Firecall Winter 2022

Editor: Adam Hyland

Consulting Editor: Dan Fynes

Contributors: Dan Fynes, Las Fallon, John McNally, Tony McCann, Tom Geraghty, Ray Campion, Ger Ryan, Ian Kelly

Designer: Neasa Daly

Cover Credit: DFB

Photography: Dublin Fire Brigade, Dublin City Council, Ray McMonagle, Trevor Hunt, John McNally, Las Fallon, Adam Hyland, Tony McCann, Tom Geraghty, Ray Campion, retired member Liam Clarke, A Watch Tallaght, Gallery Books, New Island, O’Brien Press, Simon & Schuster, Pat Poland, Rosenbauer, Opel, National Robotarium of Edinburgh, Muller Technologie.

Sales Manager: David Byrne

Production Executive: Claire Kiernan

Publisher: Chesterfox Ltd, T/A Firecall Magazine, P.O. Box 6766, Dublin 2. Tel: (01) 432 2200; Fax: (01) 6727100

Managing Director: Gerry Tynan

Chairman: Diarmaid Lennon

Distribution by: Magazine Mailing

Ashville Media Group Unit 55, Park West Road, Park West, Dublin 12 Tel: (01) 432 2200 Fax: (01) 676 6043

Publisher’s Statement: The information in Firecall is carefully researched and believed to be accurate and authoritative, but neither the Dublin Fire Brigade Sports & Social Club nor the publisher can accept responsibility for any errors or omissions. Statements and opinions expressed herein are not necessarily those of the Editor or of the publisher.

Copyright ©2023

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.

Dear readers,

Welcome to the latest issue of Firecall. Firstly, it is great to have the Retired Members Association provide an update on their recent and future events, and I look forward to the piece from Secretary Tony McCann becoming a regular feature of this magazine.

Congratulations must go to Class 2/2022 who completed their training in October and have now joined the operational ranks of Dublin Fire Brigade. During their training they also raised a lot of money through their Lee ey Challenge, and their e orts are documented in this issue.

Las Fallon provides another interesting read in his review of Pat Poland’s final instalment in his history of Cork Fire Brigade, while Tom Geraghty o ers a few snapshots of DFB history that will rekindle memories for some, and shed a light on moments from the DFB past that all will find interesting. My thanks to both of them for their ongoing contributions.

The wildfire event that occurred in Killiney over several days and nights in July was an exhausting but extremely successful operation involving crews from multiple stations. In these pages, I talk to A/C/F/O Greg O’Dwyer, and D/O John Reilly about what was involved in this major incident.

Sporting event have been a highlight in recent months, with the Cycling Club organising a very successful Stay in the Saddle for Prostate Cancer charity fundraiser that raised a lot of money for a great cause, and congratulations must go them for that. Meanwhile, the DFB GAA team took on a team from FDNY, and that is also covered in this issue, while Ray Campion provides an overview of the All-Ireland Golf Championship.

Elsewhere, DFB involvement in the Movember Movement has been as noticeable as ever, and great praise must go to all of those who took part this year in raising money for the charity, as well as awareness of men’s health.

Thanks must also go to A Watch Tallaght for going above and beyond on a very busy night to make sure I could talk to several members of the crew in putting together a station profile, and to A/C/F/O O’Dwyer for talking to me about the recent recruitment campaign.

Finally, my thanks to retired member Liam ‘Nobby’ Clarke for taking the time to talk to me about his career, which is definitely an interesting read, and as always to the Pipe Band for their update on this important and iconic part of DFB culture. As always, I would encourage anybody who wants to talk about any upcoming endeavours, or who has an idea for a story, to get in touch. This is your magazine, and you are all welcome to contribute. I hope you enjoy the read.

EDITOR’S PICKS

20

OUR LATEST MEMBERS

Class 2/2022 with DFB

46

FIRE ON THE HILL

The Killiney Wildfire

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HONORARY SECRETARY’S FOREWORD

Welcome readers to our winter 2022 issue of Firecall. It has been an exceptionally busy few months for all in Dublin Fire Brigade, but I’m pleased to see that so many of our Sports and Social Club members have continued to organise and enjoy activities that are so important to the organisation.

Huge thanks must go to the DFB GAA team, who hosted our colleagues from FDNY in October and showed the hospitality we can o er before playing a very competitive game of football. DFB has a long-standing relationship with FDNY and Battalion Fire Chief Eddie Boles, so I was delighted to read about his latest visit for this challenge game, and to hear that they kept our own team on their toes.

It is great to see that many other major sporting events in the last few months have been very successful, including the Staying in the Saddle for Prostate Cancer charity cycle, which raised much-needed funds and awareness, the All-Ireland Fire Service Golf Championship, which continues to grow bigger and better, and the Christmas football 5-a-side that brought great fun in challenging times.

The Frontline MO-BROs’ Movember campaign also continues to raise awareness and funds for men’s health and mental health, and they must be congratulated for their tremendous e orts once again this year, while C Watch North Strand, aka Daft Funk Brigade, can take a bow for their great viral dance video in aid of St Joseph’s School for the Visually Impaired.

I must thank Retired Members Association Secretary Tony McCann for his input in this issue. The DFBRMA plays an essential role in the Sports and Social Club, and I welcome Tony’s contribution to keep us abreast of the events and activities they undertake and plan for the future.

I must also welcome Class 2/2022 to the ranks of DFB, and wish them the best as they begin their careers with us. On the subject of new members, the feature on our latest recruitment campaign is a recommended read, while the latest S/O Development Course is also covered in this issue.

On the social event side of things, it was brilliant to be able to hold our Christmas Party again this year. This event is so important for DFB families, and thanks must go to everybody involved in the organisation and running of the day, who helped make it such a great success. Similarly, our first (and not last) Cinema Day proved very popular, so watch out for news on further trips to the movies.

In terms of recommendations, the look back at the wildland fire in Killiney in the summer is an interesting read for all DFB members, as is Tom Geraghty’s snapshots of history, and the retired member profile with Nobby Clarke.

Thanks to all who contributed, or who took the time to be interviewed. This is your magazine, so if you have an idea for a story, an event you want to highlight, or a subject of interest you feel should be explored, get in touch. Enjoy the read.

Dan Fynes

DAN FYNES

If you haven’t already done so, please order your new ID card by emailing idcards@dfbssc.ie with an attached headshot (on a neutral background), your name, pay number, station, watch and location.

We are trying very hard to make sure that all DFBSSC members receive their copy of Firecall. Anybody who is not receiving theirs should email the editor Adam Hyland with their address: adam.hyland@ashvillemediagroup.com

SPORTS AND SOCIAL CLUB UPDATE

The last few months have continued with the pace of the rest of our Anniversary year in the DFBSSC, and we have had a lot of sporting and social activities and events to enjoy.

SOCIAL MEDIA

We have been busy with our social media platforms all year, and our concert giveaways throughout 2022 have proved to be very popular. Lucky participants won tickets to a wide range of shows and events, including concerts by Bryan Adams, AnneMarie, Dua Lipa, e Script, Westlife and Ennio Morricone, as well as family events such as Circus Extreme and e Night Sky at Malahide Castle, and several GAA xtures.

ese social media giveaways will continue into 2023, so check out or platforms to be in with a chance of winning some great tickets.

MONTHLY DRAWS

Our monthly draws to win great prizes continues as always, and details of the winners since October are included at the bottom of this page.

CHRISTMAS PARTY

It was great to see our Christmas Party return this year, and the photos included in the pages of this issue show how much fun it was for all who attended.

THANKS

As ever, none of what we have done this year as the Sports and Social Club would be possible without the hard work of the Committee, whom I would like to thank for bringing all this together. It’s very much appreciated by all. Keep up the good work. I’d also like to express my thanks to all of our members for their continued support throughout this busy year. We hope you have enjoyed all that we have had to o er.

Should you have any ideas or suggestions for the Club, please bring them to your Representative who will bring it to the next Committee meeting.

