11 minute read
STATION PROFILE
B WATCH DONNYBROOK
FF/P Laurence Ging, on ambulance duty during our call
Some of the B Watch Donnybrook crew members who were on duty at the Training Centre during the station profi le
THE CREW FROM B WATCH DONNYBROOK TALK TO ADAM HYLAND ABOUT LIFE AND WORK AT THE STATION
Rising cases in COVID-19 meant a trip to Donnybrook fire station in person wasn’t possible, but in talking via Zoom, it’s clear there is a lively atmosphere amongst the crew of B Watch. “Moving to Donnybrook was a bit of an eye opener for me,” S/O Vincent Conroy explains. The acting D/O and former Dublin GAA star joined Dublin Fire Brigade in 1986 and was in Tara Street, then North Strand for many years, becoming a Sub-Officer in 2001, then back in the ERCC as S/O, before he made the decision to move to Donnybrook. “Donnybrook is a very different type of area, with a good number of hospitals and large nursing homes,” he tells me. “You also have the embassies and consulates, the Aviva and the southside of the city centre, as well as the Grand Canal, the River Dodder and the sea from Sandymount out to Blackrock. “Tall and complex buildings is another major challenge for us,” he adds. “I knew the landmarks of the Southside from playing matches against Kilmacud
Demonstrating HazMat decontamination procedures at the Training Centre
Crokes or Crumlin back in my day, but now backing up Rathfarnham or Dun Laoghaire, or as D/O going to the likes of Cherrywood, Stepaside, Kilternan, and Dundrum up towards the Dublin Mountains towards Enniskerry, it’s phenomenal how much development has taken place. Also, just as North Strand covers the docks from the northside, we cover the southside.”
This means B Watch Donnybrook, with its two water tenders, HazMat Unit, ambulance and D/O vehicle, is responsible for covering the National Oil Reserves Agency stores at the old ESB facility near Ringsend, which has a minimum of almost 1.5million tonnes of refined oil and 70,000 tonnes of crude oil at any one time, while they also have a dual responsibility with Tara Street to cover the Covanta incinerator plant at Poolbeg, which handles 700,000 tonnes of waste every year.
“That gives a flavour of what we have to cover,” S/O Conroy says as he lists off the above. “Covanta is a massive facility, and the contents of the plant is obviously a major hazard.”
HAZMAT
Donnybrook’s speciality is HazMat, and this means the crew of B Watch have to respond to calls from all over the city, and S/O Conroy explains it is the reason he moved to Donnybrook, having witnessed first-hand the procedures involved when as an acting D/O in HQ he had to attend a suspect envelope sent to the Department of Health at the start of the COVID-19 outbreak.
“I watched the set-up of the equipment and procedures for sending people in wearing protective suits,” he tells me, “and I was very impressed, so I wanted to get involved in the HazMat set-up at the station that specialised in it.”
With that, S/O Conroy hands me over to FF/P Henry Brownrigg, who along with senior man Ben Wedick, is one of the most knowledgeable crew members when it comes to HazMat. Having joined DFB in 2009 in Donnybrook, he transferred to Dolphin’s Barn before undergoing a specialist HazMat course and then passing on his knowledge to recruits this year, before recently returning to Donnybrook.
“Dolphin’s Barn was a great experience for me, and that is why I went there - I wanted the experience because if you are ever going for promotion, you have to look to gain that experience, get yourself out there to learn new skills,” he says.
“In the last few years, HazMat training has improved a lot,” he adds, “and we now have a new vehicle to respond to these incidents as well as a new storage facility here, so there is definitely a push towards improving knowledge of it, and definitely in our station because it is our special. I was involved in HazMat training for recruits at the Training Centre, but there is also a lot of ongoing training that can be done at the station to improve your knowledge and skills.”
HazMat response is B Watch Donnybrook’s special
Covering the entire city and county means B Watch’s HazMat response can bring them as far away as Swords or Slane, he tells me. “It’s a timeconsuming procedure to turn out to these incidents,” he says, “but while every DFB truck is equipped to deal with a HazMat incident, we are always the second arrival on scene, and the number of calls we are getting is going up – more than 50 calls per year.
“We can deal with spills, and everyone is trained to properly wear the protective gear, so we can go in with specialist equipment when required, but our main job is to decontaminate those who may have arrived before us without the required skills or protective gear,” he says.
In covering the entire city with HazMat, B Watch gets to come into contact with all of the other crews, which FF/P Brownrigg says is one of the best things about working here.
SPORT
He also mentions the very large sporting element to the Watch, pointing out that as well as a former Dublin GAA player as S/O, among the crew is Joe Brennan, former Ireland hockey player and coach to the women’s hockey team, several fitness coaches including FF/Ps Sean Hayden and Laurence Ging, athletes, a mountaineer, sea swimmers, and their own football team, making them, as he says, “a very active Watch”.
“We do a lot of sporting activities together,” he says, “both to stay active and to socialise, and this helps to strengthen the bond we have. We have a gym in the station, and FF/P Sean Hayden is a strength and conditioning coach, so if anyone wants any help, he is there to help, and that is a common thing in this station – if you ask anything of anyone, they will happily do it for you. Then we have FF/P Neil Kennedy bringing us on hikes into the mountains, for example, and it’s a good way of winding down.”
