Artane on the night of February 14th. Around 841 people had attended a disco there that night – 241 people were injured and 48 people lost their lives. Among those who lost loved ones in the fire was Paul’s colleague Jimmy McDermott, who had taken Paul under his wing that first night in Tara Street. “On the night of the Stardust he lost three children. He was on leave that night and when we came back that morning the phone was ringing. He said ‘Paul, did you see the kids?’ I said ‘Jimmy, it was bedlam out there.’ That was a horrific night. That was a night when everything changed in the city,” Paul recalls sombrely.

“People would ask you what sticks in your mind. I suppose the Stardust and children, they’re the two big pitfalls of this job. Children have seen very little of life, we’ve seen a lot. It’s tough to deal with but when you go back to your station and you look at your colleagues, any one of them could be your counsellor. We saw it all together.”

TAKING ON THE MUSEUM Paul retired from the job in 2009, and joined the Retired Members’ Association. Several years ago he was asked if he would take over the curation of the brigade museum following the departure of Las Fallon, and he agreed. His interest in the brigade’s history began during his time in North Strand. There he met two firefighters – Eamon Fitzpatrick and Tony McCabe – who had talked about starting a museum. Though they were on opposite watches, when they did meet, Eamon would talk about his family history in the job: his father had served in the brigade, fought in the Rising and had died in Rathmines fire station of an injury sustained during a gunfight with members of the National Army on Cavendish Road in 1922.

Sitting in one of the old appliances one day, Paul discovered an old, wooden handled axe. “I went back to the station and the next morning, when Eamon was coming on, I said ‘Eamon, I know you’re starting a museum, there you go!’ And that’s how it started with me and him.”

Anyone who has visited the museum will know that it’s a fascinating place, running the gamut of the brigade’s history across two floors in the OBI. The collection is quite diverse, ranging from the old switchboard used in Tara Street in times long past, and the original red woollen uniforms, to a helmet which was once in the possession of James Conway, and early breathing apparatus, attracting

Anyone who has visited the museum will know that it’s a fascinating place, running the gamut of the brigade’s history over the past two centuries across two floors in the OBI.

not only firefighters past and present but members of the public, tourists, schoolchildren, Men’s Sheds and many others. When I arrived to interview him, Paul had just unearthed the first occurrence book for Kilbarrack when it first opened in 1972.

“There’s a lot of history here. From the time of the red turnout gear, the boots, the brass helmets. The donated helmet which came in from the Conway family, that has pride of place. They are very old – 99 per cent of the stuff here is on loan from families,” he says. “When you look at the pictures around the walls they tell of our history, and some of the men who died in their service.”

This year has been an understandably busy year for the museum, with Las Fallon spearheading various exhibitions around the city on the brigade’s role in the 1916 Rising, which is becoming increasingly well known. “I must say that Las Fallon is absolutely great with what he’s doing. Our chief, in fairness to Mr Fleming, has backed us all the way,” says Paul. “We have an exhibition over in City Hall, we have a number of exhibitions out in libraries as well.

Even here we’re getting more and more items, there’s stuff coming into us every week. I need a bigger place!”

From his viewpoint in the museum, where Dublin Fire Brigade’s past and present collides, and in the OBI which operates as the beating heart of training and best practice, Paul believes that DFB is only getting stronger as the years go on. “When we joined the fire service you were trained to a fairly high standard. But now the standard of training is 100 times better. Dublin is the second safest city in the world to have a heart attack – Salt Lake City is the first,” he explains. “Health and safety is coming into it more and more. You now have a welfare officer here, and he’s doing great work. The brigade is going to get stronger.”

Paul’s son has followed in his father’s footsteps, and is loving his chosen career, stationed in Kilbarrack, where his father worked all those years ago.

Paul himself looks back on those 32 years with fond memories. “I’d do it all again tomorrow,” he says with a smile.

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EDUCATION

EUROPE IN THE OBI An EU Civil Protection Mechanism course was recently delivered in the OBI, focusing on coordination in the event of a disaster in Europe or further afield.

T

he EU Civil Protection Mechanism was established back in 2001, aimed at developing and enabling cooperation between national civil protection authorities across the continent. In the event of a natural or man-made disaster, EU member states can send assistance at short notice, with deployed teams undertaking specialised tasks including search and rescue, aerial forest firefighting and advanced medical posts. Any country in the world can request assistance, with over 200 received since its establishment, such as the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, the Ebola outbreak in 2014 and the 2015 earthquake in Nepal.