TOMMY DOYLE

Finally, I would like to thank Tommy Doyle for his service to the Club. Tommy has been an integral member of the Club since the beginning, and was featured in the last issue of Firecall as our retired members’ pro le. In more recent years, Tommy has been a representative for the Retired Members Association on our Committee, and has decided that this was his last year in the role. On behalf of the Club, I would like to thank Tommy for his service and dedication to the Club over many, many years. His experience and knowledge will be greatly missed at Committee level.

anks and Happy New Year to all.

JOIN IN

If you aren’t on your Station Sports and Social Club WhatsApp group and would like to be, please contact your station rep, or if you aren’t following us on social media, please feel free to do so also.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DubFireBrigade

Twitter: https://twitter.com/dubfirebrigade @DubFireBrigade

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dubfirebrigade @dubfirebrigade

October: D Nolan A7 M Clarke C Projects T Hudson C2 P O’Riordan C2 S O’Neill D HQ

November: O O’Toole B D12 C Connolly B12 R O’Farrell ERCC WF Kelly B3 G Williams C HQ

December: O Dunne B9 D Mooney C9 B McManus C3 M Sheridan B6 D O’Brien D6 G Coughlan A4 R Dunne D7 B Kelly D HQ R Moore CHQ V Carton B4

2022

STATION REPRESENTATIVES

Brian Gilbert HQ

Brian Tracey Rathfarnham

Deirdre Berry North Strand

Darren Donnelly Dolphin’s Barn

Gary Mason Tallaght

Gemma Kiernan Donnybrook

Ger Ryan Kilbarrack

Glenn Fitzgerald Retained

Joe Moran North Strand

John Connolly Dolphin’s Barn

Kevin Conlon Finglas

Lar Sweetman ERCC

Martin Cooke Logistics

Mick Ratchford Phibsboro

Neil Quinn Blanchardstown

Paul Green OBI

Paul McCann HQ

Ray Campion ERCC

Ray Kenny Dun Laoghaire

Siobhan Talbot HQ

Stephen Breen Swords

Sean MacDomhnaill HQ

Mark Ryan Donnybrook

DFB IN BRIEF

A recap of Dublin Fire Brigade news and events over the winter

LEFT: Congratulations to Firefighters Rob, John and Owen who have just qualified as turntable ladder drivers under the guidance of instructors Vinnie and Bob. RIGHT: Dave ‘Flash’ O’Brien was joined by his family as he took his last parade after 31 years with DFB on D Watch HQ, joining as a mechanic in 1987 before moving into operations in 1991.

RIGHT: Recruit Firefighter Sean had his first water rescue in October after Lemon the dog needed help in the River Dodder.

LEFT: In October, we said farewell to FF/P Paul McEvoy after 38 years of service in Malahide and Swords stations. His legacy includes introducing our rescue boat service emergency resources.

ABOVE: A Watch Rathfarnham were on hand to deliver Mr and Mrs Claus, along with elf Adam, to Ballyboden St Enda’s GAA Club in December.

Congratulations to our newly qualified Pump Instructors following a two-week course. ABOVE RIGHT: Congratulations to the latest class of RTC instructors who completed their course in December with a curriculum including new car technologies and alternative fuel vehicles. LEFT: In October, we learned with great sadness of the death of retired firefighter Bill Redmond, who was based on D Watch Tara Street and was extremely popular amongst his colleagues.

ABOVE: DFB members were called to rescue two people trapped in a lift at City Hall ahead of a wedding in November, and stayed for a photo opp. LEFT: It was with great sadness that we learned of the death of retired sub-o cer Kieron Doyle in October.

ABOVE: We said farewell to District O cer Paul Elebert after 33 years of service in September. BELOW: In October, recruit FF/P Jordan Manning took his first ambulance duty with FF/P Paul McEvoy, who took his last as he retires from Swords fire station.

RIGHT:

ABOVE: A tie fighter pilot met up with firefighters from Finglas fire station at a community day in Glasnevin in October.

BELOW: It was with profound sadness that we learned of the death of retired firefighter and renowned entertainer Jimmy Giles of A Watch Finglas in December.

ABOVE

ABOVE:

LEFT:

LEFT:

ABOVE LEFT: In late December we said goodbye to retired Sub-O cer Len Brennan of C Watch Dolphin’s Barn and A Watch Rathfarnham, who sadly passed away.

RIGHT: Recruit Firefighter Jordan Manning extinguished his first fire in October... sort of… when he was on duty for his birthday.

ABOVE: Taking part in a multi-agency exercise in the Port Tunnel at the end of September. RIGHT: Responding to a hay barn fire in Fingal on New Year’s Eve. BELOW: B Watch Phibsboro get into the Halloween spirit.

Congratulations to our 16 newest SubO cers who completed a comprehensive threeweek development course led by experienced o cers in October.

Phibsboro’s Hi Line team paws for a photo op after they were called upon to gain access to a cat shelter when a power cut meant sta couldn’t enter the building.

After more than 60 years of combined service, D Watch Blanchardstown said goodbye to their two most senior firefighters, Paul Foley and Kevin Brogan when they retired in October.

LEFT: Tallaght FF/Ps held a bucket collection in the Square in November to raise funds for Eoghan Gorman, who sustained life-changing injuries in a mountain biking accident.

D Watch from HQ and Phibsboro were given a familiarisation tour of the LE Roisín by the Naval Service in September.

ABOVE: Chief Fire O cer Dennis Keeley was joined by Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien and NIFRS’s Chief Aidan Jennings to launch Fire Safety Week 2022 in October.

LEFT: Recruit firefighters Molloy, Keogh and Dawson are welcomed to their stations on their first operational day in October. RIGHT: Congratulations to our latest batch of Compartment Fire Behaviour Instructors who completed their course in October alongside two colleagues from Dublin Airport Fire and Rescue Service.

LEFT: Finishing up at a vehicle fire in the south bore of the Dublin Port Tunnel in November. BELOW: DFB members celebrate after finishing the Dublin Marathon at the end of October, with FF/P Thomas Hempsey running in full PPE and BA set.

ABOVE: Recruit Firefighter Aaron Field from Rathfarnham fire station was straight into his first turnout in October as he was called along with his crew to an oil tank alight where foam was used to extinguish the fire. LEFT: Extinguishing a vehicle fire in Clondalkin in October.

ABOVE: Congratulations to S/O Mahon, FF/P Hunt, S/O Conroy, FF/P McGowan, and FF/P Brian Stewart on attaining a Masters in Environmental Health and Safety from Technological University Dublin in November.

ABOVE: CFO Keeley and Lord Mayor Caroline Conroy present a prize to one of the winners of DFB’s fire safety poster competition.

ABOVE: In October we said goodbye to Firefighter/ Paramedic Paul Foley from Blanchardstown station after 31 years of service as he starts the next chapter of his life. RIGHT: FF/P Ger Kavanagh joined up with gardaí and representatives from Dublin Bus and the DSPCA for Halloween safety roadshows in primary schools in October.

BELOW: Firefighters from Finglas, Phibsboro and Blanchardstown stations responding to a HGV fire in October.

LEFT

‘Shave Down’ at Sam’s Barbers on Ormond Quay

ABOVE: Firefighters Bermingham and Gill were on hand at the DFB garage to help Santa make a safe landing before heading to the GPO in December. BELOW: Recruit firefighter Dunne from Phibsboro fire station extinguishes his first vehicle fire in Cabra at the start of December.

ABOVE: The latest firefighters to qualify on our new 42 metre turntable ladder as cage operators. LEFT 1: Former Lord Mayor and long-time supporter of DFB, Cllr Alison Gilliland, hosted a hugely successful evening of information for women interested in a firefighter career in November.

2: DFB members join members of the NAS, Garda, Defence Forces, Air Corp and Dublin Airport Fire and Rescue for the annual

to mark the start of Movember.

ABOVE: Fire Prevention District O cers Fox and O’Dwyer were at the Aviva to oversee fire safety for the Autumn Rugby International match between Ireland and Australia.