FF/P Marc McCann, who moved from Dun Laoghaire station to B Watch Donnybrook four years ago agrees. “Most of us are travelling in to get here, but we tend to come in early to go to the gym and talk, and the atmosphere is great, with everyone getting on really well,” he says.
FF/P Hayden adds: “A lot of us are the same age and we bounce off each other really well. Exercising together really helps you in the job because you are working with your mates rather than just work colleagues – literally in my case because one of the crew is a very close friend of mine!”
“It’s a very good way for the lads to get stuff off their chest, as well as to keep fit,” FF/P Neil Kennedy also says. “It’s a good bonding exercise. There’s also been an injection of young blood in recent years, and these crew members are up for a lot of the activities we are doing. We also had members training for the New York Marathon, with FF/P Brennan joining one of the younger members to take part, and that shows there is a good social interaction across our age group.”
“Talking of younger members, there’s a few of them out of your eyeline acting the b******s right now,” he tells me laughing, before he gets back to work.
KNOWLEDGE
The youthful energy on show combined with the knowledge of more senior crew members makes for a very efficient mix when it comes to the job, and gaining expertise.
“That knowledge of the senior men is very well passed on to the younger crew members, especially in the ambulance and the reading of a situation,” FF/P McCann says. “I’ve picked up some of this, but I don’t know it all, and it is great to be able to learn more from the more experienced crew.
“Also, we are all there for each other. If someone has personal issues, we try to look out for them, and we are all able to talk to each other about what is going on in the job and in our lives.”
S/O John McCormack, who joined B Watch Donnybrook after 25 years at Dolphin’s Barn, agrees. As a floating S/O, he gets to experience B Watch across three stations, and one thing stands out for him.
“These people are extremely hard working and very diligent, as well as great guys to work with and spend time with. That’s my experience across all three stations and it definitely applies here. The atmosphere is excellent, and we have a good age profile from quite young, compared to me, up to senior people who would have quite a lot of service and then some people with 15 to 20 years of service, so that adds spice to the mix. People feed off each other and the senior men are very good at mentoring the younger crew members, which is a huge benefit to officers running the station.
“In the three stations we have excellent senior men who set the tone by their example to all the other crew members. It is very important in any station to have a good senior man. “Donnybrook holds a special place in my heart,” he adds, “because I spent two years here as a young firefighter. It’s also a nice area to work in: A bit awkward to get to, but nice once you arrive.
“It’s a very easy place to work in that respect. The sporting aspect and having a very fitness-conscious group also rubs off on us older members and encourages us to go that bit longer. You don’t want to let the side down!
“But for me, the most important thing is the camaraderie and the welcome given to younger members when they arrive. They very quickly become assimilated into a very positive culture, and that is driven by the senior men and the officers right down the line.”
The crew of B Watch Donnybrook with S/O Conroy (back, centre) and former D/O Bisset (far right)
CAMARADERIE
As the newest crew member, or “the old, new lad” as he puts it, FF/P Ciaran Dunne agrees with this. Having served with the Air Corps 20 years ago, he eventually joined DFB last year after the embargo on recruitment put his successful application in 2009 on hold, and it was worth the wait.
“With recruit training they can only make it so realistic, so that first day is a bit daunting, but I remember walking across the car park and one of the crew came over and welcomed me,” he tells me. “There’s always someone there to answer questions and help you along the way, not just the older lads but the younger ones too. You don’t have to look around too much for someone to give you a hand, and you never have to do something on your own, and that is from the top down. It’s not just an officer telling you what to do, they are
hands-on and leading by example.”
SOLID
S/O Conroy points out that unfortunately, due to call outs and training at the Training Centre, several very important crew members are not present for our call, chief among these FF/P Brennan, senior man Ben Wedick, second senior man Glenn McNevin, Laurence Ging, Keith Gibson, and Sub-Officer Keith Dore, although the first two did at least feature the last time Firecall paid a visit to B Watch Donnybrook a few years ago.
“FF/P Wedick has spent most of his career in Donnybrook and is a seriously good senior man,” he tells me. “A great link man, very tuned in to the crew, which is great. Any problems don’t even need to come to me, it is sorted amongst the lads and with the senior man and Sub-Officer.”
With new D/O Noel Jackson’s imminent arrival at the station, I ask S/O Conroy what he will experience upon arrival.
“When it was put to me if I wanted to come out to Donnybrook as S/O, I talked to Jim Bisset who was here before me,” he tells me, “and I asked what I was walking into. He said there would be absolutely no problem. I moved over here and that’s what it was like. When the new D/O comes in, he will ask me the same question, and I will be telling him that we are rock solid here. The senior men, the Sub-Officer, the crew, are all willing to do the job, and they all get on very well.
“They can handle all issues they face, nobody has lost sight of the idea of helping people here, it is all about enthusiasm to do their bit for the public and it is a very enthusiastic station and Watch.”