Alongside coordinating a pool of resources, the Mechanism provides members with the opportunity to train their civil protection teams, allowing for the exchange of best practice and learning to increase effectiveness when responding to an emergency. The cornerstone of this training programme is the Operational Management Course (OPM), the first course specifically aimed at future deployments inside and outside Europe. The eight-day course targets national experts and European Commission representatives who seek to become potential team members or liaison officers as part of a European Civil Protection team sent

by the European Commission. The course focuses on coordination and course topics include internationally agreed guidelines and procedures, planning, information management, ethics, code of conduct and the basics of safety and security. Those who graduate are equipped with the skills to function as a full member in an On-Site Operational Coordination Centre (OSOCC – outside Europe) or coordination setting (inside Europe), which facilitates coordination between the various agencies involved.

DUBLIN DELIVERY There is a consortium of five organisations involved in the delivery of OPM training, the German Federal Agency for Technical Relief (THW), the Danish Emergency Management Agency (DEMA); Italy’s Protezione Civil (Civil Protection) department; the Icelandic police service and Dublin Fire Brigade. Ireland, Germany and Italy have been selected as course venues for this cycle of training.

Though the course is normally split into two – theoretical and practical – with each strand taking place in a different country, in 2016 (for the first time) both sections were delivered in Dublin in Dublin Fire Brigade’s O’Brien Institute in Marino. Assistant CFO Dennis Keeley was assigned the overall responsibility for the

delivery of the seven day course, with D/O Derek Cheevers managing the logistical aspects of the course. A number of senior personnel from civil protection agencies across Europe took part in the course, which involved a fictitious emergency scenario in a country outside of Europe, known as a ‘third country’. During the exercise the coordination team was deployed to this outside country, met with the local emergency management authority and then coordinated the arrival of dedicated taskforce teams, or modules.

“There are a range of modules within the EU Civil Protection Mechanism, and their deployment to

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EDUCATION

a country is dependant on the type of disaster involved. For earthquakes there are urban search and rescue (USAR) modules, for flooding there are high capacity pumping and flood containment modules,” D/O Cheevers explains. “If there are a large number of people that have been internally displaced and require shelter there are emergency temporary camp modules, if the drinking water supply has been affected there are water purification modules and if a large number of people require medical assistance there are advanced medical field post modules that can be supplied. These are just some of the modules available; there is an extensive list that can be applied to any disaster scenario.”

Replicating field conditions is a big part of the course. Over time the exercise becomes more complex, testing the stamina and resolve of the team members, who sleep on camp beds and eat only MREs (meals ready to eat), as many affected countries will lack vital infrastructure. Course participants were required to develop a number of plans covering media queries, safety and security. The exercise also involved the coordination of a controlled evacuation, and meeting with people in the host country in positions of power. “It’s all about preparation, preparing them for a real incident.

We try and replicate that as much as possible,” says D/O Cheevers. “They were not outside at any time, it all took place within the building, primarily around communications, meetings and coordination of incoming assistance.

Though the number of Dublin Fire Brigade personnel who have been deployed under the EU mechanism remains quite small, D/O Cheevers notes that there is still a clear benefit in taking part in the course. Should Ireland find itself in the grips of a disaster beyond our control, and a request for assistance is made, those here who have completed the course could operate as host nation support officers with knowledge of the format of the incoming support – a member could be embedded within one of the incoming teams,

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Above and below: Members of the coordination team in the OBI.

acting as the liaison officer between, for example, Dublin Fire Brigade and a search and rescue team.

D/O Cheevers also notes a litany of people without whom the course would not have been such a success. Ably assisted by firefighters Troy Taylor and Darren O’Connor, he also highlighted the fantastic work of James McConnell and Dublin Civil Defence in providing much of the transport over the seven days. “There are a number of people in the OBI that I need to thank – Brigade Training Officer Gerry Stanley and Assistant Brigade Training Officer Mark Wilson, Breeda Melvin and her colleagues in the office; Jim O’Brien who assisted with a lot of the transfers; Richie (Red) McDonnell who has been

fantastic in preparing many of the exercise locations; S/O Martin Cooke who facilitated transport to Dublin city centre using our new double-decker bus for a walking tour of the city and social evening; Caroline Timmons from the IT department in Dublin City Council who worked with the IT experts from Germany in providing the extensive support required for such a course; and Lisa and her crew in the kitchen for the catering, with firefighter Simon Finglas also assisting in this area,” says D/O Cheevers.

“We have two courses planned for next year, and the OBI will be a key part of that. It was very much a team effort – we worked long days, but overall it has been hugely successful.”

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HISTORY

THE O ULTIMATE PRICE In October 1936, three Dublin firefighters lost their lives in a fire at the Exide Batteries shop on Pearse Street.