THE RETIRED MEMBERS ASSOCIATION DIARY

The DFB Retired Members Association was formed more than 20 years ago under the auspices of the Dublin Fire Brigade Sports and Social Club. e Committee of the DFB Sports and Social Club decided that retired re ghters

needed a social outlet, as once retired, they ceased to be members of the DFB Sports & Social Club.

Some founder members at that time were Jim Sargent, Joe Davis (both R.I.P.), Willie McFadden, Tommy Doyle and others, and some of these members are still enjoying the

DFB Retired Members Association to this day. We are also proud to say we have a great relationship with the DFB Sports and Social Club who work together with us to recruit new retired members.

Our member and past Chairperson Tom Geraghty, who became Vice Chairman

There are many advantages to joining the Dublin Fire Brigade Retired Members Association, including events, trips away and advice, writes Secretary Tony McCann

Members heard great speeches at the 101st anniversary of the burning of the Custom House

in 2004, was conscious of the fact that the DFBRMA had no income, and together with the Committee made arrangements to have subscriptions paid from members’ pensions through Dublin City Council/DubCo. is enabled the DFBRMA to provide speci c items such as communications equipment, a computer, mobile phones, and clothing to wear at special occasions. It also made it possible to provide annual subscriptions to larger institutions to which the DFBRMA are a liated, while members at our AGMs agree to donate to many needy charities in the city.

COMPANY

e DFBRMA was formed so that DFB retired re ghters of all ranks could enjoy

the company of their retired comrades. It is important to understand that there is absolutely no rank structure in the DFB Retired Members Association: all members, including the Committee, are ordinary members.

e aims of the association are to get out there and enjoy ourselves, and our members and their partners have accomplished this, going on mid-week breaks around Ireland, holidays in Spain, Portugal, even China, cruises on the Mediterranean, the Caribbean, Christmas parties in hotels away from home, and many other functions during the year.

An important part of our programme is to provide a Guard of Honour at retired

members’ funeral services, and our members form the colour party at the Annual Deceased Members Mass at St Saviour’s Church.

We meet in the Teachers Club, Parnell Square, on the last Tuesday of every month, and all retired re ghters are more than welcome to come and join us, talk to old friends, have a pint, and maybe decide to join our group.

“

THE AIMS OF THE ASSOCIATION ARE TO GET OUT THERE AND ENJOY OURSELVES”

ADVANTAGES

e advantages of belonging to an organisation such as DFB Retired Members Association is that each one of our members automatically belong to much larger institutions such as NFPA and e Alliance of Retired Public Servants, who cater for thousands of retired public service pensioners and are constantly reviewing pensions and ghting on our behalf for parity with the workforce. An example is how our member Mick Du y recently secured an increase for everyone, including non-members. e Association has also provided con dential advice on pensions, entitlements, etc, to partners of deceased members on their deaths.

EVENTS

With the overview out of the way, here’s a sample of some events we’ve enjoyed recently, and while the COVID-19 pandemic may have slowed things down over the past two years, we are gradually starting to enjoy life again.

IRISH NATIONAL HERITAGE PARK

In September 2021, we took a trip to the Irish National Heritage Park on the banks of the Slaney. e short bus tour from our hotel showed us Ireland’s unique and distinctive history, which was an interesting and enjoyable experience, with our tour guide

The trip to Wexford was rounded off by a great meal

explaining how people in Ireland lived in days gone by. Before us was 9,000 years of Irish history brought to life in a beautiful natural setting. e guided tour was spellbinding, explaining how the rst people to inhabit Ireland lived as nomadic hunter gatherers, living and working together in family groups. We were then informed that the rst farmers arrived in Ireland 6,000 years ago, bringing skills in livestock, crops and pottery. When they settled, they built more permanent structures to live in, and Megalithic Tombs which we see all over the island of Ireland to this day.

We then moved on to hear about some 4,500 years ago, when a new culture of people skilled in metalwork arrived in Ireland, before we were brought around this magni cent site and shown structures, including a life-sized Viking ship, giving us an idea who the latest settlers were! We were told that between the 8th century and the mid-12th century, new groups arrived in Ireland, bringing an age of invasion.

For the rst 100 years, the Vikings were regularly beaten in battle by the Irish Kings, but in time a lot of them settled down and intermarried with the existing Irish population, establishing port towns around the island of Ireland. Many of us may actually be descendants of these guys.

Today, we are witnessing large amounts of people from all over the world arriving in Ireland due to political or nancial turmoil and war, and I wonder is history repeating itself all over again?

Included in the site is a Falconry Centre where you can view amazing birds of prey. It was an interesting visit, and we adjourned to the restaurant to enjoy a delicious lunch. If you visit Wexford with the family, you have to see the National Heritage Park, you won’t regret it!

WATERFORD

We took a trip to Waterford from 4 to 6 April of 2022, with members staying at the Tower Hotel bed & breakfast, with a full dinner included every evening. ere was music and sing-songs each evening a er dinner. Our quizmaster Tommy Ellis presented a di cult quiz and as usual certain members (no names) cheated. e Committee held

a bingo session on another a ernoon and once again some lucky members came away richer. On the nal day, the members, under the guidance of Treasurer Aidan Carroll, took a bus tour to Lismore House, had lunch in Dungarvan, and drove the Gold Coast back to the hotel.

CUSTOM HOUSE

e DFB Retired Members Association received a special invitation to a ceremony in the Custom House on the 101st anniversary of the burning of the Custom House on 25 May. We had a memorable a ernoon listening to interesting speeches and dialogue from our Chief Fire O cer Dennis Keeley, Darragh O’Brien TD, and other speakers.

e DFB Pipe Band playing fantastic music did us proud as usual, and when the ceremony ended, we were bought for food, followed by an o cial tour of the “Burning of the Custom House” exhibition. I would recommend that anyone who hasn’t been to this exhibition should bring the family and visit, it’s now open for all to see.

a meeting with the Assistant Chief Fire O cer and the D/O in charge of clothing supply to the Dublin Fire Brigade, DFBRMA will be allowed to purchase our clothing items from this company. e logos and colouring would be similar to that of the operational sta , except that the logo “Dublin Fire Brigade” would be “Dublin Fire Brigade Retired Members Association”. e quality of the clothing is superior to the gear we have at present. Mary Murphy displayed di erent types of wearing apparel and we decided to get samples of the white uniform shirts with both long and short sleeves with standard logos including the DFBRMA patch on the upper sleeve. is may be embroidered into the material instead of a sewn-on patch. We are also getting samples of a white polo summer shirt and a navy eece with a button up front. When these samples arrive, Treasurer Aidan Carroll will be showing them to members for their approval at our meetings.

LISBON

A group of members travelled to Lisbon on 21 November 2022 to join a cruise, ying to Lisbon and visiting Madeira, the Canary Islands, Gibraltar, and Cadiz before ying home from Malaga. We’ll have an in depth description of the itinerary in the next issue of Firecall.

CHRISTMAS

At the start of December, we celebrated our stag members Christmas Dinner at the Ayr eld Community Centre. As usual a great time was had by all, with plenty of food, drink and musical entertainment. We are now looking forward to another post-Christmas celebration with our members and their partners in January 2023 in the Castlecourt Hotel, Westport.

NEW CEREMONIAL CLOTHING

e issuing of our own clothing for ceremonial occasions in September is a good example of how we cater for our members.

Assistant Chairperson, Willie O’Leary, Treasurer Aidan Carroll and myself met Mary Murphy of Tailored Imagine, a clothing supplier who supply uniform clothing to Dublin Fire Brigade. Following

JOIN US

is is just a sample of the many events we organise and enjoy throughout the year, and we’d encourage you to join in the good times. Any retired member of Dublin Fire Brigade wishing to join the Dublin Fire Brigade Retired Members Association can contact Treasurer Aidan Carroll at 087 941 5999.

DFBRMA Secretary Tony McCann

FROM WITHIN THE CIRCLE

DFB Pipe Band Secretary John McNally on a rewarding last few months of the year

Over the past few months, the band have been relatively busy with numerous events for the full band and solo pipers, while we are regularly at practice every week.

On 9 October, we had the pleasure of playing at the DFB GAA V FDNY GAA teams football match held at Whitehall Colmcille’s pitch. e band led the teams out onto the pitch playing ‘Twenty men from Dublin Town’ before we then played ‘Amhrán na bhFiann’ following a minute’s silence for the victims of the recent Creeslough tragedy.

PASSOUT

We had the pleasure, as always, of playing at the recent passout of Recruit

Class 2/2022 on 26 October on what was a great day for the Dublin and Cork Fire Brigades recruits and their families. We wish all of the recruits the very best in their future careers and hope to see some of them join the band.

ANNUAL MASS

Very recently, we provided pipers at the DFB Annual Mass for Deceased Members at Dominic Street church on 20 November, in what is an important service to remember our colleagues who are no longer with us.

The band playing the national anthem before the DFB GAA V NYFD GAA match

DFB Pipe Band Drummer Tom McLoughlin at the funeral of Drogheda Officer Shane McBride, RIP

As always, we are asked to provide solo pipers for funerals of DFB family members and retired members. We recently provided solo pipers for retired members including Bill Redmond, Kieron Doyle, Pat Dorgan, and Bryan Healy. We also provided a piper and drummer for the funeral of S/O Shane McBride of Drogheda Fire Station, who passed away in service. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a n-anamacha.

We would like to wish our Drum Major Damien Fynes well a er recent surgery, and hope to see him back out in front of the band very soon. Also, the band wish to congratulate piper Mark Shaw on the occasion of his marriage to his wife Ciara.

DISPLAY

e Brigade Training O cer, Mr Brendan Carroll, has recently o ered an area of the training centre for a display area for the band. We are currently looking at designs for this and hope that the new display area will be in place early in the new year.

AGM

e band’s AGM took place on 8 December, and we would like to thank the outgoing committee for their hard work over the past 12 months, as well as welcome in the new committee for the forthcoming year.

It has been great to see new students coming down to practice over the past few weeks to both the pipe and drum corps. As always, we are always here to welcome new members, as new blood is vital to ensure that the band survives into the future.

RECRUITMENT

Recently, our Public Relations Officer, Rory Previtt, designed a new recruitment poster that was distributed around all work locations within the DFB, and which you can see in this article. If you would like to give it a try, why not come along to the OBI any Monday night from 7.30pm and learn a new instrument? Beginners are always very welcome and musical ability is not a requirement at all.

We would also like to welcome previous members back, as well as people who may already have piping or drumming experience. You will be given top class instruction by our two world class instructors Dave Rickard (Bagpipes) and Ciaran Mordaunt (Drums).

Finally, we would like to wish everyone a Happy Christmas and New Year and as always, we are forever grateful for the support of associate members, DFB management and DCC. Without your continuing support the band could not exist.

The band can be reached at any time through any band member, social media or by emailing: dfbpbsec@gmail.com

FAMILY MOVIE DAY

On 2 November, the DFB Sports & Social Club held its rst Family Movie Day in the Savoy Cinema on O’Connell Street. As a result of the traditional family day at the Training Centre having to be cancelled at late notice, we felt that we needed to try provide an alternative event for the kids and family to enjoy. Paul McCann suggested holding a day in the cinema for the kids, as this was an event that our friends in DUBCO held on a regular basis and found it a great success.

MOVIES

With great help from Savoy manager Sandra, we were able to organise this event for the Wednesday during the School mid-term. Sandra arranged exclusive access to the cinema for the a ernoon to the club and had two movies to show in order to cater for the di erent age groups of the children attending. Surprisingly, in terms of popularity, Lyle Lyle Crocodile appeared to win out on the day over Black Adam. Snacks and drinks were provided for both children and adults attending. We had access to multiple screens, which meant we could stagger the start times as people arrived, and while some had to wait a little longer than others to get going, it all worked out in the end.

RESPONSE

As this was our rst time to hold an event like this, we were unsure what kind of response we would get from the members of the club, so an Eventbrite page was set up (with thanks to Kevin Conlon). We got a great response online and would like to thank all members who signed up for the tickets. It makes the administrative side of organising these events a lot easier, and we hope to keep using the likes of Eventbrite going into the future.

On the day, we had almost 300 members

and their families attend the event, which was brilliant, and everybody seemed to have a great time. Going forward, we hope to host these cinema days again, with the prospect of having two a year during school mid-term breaks.

anks also to Stephen Breen and Joe Moran for their help in organising the event, and to Mick Ratchford, Lar Sweetman, Paul McCann and Declan Rice for their help on the day to make it go as smoothly as possible, as well as the sta of the Savoy.

The first cinema day for children and families took place in November, writes Ger Ryan

Families enjoyed a great day out at the cinema, with what we hope will become a regular event

HERE FOR YOU

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Talking to someone who has 'been there' is the first step to improving your mental health. If you need help, we're here for you.

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Class 2/2022 saw a further 33 recruits pass out to become operational firefighters in October

The end of October saw this year’s second group of recruits pass out to become operational re ghters as Class 2/2022 took part in a graduation ceremony at the Training Centre.

Family and friends gathered on 26 October to watch the group of 33 recruits, ve of whom were from Cork City Fire Brigade, take part in a skills display before being awarded

with their passout scrolls, with each of the Dublin Fire Brigade recruits now being assigned to stations across the city and county before starting the Paramedic side of their training.

THEME

Given the time of year, the recruits’ skills display took on a Halloween theme and entertained the crowds with demonstrations of their operational readiness across several disciplines and scenarios. ey also carried a seasonal warning around reworks safety, with the message of “Don’t buy, sell, or use them” presented by eight-year-old superhero Cian McKeown.

e Silver Axe award for best recruit went to R/F/F Gerard McKeown, but each of the recruits can be very proud of their achievement, and congratulations must go to all of them for completing the 18-week course, and best wishes to them as they start their careers.

As new faces joined the ranks of DFB, there was also a noticeable farewell, as A/Sub-O cer Paul Greene, who has guided many classes over the years at the Training Centre, had his last passout parade. He has been described by colleagues as “a legend who will be missed from future recruit training”.

PARTNERSHIP

e partnership with Cork City Fire Brigade saw invaluable support from Cork-based instructors, and at the ceremony, the long tradition of friendship between the two services was noted when DFB Chief Fire O cer Keeley and Cork City Chief Fire O cer Ryan took part in a presentation to mark the

Class 2/2022 in PPE

cooperation between both brigades during the burning of Cork in 1920. at friendship and cooperation was also shown in the now-traditional charity fundraising endeavour taken on by the recruits, with the DFB and Cork City groups this year raising more than €10,000 for the BUMBLEance Children’s National Ambulance Service during their course.

LEEFFEY CHALLENGE

e most notable fundraising event was the ingenious “Lee ey Challenge”,

CFOs Keeley and Ryan with the presentation to mark the cooperation between the two services since the 1920 Burning of Cork

Gerard McKeown is presented with the Silver Axe

Class 2/2022 in full uniform ahead of their presentations and skills display

with recruits from Class 2/2022 taking on the challenge of an appropriatelydistanced 222km rowing race against each other on rowing machines, replicating the combined length of both rivers.

A group of 16 recruits in all travelled to Cork while 17 stayed in Dublin, with each team starting their race on the rowing machines at the same time to see how far each could get.

Dubbed “the battle of the brigades” by tongue-in-cheek social media posts, the event on 1 October saw the recruits push each other on in a relay race to clock up the most kms. e Dublin-based recruits just edged the race, but in competing, the two teams brought in an impressive collection of donations to go to the very worthy cause, and congratulations must go to all involved for their tremendous achievements.

at goes for their achievement in successfully coming through training to join their colleagues in re stations in Dublin and Cork. Well done to all!