DFB’s BHAA team

n the night of October 5th 1936, three of Dublin Fire Brigade’s finest lost their lives when a routine fire on Pearse Street delivered a cruel surprise. Located within striking distance of DFB’s headquarters on Tara Street, a barber’s shop and hotel occupied Number 163; an Exide Batteries shop was located on the ground floor of 164, along with several vacant first floor offices and a family of seven on the top floor. The basement of Number 164 was home to a factory, where the batteries were manufactured and stored. Writing in their seminal history The Dublin Fire Brigade, Tom Geraghty and Trevor Whitehead describe a dangerous scene – several gas cylinders on the factory floor, and a basement back wall modified with a timber and felt annex. “Housekeeping generally in the factory was poor and there were boxes, cartons and their inflammable contents thrown around the factory floor,” they noted.

At 10.50pm that night, Thomas Kelly, who lived with his family on the top floor, spotted a fire in the building below. As he told the inquiry into the blaze the following year, he grabbed some clothes and evacuated his family from the building. Four minutes later the first crew from DFB arrived, with 12 men, a motor pump, turntable ladder and turncock. Despite all the equipment present, water supply posed an immediate problem with three hydrants failing to supply adequate pressure, and one onlooker described the pressure as “not enough to put out a bonfire”. Officers began the search for an alternative in nearby Merrion Square and Westland Row. Believing that the Kelly family was still trapped on the top floor, three firemen – Robert Malone, Thomas Nugent and Peter McArdle – had already entered the premises when an explosion rocked the building at 10.58pm. It was the last time they would be seen alive. A second explosion followed the first, and in the confusion that followed their absence wasn’t noticed for an hour.

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HISTORY

OBI staff gathered for a wreath laying ceremony by Brigade Training Officer Gerry Stanley, coinciding with the ceremony in Glasnevin; Bottom right: CFO Fleming with family members of the three firefighters, including Stephanie McArdle.

Malone’s wife passed the scene by chance, and stopped knowing that her husband would be involved. “Some seconds later there was a terrific explosion and I knew I would never see him again,” she later explained.

Those explosions sent the fire out of control, and the gathered crowd looked on at a chaotic scene, as the firefighters struggled to combat the flames with little water, and as the roofs of the three storey buildings at Number 163/164 collapsed inwards, knocking parts of the back wall. “The streams of water from the nozzles of the hoses, instead of being dead-straight, were hoopshaped,” said one witness. “Obviously there was no water pressure worth talking about... the word inadequate has been used, but the pressure was much worse than that. There was a lamentable shortage of water.”

The fire continued to burn until

around 2.30am, with later reports suggesting that it had burned itself out rather than being extinguished. Once it had cooled, firefighters quickly entered the building, carrying out a frantic search for their missing colleagues. Despite the danger posed by the ‘smouldering debris and falling masonry’, the search continued until some time after 4am, when the first body was recovered from the rubble. It would be several hours before the remains of the other two men were discovered, aided by off-duty firefighters and members of the public.

COMMEMORATION Eighty years on from that fateful day, the three firefighters’ lives and deaths were marked at a sombre wreath-laying ceremony in Glasnevin. The ceremony was attended by a number of DFB personnel both serving and retired, as well as descendants of those three

men, including Stephanie McArdle – Peter McArdle’s daughter. “Dublin Fire Brigade has been involved in a number of events in this, the centenary year of the 1916 Rising. However, this to me is the most sombre and reflective, both from a personal point of view and also the role that Dublin

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Three firemen – Robert Malone, Thomas Nugent and Peter McArdle – had already entered the premises when an explosion rocked the building at 10.58pm.

Fire Brigade performs in society, and the personal and high cost that can accompany this,” said Chief Fire Officer Pat Fleming, who spoke at the graves which lie side by side in Glasnevin.

An immense outpouring of grief flooded Dublin city in the days that followed the fire and the deaths of Malone, Nugent and McArdle. Their coffins lay in state at City Hall and their funerals took place on October 10th, bringing the city to a standstill as some 50,000 people gathered to pay their respects. Alongside Lord Mayor Alfie Byrne and Taoiseach Éamon de Valera, a funeral cortège wound its way through the streets to Glasnevin Cemetery, pausing outside Tara Street fire station where the men had served before their untimely deaths. Malone’s coffin was draped with a tricolour – he had served under de Valera in D Company at Boland’s Mills during the Easter Rising, and had fought in the War of Independence; he was survived by his wife and two children. Nugent was engaged to be married, and McArdle left behind a wife and seven children.

“Their funeral, to this final resting place in Glasnevin, brought Dublin to a standstill as the city mourned its lost heroes, and here we return today to remember their loss and their sacrifice,” said CFO Fleming. “As a service, much is expected of our firefighters, and I would like to recall the words used in a newspaper editorial of the time in relation to these men. ‘More courage is demanded in the ordinary work of a fireman than in almost any other type of work’, and that is still true today I think.”

AFTERMATH In December 1936 a tribunal of inquiry

was announced, sitting between January and March of the following year in a bid to determine the cause of the fire, any issues of negligence, whether the water pressure was sufficient to tackle the fire, the efficacy of the steps taken to extinguish the flames, and why the three firemen lost their lives. The recommendations reflected on planning regulations and Dublin Corporation, including Dublin Fire Brigade.

As to the cause of the blaze, a number of theories were put forward and no firm conclusion was ever reached, though a cigarette was deemed to be the most likely cause. Exide Batteries was not found to have been in breach of the law, despite the presence of inflammable materials in large quantities and a failure to safely store gas cylinders. An issue between the fire brigade and the waterworks department was highlighted, with the question posed as to whether DFB had correctly notified the turncocks (those in charge of turning on the water for the mains supply), or if a crucial valve had not been opened by the turncocks. The truth of what happened never emerged.

Dublin Fire Brigade as an organisation also came under scrutiny, with Captain Joseph Connolly enduring intense questioning. Water pressure gauges had not been checked before leaving the station, and the situation was likened to arriving for battle without any ammunition. The large turnout at the fire had meant that the rest of the city was left with very little cover. Equipment issues were also highlighted – firefighter Thomas Pott, who had survived the first explosion by jumping to safety on the flat roof of Number 165, had been issued with a cloth cap while new helmets were on order. For his part, Connolly noted

that a better service could be provided with better resources. The tribunal’s report concluded that while individual officers and firefighters had acted bravely, there was a lack of supervision and direction on the part of senior officers, with the steps taken to combat the fire described as ‘inefficient’. The circumstances leading to the deaths of the three firefighters were noted as “sudden and violent explosions... increasing immediately the violence of the fire and creating a trap from which these men were unable to escape”.

Among the tribunal’s recommendations was the reorganisation of the brigade along with a more regular system of drills, that the water supply in the city be improved, prohibition of the use of basements for industrial or factory purposes, and the introduction of regular government inspections. Reform would take place within DFB, and quickly. A year later Captain Connolly had retired and was replaced by ex-army Major J.J. Comerford, who set about restructuring the fire service, moving firemen and their families out of the stations, introducing new equipment and recruits and a range of other reforms and investments.

Today the three fallen firefighters are commemorated with a plaque at 163/164 Pearse Street, while another monument to their sacrifice stands on the grounds of the O’Brien Institute in Marino. Eight decades on, they remain the most recent DFB firefighters to lose their lives in the line of duty. “These men acted in the best traditions of the fire service – they went in harm’s way and risked all for others,” said CFO Fleming as he stood by their graveside. “On that night 80 years ago they paid the ultimate price. We remember them and we honour them.”

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TECHNOLOGICAL TOOLS

TECHNOLOGICAL TOOLS

THE LATEST IN WORLDWIDE INNOVATIONS FOR FIREFIGHTERS AND FIRST RESPONDERS.

MOTORIST ALERT

FLYING Dublin Fire Brigade has recently added to its drone collection, purchasing a more advanced Typhoon hexacopter with six rotors. The six rotor option is much safer – if one of the rotors snaps then the machine can remain in the air. The new drone also comes equipped with a thermal imaging camera, “It can pick out hotspots, it can be adjusted to search for a specific range of temperatures such as body temperature, and ignore background signatures,” explains Brigade Training Officer Gerry Stanley.

“For example, if we lit a fire in a container, the drone in the air will show you the hotspot where the fire started and will highlight the different temperatures across the building. Other great advantages include search and rescue in a large area, whether urban or rural. Rather

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than taking the time to search every individual building, the drone will go up and you can set certain parameters and it will search large areas very quickly.”

T/O Stanley and a number of other DFB personnel recently attended an exhibition on drone technology in the RDS, which gave them an idea of how other emergency services are using technology to boost their service to their communities.

In Texas, for example, drones are sent up as soon as a call is received, programmed with specific coordinates, and can provide route information and rapid incident assessments while a tender is en route. “I think, from the expo, that we are only scratching the surface on drone technology in the emergency services,” says T/O Stanley. “The technology is here now, full operational integration is in the very near future.”

A new alert system for ambulances, developed by Australian firm Emergency Warning Systems, is currently being tested in Doha.

Radiolert allows ambulances to communicate with other motorists through FM radio bands at distances of up to 200m, allowing more time for other vehicles to move out of the way.

The company says that the system reduces the risk of accidents for all road users, and improves emergency response times. According to Doha News, the technology is also currently in use in Indonesia, though licensing requirements for over-broadcasting in Europe are still under investigation.

“The Radiolert Mobile FM80 allows emergency service personnel to deliver targeted instructions to surrounding drivers, telling them how to respond. The instructions are heard through the driver’s unmodified FM radio,” the company says. “With less drivers in the path of an emergency vehicle, emergency service personnel can reach their destination faster.”