“

THE TWO TEAMS BROUGHT IN AN IMPRESSIVE COLLECTION OF DONATIONS TO GO TO THE VERY WORTHY CAUSE, AND CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL FOR THEIR TREMENDOUS ACHIEVEMENTS”

Gaining publicity for the BUMBLEance Leeffey Challenge

The cheque being awarded to the BUMBLEance charity

The blue Dublin team gets ready for the Leeffey Challenge

The red team in Cork clock up the kms

PEDAL

POWER

The DFB Cycling Club’s annual charity fundraiser continues to grow in stature and success, with almost 300 people gathering at the Training Centre on Saturday, 8 October, to take part in the Staying in the Saddle for Prostate Cancer sportive.

Cycling Ireland members could register for €35 (non-members €45), with goody bags, food and a bespoke nisher medal awarded to every participant, and all proceeds going to the Beaumont Foundation Rapid Access Prostate Clinic.

“We actually had to stop the registration at 300 people for logistical reasons, based on what we knew we could handle from previous years,” S/O Brendan Lodola of A Watch Donnybrook tells me. “We had 270 cyclists on the day, with a lot of DFB members but also a wide range of people coming from

all over Leinster to take part.

“We had sent out the details of the event to all of the club secretaries when we registered it with Cycling Ireland, and in the end 80% of participants were from other cycling clubs, so the response was great.”

ROUTE

With 50km and 115km routes to choose from, the majority of cyclists opted for the longer one.

“Some of them might have wished they’d chosen the shorter route,” S/O Lodola tells me, “because although it was a lovely day, it is a long cycle!”

Starting at the Training Centre, the route took cyclists out to the Howth Road, and he says the sight was something to behold.

“We have a great relationship with the Gardaí, especially Inspector Brian Cullen,

The annual Staying in the Saddle for Prostate Cancer Charity Cycle was a Great Success, S/O Brendan Lodola tells Adam Hyland

Gathering at the Training Centre before taking to the road

and they made sure we had an escort as far as Howth, which made for a great spectacle because there was a line of around 2 miles long of cyclists.”

From Howth, the escort le the group as lead vehicles took over, and the cyclists pedalled their way through Portmarnock, Malahide and Swords, where 50km participants could enjoy a food and water stop. ose on the shorter route took a le turn a er Swords and headed back towards the Malahide Road, then on to the Training Centre, while the longer route turned right at Swords and went through Ballyboughal, e Naul, then to Bellewstown, back through Garristown, St Margaret’s, Ballymun, across the motorway and down to Gri th Avenue before nally reaching the Training Centre for a well-deserved rest and some great free food courtesy of Firehouse Pizza.

THANKS

“ e reception when we got back was great,” S/O Lodola tells me. “Firehouse Pizza’s Stephen O’Brien, who is also a re ghter, was once again very generous and gave us all a lovely hot meal, and there is nothing better than coming back from a long cycle to hot food.”

Of course, behind the scenes of every event such as this there is a lot of work that has to be done in terms of organising and running the day.

“ ere are a lot of people who need to be thanked,” S/O Lodola is quick to add. “Cycle Superstore are always a great help to us because they provide a mobile mechanical support van, going back and forth along the route providing repairs for anybody who needed them. Our marshals and stewards also did a great job helping people out and generally running the event safely, because the safety of participants is our primary concern at the sportive, and we put a huge e ort into that, being very fortunate over the last few years and this year to have availed of the e orts of all our marshals and AGS concerned.

“We also had great sponsors who provided us with goody bags, such as Flashpoint Systems, and of course we have to thank CFO Keeley and the Brigade Training O cer, as well as all of his sta , for allowing us to use the Training Centre facilities.

“We have to also thank the DFB Logistics and admin sta , Balbriggan re station, the DFB Sports and Social Club, all of our motorbike marshals, all of our vehicle drivers and volunteers at the food stops and throughout the day, Carol, Margaret and the girls giving out the nisher medals and making the nish so much fun, Trevor Hunt for the photographs, the DFBCC committee and members, the route mappers, DubCo, Lidl, Clontarf Cycling Club, the RSA, K&M Fruits, Fingal County Council, W Display, and all of the cyclists who took part in the event and helped us support Beaumont Rapid Access Prostate Clinic. Not to forget the families of the organisers for putting up with us working on the event during the year as it took up so much of the committee’s time.

“A special mention of thanks must also go to DFB Cycling Club’s secretary Liz Hanley of A Watch Dolphin’s Barn, and to retired S/O Joe Kiernan,” S/O Lodola tells

me. “Liz does a huge amount of work in organising these events, and without her experience through her organisational skills and experience as a founder of the Triathlon Club, we’d be lost. She deserves a lot of thanks.”

CAUSE

is is the third time the Cycling Club has held this event, which S/O Lodola says is growing in importance, and the cause, he says, is one close not jus to himself but to a lot of people.

“I was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2015, so there is a personal aspect for me, but the committee wanted to do something to create a sportive for DFB and we wanted to initiate one to get it o the ground and then to grow, and it has been growing every year, which is great,” he says. “Prostate cancer is very common amongst re ghters – we are 28% more likely to get prostate cancer than people in other professions – so we wanted this sportive to raise funds, but also to raise awareness.

“ e Beaumont Foundation Rapid Access Prostate Clinic is a fantastic place, but they need help from charities, and having raised money for them and another cancer charity in our rst event in 2019, then for Beaumont and Children’s Hospital Ireland in 2021 (the pandemic meant the 2020 event had to be cancelled), this year we decided that all fundraising would go to the Clinic. e rst year we raised €10,000, the second year

“THE MAIN THING WAS TO GET THE AWARENESS OUT THERE ABOUT MEN’S HEALTH AND PROSTATE CANCER, THAT WAS THE DRIVING FORCE BEHIND IT”

A few words of thanks and encouragement before starting the route

The

raised more than €14,500

€12,000, and this year we raised €14,596, so it is de nitely growing.

“It’s a great cause and our sportive raises awareness, and I’m glad to say is has gotten an amazing response from within DFB and from cyclists all over Leinster, because everybody knows someone a ected by cancer, and they come out to support us and raise that awareness.”

GROWING

Plans for next year’s event are already being discussed, and S/O Lodola says it is probably going to expand to attract even more participants.

“ e CEO of the Beaumont Hospital Foundation has said he wants to come on board in a big way and put all of their charity organisation weight behind the event, so we could be getting even bigger numbers,” S/O Lodola tells me.

“Looking back, I want to give credit to everybody who was involved,” S/O Lodola says, “but the main thing was to get the awareness out there about men’s health and prostate cancer, that was the driving force behind it.”

JOIN DFB CYCLING CLUB

Anybody interested in joining DFB Cycling Club can get in touch with any member of the committee or by emailing dfbcyclingclub@gmail.com, and to whet the appetite for next year’s fundraising sportive, check out the video by scanning the QR code.

event

Cyclists celebrate finishing the route at the Training Centre

TEED UP FOR

SUCCESS

The All-Ireland Fire Services Golf Championship continues to grow from strength to strength, writes Ray Campion

A BRIEF HISTORY

e All-Ireland Fire Services Golf Championships has been in existence for more than 20 years. e rst Championship was hosted by Limerick Fire Service at Castletroy Golf Club, and Limerick re service

would continue to successfully host the event for ten years, seeing winners from Limerick, Cork and Dublin in the early years. e event was rst sponsored by Dreager, and they would supply the coveted chalice as the winners’ cup.

e format of the event is a fourperson team competition, with each team splitting into two pairs playing opposite other teams as a fourball better ball style format. One score from each team would count on the rst 16 holes, with all four scores to

count on the 17th and 18th holes.

e venue changed on a couple of occasions, but the home of the event was always seen as Castletroy, with many teams coming to Limerick and staying the night to partake in the singles event the following dayat least those capable of attending a er the festivities from the previous night!

A er ten years, Limerick Fire Service felt it was time to pass the mantle to someone new, so Dublin Fire Brigade Sports and Social Club

We had great weather and a great day of golf this year

decided to take on the responsibility of running the event. With the template of the Championship established by Limerick, it was a seamless transition to move it to the east, with Castleknock Golf Club becoming the new home of the event.

Since then, the Championship has gone from strength to strength, with more than 35 teams entering the event this year. We have had various sponsors over the years, with Respro, DubCo, and PBS to name but a few. In recent years, Peopl Insurance have become the main sponsor of the event.

e competition for the trophy has become intense and has created great rivalries between teams from all over the country. With teams from Dublin, Limerick, Northern Ireland and Mayo getting their names on the cup, as well as many others.

In 2015, the event was used as a vehicle to host a fund-raising event for one of our colleagues, F/F Ian McCormac (aka Frodo), who was battling a brain tumour. e event in conjunction with other fundraising events raised €15,000 for Ian and his young family. Sadly, Ian lost his battle, but that day will be proudest moment of the event.

2022

e Championships for 2022 took place at Rathsallagh Golf Club on 7 September, again hosted by Dublin Fire Brigade Sports and Social Club, and was once again a great success. A er an unfortunate booking issue with our usual venue of Castleknock Golf Club, we had to, at short notice, move the event. ankfully,

Rathsallagh at such short notice. We hope it was worth the journey.

With a new course and pending bad weather, it was decided to change the format of the event to a scramble.

is decision would turn out to be a popular one with the majority of golfers. is would also mean that teams did not have to split up, and made the tee box congestion and scoring easier to handle on the day.

As the teams arrived, they were gi ed with a handsome and loaded goodie bag courtesy of Peopl Insurance in association with DubCo Ireland. A sincere thanks to our sponsors for their generosity, and we hope they will continue to support this great event.

e day began with bright conditions and many of the teams arriving early and ready to go. e rst tee o was at 09:30am, and we saw Sean Foley (DFB) and team take the rst drives of the day. e early teams of Jim King (DFB) and Martin Troy (DFB) would set the early pace. At the turn a score of 3 under seemed to be the average.

It was at the halfway point that our regular burger and a beer was to be found. A big thanks to our resident chefs Alan (Bundy) Byrne and Derek (Burger) Baitson. As always, they served up some tasty treats to the passing players.

As the players passed the turn, the consensus was that the course was in superb condition, with the greens being described as perfect. is was down to the great work by the sta and groundsmen of Rathsallagh GC.

Rathsallagh Golf Club came to the rescue and proved to be a great venue for the premier golf event for re services personnel.

With almost 100 golfers attending this year’s Championships, the committee would like to thank all those who made the e ort to get to

As the morning progressed, we had teams from Limerick, Louth, Laois and our usual contingent from Northern Ireland Fire Service arrive, along with many other teams, and a great number of Dublin Fire Brigade teams making the e ort to get to the course.

By 1pm, we had almost all teams out on the course, with the early teams starting to appear on the 18th. e early scores would prove to set the pace for the day, with one particularly

AS THE PLAYERS PASSED THE TURN, THE CONSENSUS WAS THAT THE COURSE WAS IN SUPERB CONDITION, WITH THE GREENS BEING DESCRIBED AS PERFECT”

“

Ian ‘Frodo’ McCormack and his wife Gemma in 2015

low score arriving in the rst few to nish. e team of Martin Troy would set a net score of 55, shooting 9 under on the day. is would prove to be the winning score.

INDIVIDUALS

As for the longest drive and nearest the pin, they would be won by Craig Wilson (DFB) for the longest drive and Seamus McQuaid (Westmeath) with the nearest the pin. When asked about the nearest the pin shot, Seamus was heard to have said: “I hit a ¾ nine iron with a hint of fade and a touch of backspin!” although one of his playing partners said he choked down on a rescue wood, hit a tree, then the footpath, and ran through the bunker and ended up next to the hole. Hard to know who to believe!

is year, we also had our rst Holein-One in the Championship’s history. is honour went to Paul Johnston of the Northern Ireland Fire Service. A big congrats from all, and mine is a Guinness!!

As the last of the teams began to come to the end of their rounds, those in the mix kindly stayed until the last group tapped in on the 18th. Although we had some great scoring, no one could catch the early score of the eventual winners Martin Troy, Neil Corcoran, Simon Lawlor and Fergal McCourt (DFB). e trophy was presented to the team captain Martin, who had some very kind words to say about the event. e prizes for the day were sponsored by DubCo and were of a quality be tting such a prestigious event.

So, all in all it was a very successful day, with far better weather than expected, and far better weather than Castleknock GC had on the day.

Once again, a sincere thanks to all who attended, to Rathsallagh Golf Club, and especially to our two sponsors Peopl Insurance and DubCo Ireland. Without their support we would not have had such a successful and enjoyable day.

2023

A er much debate and consideration, it has been decided to move the event for 2023 to Wednesday, 6 and ursday, 7 September, and the venue will be at Glasson Golf Club close to Athlone. We will see a return to the singles event on the ursday. is of course will mean that the event will be a 2-day, 1-night a air.

For all details of the event, email: reservicesgolf@gmail.com

As we are moving into a new venue, the organisation of the event will bring up new challenges and therefore it is important that we have

con rmation of teams as soon as possible. Contact will be made to each of the previous teams and the above details will hopefully attract even more teams from areas of Ireland yet to be represented.

ere has also been international interest in the competition, and it has been decided by the committee to open the event to any re service worldwide who wishes to participate.

erefore, the event will now be known as the All-Ireland Fire Services Open Golf Championships.

We look forward to 2023’s event with the prospect of it being the largest and most supported golf event on the re ghter’s calendar!

THE CHAMPIONSHIP HAS GONE FROM STRENGTH TO STRENGTH, WITH MORE THAN 35 TEAMS ENTERING THE EVENT THIS YEAR”

“

Presenting the trophy to the 2022 champions

Ray Campion with the 2022 NIFRS team of Graham Moore, Ian Haliway, Kerry Mcloughlin and Mark McMasters

There were great prizes on offer, thanks to our sponsors

PROVING BEST-IN-CLASS TRANSPORT TRAINING

CPC Named All-Star Transport Training Company for 2021

CPC.ie has been named All-Star Transport Training Company of the Year by the All-Ireland Business Foundation. e company founded by Tony Hynes specialises exclusively in CPC training, with 30 training centres nationwide and more than 22,000 successful students trained every year.

Having been in business for 30 years, CPC.ie has established itself as Ireland’s largest CPC training provider, and has now o cially been recognised for its conduct in the areas of performance, commitment, trust and customer-centricity.

Business All-Star Accreditation is an independently veri ed standard mark for indigenous businesses, based on

rigorous selection criteria. It is overseen by the prestigious All-Ireland Business Foundation (AIBF), an autonomous national accreditation body tasked with enterprise development and the promotion of best-in-class in Irish business. It includes an adjudication panel chaired by Dr Briga Hynes of the University of Limerick, and CEO of the Global Institute of Logistics, Kieran Ring.

e Foundation actively engages and supports its network through peer-dialogue, collaboration, mentoring and enterprise development activities. Companies are quali ed for accreditation by completing an enterprise audit and are identi ed by their use of the AIBF’s Business All-Star Marque.

Speaking about the recognition as an All-Star company, CPC.ie founder and CEO Tony Hynes said: “On behalf of the CPC.ie team, I am delighted to receive this Accreditation from the All-Ireland Business Foundation. To be named All-Star transport Training Company is recognition of the hard work that the CPC.ie team puts into providing a best-in-class service for our loyal customers.”

Kieran Ring, Deputy Chair on the adjudication board, also said of the announcement: “ e Accreditation is in recognition of Tony’s outstanding contribution to the transport industry in Ireland. Furthermore, we wish to recognise Tony’s track record in establishing CPC.ie, Ireland’s leading CPC training company. Tony Hynes is hereby included in the AIBF Register of Irish Business Excellence.”

All-Ireland Business Foundation MD Kapil Khanna said the accreditation, which is now held by more than 500 rms, is needed by the thousands of small and medium businesses operating to their own standards but with nothing to measure them by.

“We evaluate a company’s background, trustworthiness and performance, and we speak to customers, employees and vendors,” he said. “We also anonymously approach the company as a customer and report back on the experience.

e business goes through at least two interviews and is scored on every part of the process against set metrics.”