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TECHNOLOGICAL TOOLS

POLLUTION K-MAX helicopter and Sikorsky Autonomy Research Aircraft (SARA). Photos: Lockheed Martin

RESPONSE Formerly known as the AirMule, Urban Aeronautics’ Cormorant autonomous air ambulance and transporter has completed its first unmanned flight, which demonstrated its ability to fly close to the ground and over uneven terrain. The Cormorant is designed to transport people and goods in combat zones or over rough or inaccessible terrain. Further tests are now scheduled for the UAV, testing flight modes, speed and manoeuvrability. “This flight paves the way forward for the immediate evolution of Cormorant from prototype to near-term production and ultimately commercialisation of this groundbreaking technology – for broad applications and markets,” said founder Rafi Yoeli.

“This is the most exciting time in the company’s history and we look forward to accelerating our progress now that the technology is fully proven.”

Lockheed Martin is also working to provide emergency services with unmanned tools, having recently demonstrated how its ‘optionally-piloted helicopters’ and small UAVs can work together to locate and extinguish fires, and carry out search and rescue

operations. During a live demonstration, the Kaman K-MAX, Sikorsky Autonomy Research Aircraft (SARA), the Indago quadrotor and the Desert Hawk 3.2 fixed wing unmanned aircraft system all worked in tandem to tackle an incident – the Indago identified hotspots and relayed the information to an operator who dispatched the K-MAX to autonomously retrieve water from a nearby pond to extinguish the flames; the Desert Hawk located a missing person while the SARA helicopter directed the rescue.

“When lives are at risk, advanced human-machine teams can complete dangerous missions without putting others in harm’s way,” said Dan Spoor, vice president, unmanned systems, Lockheed Martin. “The advances that Lockheed Martin is pioneering in autonomous and unmanned technologies will lead to improved safety and efficiency for humanitarian aid, first response and other civil, commercial and military operations in the air, on land and undersea.”

Photo: MOVE Systems

Vehicle emissions can be a big problem in any major metropolitan area – Beijing is infamous for the smog from a number of sources including its millions of vehicles, while the cities of Paris, Athens, Madrid and Mexico City have all announced plans to ban diesel-powered vehicles from their streets by 2025 in a bid to combat air pollution.

New York City is also planning to do its part, particularly in relation to its fleet of ambulances which are stationed across the city, and are left running even while stationary to power onboard equipment and to improve response times. Electricity kiosks developed by MOVE Systems will be placed around the city beginning this year, allowing future ambulances powered by electricity to draw power from the grid. The pedestals will also allow vehicles to remain ready to take off when necessary – the connecting plug automatically retracts when the ambulance leaves on a call.

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MOTORING SKODA SUPERB COMBI

SUPERB STYLE SKODA’S NEW SUPERB PROMISES GREATER SPACE, COMFORT AND FUEL EFFICIENCY. BUT DOES IT LIVE UP TO THE NAME? CONOR FORREST TOOK A SPIN TO DISCOVER MORE.

N

aming a car is a difficult process. After all, most of the good ones are taken – Mustang, Charger, Phantom, Veyron, all strong names that evoke power, precision and a fantastic drive, though perhaps the immense Rolls-Royce Phantom doesn’t quite fit the dictionary definition. The Hyundai Excel failed to exceed expectations, and the Chevrolet Cavalier didn’t generate any images of swashbuckling motoring. When you see the Mercedes Sprinter, you don’t immediately think of Usain Bolt hurtling along the tarmac – perhaps the Mercedes Marathon might have been a little more suitable, if not quite as appealing to the marketing department. The Skoda Superb, however, is actually rather superb.

My most recent outing in the Superb was in the Combi version, taking what is already a big car and

90

turning it into a van in disguise – there’s acres of room throughout, with one of the largest rear compartments I’ve seen since the Audi A8. My first impression of the Superb Combi was that there is a distinct premium feel to the whole thing. For one thing, it really looks the part of a higher end vehicle – it’s a stunning looking car in my opinion, slightly reminiscent of a mid-noughties BMW from the front. The materials in the cabin have a quality feel, and the seats provide the perfect mix of support and comfort. There’s even a little mood lighting – a soft blue strip of lighting which runs through the four doors, meeting in the centre of the dashboard. It doesn’t actually do anything, but it’s a nice touch. There’s also quite a few gadgets to keep you occupied – the heated seats are very pleasant on a cold morning, there’s a CD changer in the glovebox, voice

control, a surprisingly easy to operate nav system (I tend to find them a bit finicky), a reversing camera (quite handy on a car which stretches on for miles) and, of course, cruise control.

You also quickly become aware that this is a car designed to make life on the road a little easier. When you pull down the visor and open the vanity mirror, a little light comes on. An ice scraper is hiding behind the filler cap.

The rear passengers can control the temperature in the back from the rear seats. The boot is home to several of these clever features, such as cargo fasteners to stop your shopping bags from sliding around. The rear seats can be folded forward by pulling a switch located by the boot door, increasing the impressive amount of space from 660 litres to 1,950 litres, which is just shy of the Volvo XC90 SUV. There’s even a proper spare wheel in the boot, which seems to

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MOTORING SKODA SUPERB COMBI

POWER: SKODA SUPERB COMBI 1.6TDI 6 SPEED MANUAL

be a rarity these days. Other options include a removable LED torch in the boot, a fully foldable front passenger seat and a retractable hitch. You can also store three seating positions in the driver seat memory, just in case somebody comes along and messes up your finely tuned system.

It’s quite nimble on the road, too, and not lacking in power by any means. For the first day I thought I was driving the 2.0L version as it was quite nippy, so I was a little surprised to learn that I was actually behind the wheel of the 1.6 TDI with 120hp. Next time I’ll actually read the blurb before I set off. On the forecourt you’ll have a choice between a range of blocks, from the 1.4 petrol version to the 2.0L diesel 4x4. As for my test model and

the 1.6 TDI, I found a bit of lag from the six-speed gearbox in first, but you’re cruising in second and above. With a somewhat light foot I managed to average 5.7l/100km (49mpg) over the course of a week, though if you really pay attention you should hit 4.7l/100km (60mpg) without too much trouble. It’s also the first Skoda to feature Dynamic Chassis Control (DCC), which allows you to customise how the car drives. It’s probably something the average driver will ignore completely, but it’s nice to have the option.

In short, the latest Superb Combi is as close to the perfect car as I’ve seen in my few short years of motoring, with the exception perhaps of the Audi A8 and the R8, though those belong in quite different classes. My only quibble, apart from the electronic handbrake, relates to the ignition – there’s no lighting surround and so it can be a little difficult to find the slot when it’s dark. That’s all I’ve got. Even with that (very) small issue, it’s one that I would buy myself in a heartbeat.

120HP

0-100 KM/H

11.1 SECONDS

C02: 108g/km Max speed:

204 KM/H ANNUAL TAX OF

g190

PRICE: €35,150 FIRECALL WINTER

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MOTORING SKODA SUPERB COMBI

ENGINE:

2.4L DIESEL Power: 180BHP 0-100km/h:

10.4 SECONDS MAX SPEED:

FROM TOKYO TO TURIN:

FIAT’S NEW FULLBACK TAKES THE BEST OF THE MITSUBISHI L200 AND ADDS A LITTLE ITALIAN FLAVOUR. BUT IS IT ANY GOOD? CONOR FORREST TOOK A SPIN TO DISCOVER MORE.

E

ssentially speaking, the Fiat Fullback is a Mitsubishi L200 with a bit of a nose job; a case of what’s known as badge engineering. And that’s a good thing. The muscular and flowing physique is more appealing than the L200, and it retains the acres of space, both inside and out – it’s a big machine, with a wheelbase of 3 metres and an overall length of 5.3m. Fuel economy is also impressive – I managed 41mpg (6.9L/100km), which is by no means terrible for a beast with a kerb weight of 1,860kg and propelled along by a 2.4L diesel engine producing 180hp. It’s also quite pleasant and refined out on the road, with a comfortable driving position, ergonomic seats and a soundproofed cabin. Measuring 1.8m high you’ve got a nice view of the road, the steering

92

wheel is surprisingly responsive and the Fullback doesn’t feel hulking even on narrow city streets and car parks, aided by a best in class turning circle of 11.8m.

The 2.4L diesel engine is quite lively from the off and when overtaking, though it seems to plateau at certain levels and you may find yourself dropping back a gear.

A decent amount of technology includes heated front seats, a simple sat nav, rearview camera and cruise control.

Given the L200 lurking beneath, the Fullback is also capable off-road and on the job. Alongside four wheel drive, the Fullback has ground clearance of 205mm and wading depth of 700mm, alongside 3,100kg towing capacity, and is capable of carrying a load of up to 1,000kg in the bed, which measures 1.52m long and just under 0.5m deep, and is easily capable of

FIAT FULLBACK LX DOUBLECAB

MEET THE FIAT FULLBACK

178km/h

TORQUE: 430NM at 2,500rpm

Load CAPACITY

1,000kg

TOWING CAPACITY:

3,100kg FUEL ECONOMY: 41MPG (AS TESTED)

PRICE:

s35,600

carting around a standard Euro pallet.

Available only in the doublecab version, the Fullback will be arriving in Irish dealerships in 2017. The entry level SX model, with a 2.4L 150hp manual transmission, will be available at f30,670 (versus the entry level L200 which costs f29,950), and is relatively well equipped as standard, featuring keyless entry, a reduced four wheel drive system, and cruise control among others. However, I’d recommend opting for the LX trim level with the manual gearbox, which begins from f35,600 but adds features including a much-needed rearview camera, a rain and dusk sensor and a touchscreen media centre.