To learn more about CPC.ie, visit their All-Star showcase page at https://aibf.ie/times/pro le/cpc-ie/

Tony Hynes of CPC

STATION PROFILE

A WATCH TALLAGHT

transfers over the years, so I knew many of the crew already, especially a er I was on B Watch at the station, and then I took over from the excellent Gary Fitzpatrick,” he says, before discussing his approach to the day-to-day.

“It’s di erent coming in as an S/O to a tight-knit group like this,” he admits, “but it is your responsibility to oversee how things run, not just operationally, but in terms of crew welfare, morale, the station itself, and the crew has been very good in helping me. A good chunk of them are of the same vintage, they are well-experienced, have been there and done that, so from my point of view, I’m not coming in and trying to change too much, just sprinkling my own experience and training from my time instructing on top of what is already a really good crew. You don’t have to try reinventing the wheel.

“John Lynch is the Sub-O cer here, which is a great help. I used to work with him during my time at Dolphin’s Barn, and I learned so much from him. He is a great re ghter and we have a very good relationship here, as is the case with the senior man Paul ‘Calf’ Britton, an ex-Cork re ghter who has been here 13 years, and the crew, who have all been very good.”

VARIETY

With a huge geographical area to cover, callouts are non-stop, and S/O Brady says the variety of these calls are what makes working here so interesting.

On a night that could only be described as “mad busy”, A Watch at Tallaght Fire Station managed to nd half an hour to hand the phone to one another and talk to me about what it’s like to work there, and the word ‘busy’ comes up a lot.

Across the board, they say this is a major positive of working here, and S/O Paddy Brady agrees.

“ e crew get a lot of experience in

every part of the job, including EMS, very quickly here, which is really important,” he tells me. “We get a lot of challenging and unusual cases, but the normal calls are massive in volume, so you get to learn your trade very well, very quickly.”

S/O Brady, who was previously a FF/P in Dolphin’s Barn, then a Sub-O cer on B Watch in Tallaght, became an S/O in 2019 and was made permanent on A Watch here one year ago.

“I would have been on and o here on

“ is District are RTC specialists, and we have a large area of the M50 to cover that keeps us busy, but the crew can do everything, and we get such a wide spectrum of calls. In my rst year here, we have had countless domestic res, we have the RTCs, and face di cult terrain when we are up in the mountains, plus everything in between. e area is growing upwards as well as outwards - the amount of new apartment blocks – it is just hug, so there are massive challenges ahead of us in terms of the population surge.

“We are going from Brittas and the Dublin mountains all the way over to

Adam Hyland talks to the tight-knit crew about experience, enthusiasm and community

Lucan and Rathcoole, so it is a challenge in terms of covering ground to get to a scene, but it is the quantity of calls more than anything else.”

With several members here for ten or more years, new blood has been very well-received.

NEW BLOOD

“We have a very tight-knit crew but in the last two years we have had four new recruits come in (one of them just days before our call), and the crew have been very welcoming to them, bringing them in and making them feel at home.”

Tallaght, he has learned from training recruits, is a sought-a er station. “ ey hear stories from operational personnel about what a great place it is to go because it is very busy and is a great place to learn your trade,” he says. “New recruits coming in get great experience with domestic res, RTCs, interesting incidents and injuries. It is also a great place to be an S/O because I’m still learning, but for recruits, it is great to get that experience from the very start.”

COMMUNITY

e relationship with the community is also something S/O Brady highlights, following a recent win in the Tallaght person of the Year Awards for crew member Geo Tracey, who was rewarded for his artworks across the area, and a nomination for FF/P Daragh Fahey in another category.

“We have a very good relationship with the community,” he tells me, “because we are a part of it. e crew, many of whom are local, are proud of where they are from. Tallaght has its challenges, but the people here are all here to serve the community, and treat everybody with the same dignity and respect, which is important in what is a very diverse area.”

Apart from a fundraising car wash in the summer, A Watch Tallaght also hold a Christmas party every December, and S/O Brady says it is a vital part of the calendar.

“A Watch primarily organise this party and it’s a great way for the crew and their families to get to know each other. It is really important for the station and for

morale within the Watch and the station. It makes for a happy working place, which makes us all better at our job.”

S/O Brady laughs when he tells me that Gary Mason, who has been on A Watch here for years, joked that he has been around for ages and as soon as he is o work, Firecall comes calling, so I determine to talk to him, but rst, I talk to FF/P Barry Guilfoyle, who has been on A Watch for ten years following time at Tara Street, Dun Laoghaire and Donnybrook.

ENTHUSIASM

“ e atmosphere is great here,” he says. “We are mostly within ten years of each other, and that has been added to with the newer members who are all very enthusiastic, making it a great station and Watch to work in. People are just happy to be here. Because it is so busy, it’s not a station to be in if you don’t want to be here. Everyone wants to work and get stuck in.”

Like S/O Brady, FF/P Guilfoyle says the sense of community is something

A Watch Tallaght in PPE outside the station

he sees as important.

“A lot of the crew live around here, so they are working within their own community, and that makes a big di erence,” he tells me. “Enjoying work and life here all comes down to the people we work with, and it’s a joy to come in every day.”

He too sees the rapid expansion of the Tallaght area as a challenge, but one to be embraced. “It’s expanded massively,” he says, “everywhere you look, where there was an open eld, it is being built on, where there was farmland there are now industrial estates. Tallaght has always been big, but the huge increase in houses in the last ten years has been phenomenal, and there are so many calls, but that is what makes it so interesting to be here.

“One thing about this Watch is that very few people leave. A lot of us have been here a long time, and are here because they want to be. People come here and stay, and that’s the sign of a good Watch.”

EXPERIENCE

FF/P Niamh Slevin came straight from recruit training to work on A Watch two years ago, and says that the busy nature of the work is something she looks forward to every day.

“Straight away I was getting the full

variety of experiences, so it was a great place to start out, and I’d love to stay here as long as I can because I’ve really enjoyed my time here so far,” she tells me.

“Coming here was de nitely a big adjustment for me because I come from a banking background, so the shi work and nature of work itself was so di erent, but the crew were very quick to tell me how things were done, everybody helps out, and I found I was able to t in quickly.”

Although she is only at A Watch two years, there are three crew members more junior, which she describes as “a bit crazy, because I feel like I am still junior myself and have a lot to learn, even though I have had so much experience so quickly.”

For FF/P Slevin, showing that same welcome to newer recruits is important.

“I found it very bene cial when I started here to not only have the senior men show me the ropes, but also to have the next most junior, because it is di erent when you start, so I do my best to try pass on as best I can the advice and know-how I was shown.”

It’s several days later when I catch up with FF/P Gary Mason, who has been on A Watch Tallaght since 2008.

As with several other members, FF/P Mason has a DFB family legacy, and as S/O Brady told me when he mentioned Gary was currently o work, “it has been

a long time since we didn’t have a Mason at this station”.

His father worked on D Watch, retiring eight years ago, while brother Keith was on A Watch for many years before his promotion.

“I really enjoyed working with my family in the same station,” he tells me. “I actually did a few ambulance shi s with my father, which was an interesting experience, just the two of us going around to housing estates and pubs where we knew the people, because it was very familiar to us. With my brother here for years it then felt like we were part of the furniture for a while.”

FF/P Mason share that sense of pride in serving his own community. “It’s actually two-fold,” he points out, “in that we are

The Christmas Party at Tallaght station is important for camaraderie

Senior man Paul ‘Calf’ Britton

proud to be in one of the busier stations and are getting a lot of exposure and a lot out of the job, but also proud because it is our area, and we have family and friends here.

“ e area has changed so much but what hasn’t is the feeling that we are all growing older together, because the majority of us started out here with no children and now almost all of us are married with children, so we have grown, watching our own circumstances change.”

I ask his thoughts on the newer members joining a well-established crew, and FF/P Mason is quick to tell me it is a very good thing.