As the Fullback is Fiat’s first pickup, you may be a little hesitant for fear of teething issues. That shouldn’t be a problem however – offering the best of the L200 in terms of the skeleton, space and off-road capabilities, and improving on its brother in terms of styling, the Fullback is by no means a hard choice.

FIRECALL WINTER

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01/02/2017 15:35

GROGAN’S CASTLE LOUNGE

Great Drinks! Great Company!

Great Ham & Cheese Toasties!

ENOUGH SAID!

TEL: (01) 677 9320 15 SOUTH WILLIAM ST, DUBLIN 2

FLAMEPROOF LTD

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Specialists in the Fire Retarding of all curtain fabrics, ready-made curtains and nets, also all types of upholstery fabrics to the relevant British & International standards, either in our factory or in-situ.

We also offer a comprehensive stain & liquid repellent protection for all your upholstery needs.

Should you have any queries or require and further information, please do not hesitate to contact the number below.

Call us now, your safety matters

25/11/2016 12:11

Welcome to those in need Bro. Kevin needs financial help to provide 850 meals every day and 1,700 food parcels once a week for the people who attend the centre. We have a doctor’s clinic, dental clinic, chiropodist and showers are provided every day.

Please send a donation, no matter how small to:

Unit G8, Chapelizod Industrial Estate, Dubln 20

Tel: (01) 623 4363 Email: flameproofltd@gmail.com

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241604_4C_CountyCrest_CMD_FC.indd 1 22/01/2016 09:41

Bro. Kevin Crowley ofm cap.

Capuchin Day Centre, 29, Bow Street, Dublin 7.

Telephone: 01-8720770

or donate online

www.homeless.ie 1 16/05/2016232931_Capuchin_JR_AMB_4C.indd 14:59

04/02/2015 17:12 09/01/2017 16:04

! ! !

Maureen O’Sullivan T.D.

CARIN OLDER

Care Cent Mount Tab

Independent TD Dublin Central, Working With The Communities

Sheltered Margareth & Ailt an Ó

Full-Time Constituency Office

Telephone: 618 3488 E-mail: maureen.osullivan@oireachtas.ie Website: www.maureenosullivan.ie www.facebook.com/maureenosullivantd @maureenostd

! ! !

!

Mount Tab Sandymou Dublin 4 D04 YT68

T 353 (1) 2 F 353 (1) 2 E info@Du W www.Du

CARING FOR THE OLDER PERSON

CARING FOR THE Care Centre & Nursing Home Mount Tabor, Sandymount OLDER PERSON

Sheltered Housing Margaretholme, & Ailt an Óir, Glenageary Care CentreSandymount & Nursing Home

Mount Tabor, Sandymount Mount Tabor, Sandymount Green, Dublin 4, D04 YT68 T 353 (1) 2605772 Housing FSheltered 353 (1) 2605786 Sandymount EMargaretholme, info@DublinCentralMission.ie W & www.DublinCentralMission.ie Ailt an Óir, Glenageary

Congratulations Firecall on your 40th Anniversary

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Mount Tabor, Sandymount Green, Dublin 4 !

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05/12/2016 16:55

T 353 (1) 2605772 F 353 (1) 2605786 E info@DublinCentralMission.ie W www.DublinCentralMission.ie

abbey

TM

conference & events

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20/10/2016 10:15 01/02/2017 10:27

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

INTERNATIONAL NEWS Emergency Services News From Around the Globe.

NEW ZEALAND:

USA:

PARAMEDIC COMPETITION

MISSING HELMET LISTED (TEMPORARILY) ON EBAY A helmet which fell off a FDNY fire appliance in NYC quickly found its way to eBay, with the seller seeking $500 for his new-found item.

However, with fire marshals searching for the seller and the missing helmet, the seller

told New York Daily News that he was 15 years old and was just looking to make some money. He also said that he had handed the helmet over to the police, and the listing was removed before any bids could be placed.

POLAND:

MINE DEATHS An underground earthquake in Poland left eight workers dead in a mine in the south western region of the country.

Several workers at the State-run Rudna copper

mine were also hospitalised for their injuries. The Polish Press Agency reported that the earthquake measured 4.4 on the moment magnitude scale, 1,500m below the surface.

BRAZIL:

PLANE CRASH TRAGEDY Tributes poured in from across the world following the announcement that a plane crash had resulted in the deaths of 71 people, including 19 players and staff at Brazilian club Chapecoense, who were on their way to the final of

the Copa Sudamericana. Only six people survived the crash when the plane came down in the Colombian mountains, with mourners from across South America and the world paying tribute to those who lost their lives.

Top paramedics from across Australasia recently went head to head at the Auckland University of Technology (AUT) as part of the annual Ferno Sim Challenge, a simulation event designed to test clinical skills and strength of character. A total of five teams from Australia and New Zealand took part in a simulated assassination attempt at a political rally, with each team given 20 minutes to respond to the various scenarios ranging from multiple gunshot wounds to a cardiac arrest.

“It’s a great opportunity for us to walk the talk. And, because simulation is such a large part of our programme, it also informs our teaching,” said Luke Summers, Programme Leader in Paramedicine at AUT and one of those who competed on the AUT team.

The challenge was based on high-fidelity patient simulation

✶ (HPS), which uses computerised manikins to provide a more real-life scenario. For the students and trainees watching on, it was a chance to see professionals in action. “There are so many distractions at the scene of an emergency. For me, this is a reminder that you’ve got to move to the side and focus on what’s important – treating your patients,” said Brody Mangos, currently in his second year of a Bachelor of Health Science (BHSc) in Paramedicine.

At the end, the victors were announced as Team United Voice from Queensland in Australia, and the losing sides were gracious in defeat.

“We’re thrilled to congratulate Team United Voice,” said Summers. “We’ve competed with them in the US, Australia and New Zealand, and there’s a great sense of camaraderie between our teams.”

FIRECALL WINTER

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INTERNATIONAL NEWS

ISRAEL:

FOREST FIRES DRAW INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE Brush fires raged throughout Israel over the course of a week last November, with thousands of people evacuated to safety. More than 1,700 fires were reported across the country, with almost 40 of those declared to be major incidents. In the wake of the fires, a number of people were arrested on suspicion of arson.

According to the Guardian, firefighting aircraft were sent from Turkey, Greece, Cyprus, Croatia, Italy and Russia, while crews also arrived from the Palestinian Authority and a number of other countries.

In a ceremony held to honour the swift and successful response to the fires, Minister of Public Security, Gilad

Erdan, thanked both Israeli firefighters and the international responders.

“This was a complex mission. There were over 1,700 separate fires, more than 70,000 residents were evacuated and 1,895 homes were damaged. There were 39 major fires that broke out and threatened large swaths of land; we fought them together, both from the air and the ground,” he said. “But the most important number to mention is zero. Zero is the number of people who lost their lives. It is zero because of the courage of our police officers and firefighters, and because of you – our friends from abroad, who came quickly to our side to help us in our time of need.”

PAKISTAN:

✶ HOTEL BLAZE At least 11 people lost their lives during a hotel fire in Karachi, Pakistan, with dozens more injured. The BBC reported that the fire started in the hotel’s kitchen on the ground floor, and then spread throughout the building.

Some guests inside the hotel used bedsheets to make a rope and escape from bedroom windows.

Firefighters rescued other

96

trapped people using ladders, and reports say that the blaze took three hours to get under control.

Safety standards remain an issue in the country and, according to Pakistan Today, Syed Murad Ali Shah, Chief Minister of the Sindh province, has directed hotels, factories and other businesses to comply with regulations or face legal action.

LOS ANGELES:

WELCOME TO FIREFIGHTING HIGH Banning High School in Los Angeles has established a four year firefighting programme to give its students a taste of life in the fire service. EdSource reports that the school’s Fire Academy prepares students for various jobs within the emergency response field, including as firefighters and emergency medical technicians, with a

similar programme in place at Wilson High.

Local firefighters help to train students, who learn skills ranging from ladder climbing and CPR to working with hoses and getting into firefighting gear without delay.

The fire academies are part of the LA Fire Department’s initiatives in boosting the diversity of its personnel.

UK:

HELPING HEROES ABROAD Stockport-based industrial clothing company Ballyclare Ltd has partnered with Global Fire & Rescue Partnerships, a volunteer organisation established in 2016 to help firefighters and emergency service workers around the world to do their job better and safer.

“For some foreign firefighting forces, the equipment and training at their disposal may be outdated or inefficient. We work to improve conditions for

their firefighters and make their work safer and more effective,” said Chris Kendall from Global Fire & Rescue Partnerships. “We are an entirely voluntary organisation, so we were delighted when Ballyclare said they wanted to help us.

They kindly provided us with a variety of new firefighting kit, and we’ll use it either for training purposes, or pass it on to firefighting services abroad who will be able to make excellent use of it.”

FIRECALL WINTER

095_FC_InternationalNews.indd 96

17/01/2017 14:42

INSURING

IRELAND

At IPB Insurance, we are proud to be Ireland’s only indigenous mutual insurer, owned by, and managed on behalf of our Local Authority and ETB Members.

From the Cliffs of Moher to the Spire in Dublin, we have been protecting our Members and their communities nationwide for over 90 years.

working to make a difference | www.ipb.ie IPB Insurance CLG, trading as IPB Insurance, is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland.

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For business in the UK, IPB Insurance is authorised by the Central Bank of Ireland and subject to limited regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority.

31/01/2017 06/10/2016 14:47 17:24

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