“We have been here for so long that we need new blood every now and then. During the recruitment embargo, our

junior member was the new recruit for nine years before anyone else came in, and that is rough, to be the new person for that long!

“You run the risk of becoming too familiar with each other, but in the last couple of years new members have brought new personalities and new dynamics, and it forces us to avoid complacency. You also have your own professional pride, and you want to impress them, so you up your game!”

Lastly, I ask if he has any advice for these newer members.

CONFIDENCE

“I think con dence is a huge part of it,” FF/P Mason says, “because the nature of the job we do is fairly dynamic, and

because everyone is trained to a certain standard, people will always do the work that needs to be done, and if you don’t put yourself forward the job will just be done without you. You have to step in and apply yourself, say to yourself that you know how to do the work, so just go and do it.

“DFB is very supportive, but the job itself can be ruthless and you can’t wait to be asked to do something, you have to be con dent and trust that you have been trained and the people at the station have welcomed you in and trust you, so go ahead and do what needs to be done.

“Once you’ve done it the rst couple of times, you have that con dence and you are part of the team. You are stepping forward and trusting yourself. It is hard, but you’ve got this!”

Getting in some sporting exercise at the station

A Watch pose for a crew photo

Gary Mason

A PROUD RECORD

The final part of Pat Poland’s history of Cork Fire Brigade is a fascinating read, writes DFB historian Las Fallon

Any new piece of writing from the pen of the renowned and widely respected Cork re service historian, Pat Poland, is to be welcomed. When that new piece is the nal part of his trilogy on the history of Cork Fire Brigade, it is a special event indeed.

Pat Poland - along with Dublin`s own Tom Geraghty and Belfast’s Harry Welsh - is one of the leading historians of the Irish re service. His previous books on Cork: ‘For Whom the Bells Tolled – A History of Cork Fire Service from 1622 to 1900’ and ‘ e Old Brigade –

the Rebel City’s Fire ghting Story 1900 to 1950’ have now been joined by ‘Cork City Fire ghters: A Proud Record – A Visual History from 1950. is new volume, when added to its predecessors, provides a fascinating and complete history of the Cork Fire Brigade from its earliest days, and is a major contribution to Irish re service historiography.

INSIGHT

Pat Poland writes with the eye of an accomplished historian, but also with the insight of a re ghter writing about a subject dear to

his heart. Pat is the son of a Cork re ghter and senior o cer of that brigade. He grew up in a re station and followed the re ghter’s trade himself, serving for more than 30 years.

As a result, in this volume he delivers a personal account of some of the major res that took place in Cork during his lifetime and time in Cork Fire Brigade, including the Opera House in 1955, which he witnessed as a schoolboy, and the res at Sutton’s Coal Company o ces in 1963 and Scott’s Hardware and Building Supplies in 1965, both of which he attended as a re ghter.

e book is quite simply

superlative in my view. It combines a nuanced written history with a fantastic selection of photos of Cork City appliances, personnel and stations down the years since the middle of the 20th Century, and a comprehensive list of well-written appendices dealing with all aspects of Cork Fire Brigade from eet lists to cap badges.

It has something for the historian, something for the re bu , something for the collector, and combined with the previous books sets a standard that challenges any of us who delve into re service history.

SERVICE

Pat Poland, in writing this book, and in nishing his trilogy on Cork Fire Brigade’s history, has done a great service to his native city and to the history of the Irish re service generally. e book is a tribute not only to the men

and women of the Cork City Fire Brigade, but to all who follow the re ghter’s trade, and is a treasure chest of history for anyone interested in the development of the re service in Ireland.

It is a book in which it is possible to detect not just a master historian at work, but also a man with a deep love of his subject.

is is a volume that would be a

welcome addition to the bookshelf of anyone with an interest in either Irish social history and/or the development of the Irish re service, and I could not recommend it enough.

I’d also recommend buying the rst two volumes, not only to get a comprehensive view of the history of Cork Fire Brigade, but to enjoy and truly appreciate the

amount of work that has gone into documenting the service’s role over the last few centuries.

Cork City Fire ghters: A Proud Record – A Visual History from 1950, is available online at buythebook.ie and on eBay, priced €20 (plus €6 postage), and at Bookstór in Newman’s Mall, Kinsale, and Waterstones, St Patrick’s Street, Cork.

IT HAS SOMETHING FOR THE HISTORIAN, SOMETHING FOR THE FIRE BUFF AND SOMETHING FOR THE COLLECTOR”

Pat Poland at the launch of the book in Waterstone’s, Cork

ON THE BALL

The Christmas 5-a-side competition was competitive and a lot of fun, writes Sub-Officer Ian Kelly

The Dublin Fire Brigade Christmas indoor 5-a-side football tournament was held on 8 December at Sportslink in Santry, with all 12 teams taking part no doubt inspired by the action at the World Cup in Qatar.

Playing over four hours in total, the matches were very competitive, with all teams evenly matched, but in the end the team captained by Aido O’Sullivan alongside Craig Reilly, Damo Elebert, Eoin Fowler and John Robinson, came out on top. Aido O’Sullivan must have had his shooting boots on as he

also took home the Golden Boot award for most goals scored.

Everyone involved had a great time on the day because it is always enjoyable to come up against your colleagues in a friendly but competitive event such as this, and on behalf of the organisers, I’d like to thank Sportslink for their assistance in holding the competition, and DFBSSC for providing the funding needed to make sure it went ahead.

Anybody interested in getting involved with the DFB football team or taking part in these competitions can contact myself at HQ, or Aidan O’Sullivan at A Watch Kilbarrack.

Some of the teams who took part

CHRISTMAS CRACKER

On 18 December, we were delighted to be able to return to Castleknock Hotel for our Children’s Christmas Party.

We had really missed this very enjoyable and important event in our calendar over the last couple of years, and there was great enthusiasm from all involved to once more be able to welcome family members back for a day of festive fun.

On the day, we hosted more than 400 children, with food, entertainment

and of course a visit from the man in red himself.

A huge thanks must go to the team from Brilliant Entertainment, who never disappoint and provided a lot of fun, and to the sta and management of Castleknock Hotel.

Last, but by no means least, I must say thanks to our amazing team who made it all possible. A great day was had by everyone, and this was all made possible by your hard work, not just on the day, but in the days and weeks leading up to it.

The Children’s Christmas Party made a welcome return and was a great success, writes Dan Fynes

The DFBSSC Christmas Party team

Santa made an appearance at Castleknock Hotel

Fun and games from Brilliant Entertainment

The face painters proved very popular

SNAPSHOTS OF DFB HISTORY

RATHMINES FAREWELL

is photo was taken on the last night at Rathmines re station on 2 December, 1982, when C Watch were on duty, before moving to the new station at Donnybrook.

In the back row from le to right are George Cornelia, Peter McGlynn, Ken Lee, John McBride, and Sé Collins, with C Pearse, myself, Jim Daly and Charlie McGlynn in the front row.

It was a strange feeling. e morning we nished, we put all of our stu in kit bags, before the ird O cer locked up, and the next morning we reported for duty at Donnybrook as if nothing had changed, but it felt like the end of an era.

It was a fairly quiet last night, and apart

from the photo, we didn’t do anything to mark the occasion. On the rst Saturday in Donnybrook, a few of us did go out for a pint, partly because we wanted to get an idea of where to have a good pint in the area!

It was a completely di erent ethos going from Rathmines to Donnybrook in those days. At the time, Rathmines was at land, with most of the people elderly – many of them women who had worked in domestic employment in the area, or in the laundries. ey were very appreciative of DFB and we tried to do our best on their behalf, raising a lot of money for them with the gardaí and the barber around the corner who was well-established. e barber was chairman of the local residents’ association and they organised outings for the elderly

women in the area, and we raised a lot of the money for them.

It was a di erent atmosphere in Donnybrook – an upper-middle-class area. Very little at land, all owner occupied.

John McBride took the picture because he was the editor of Brigade Call at the time, as Firecall was known then, and he had a camera with a stand and a timer, so we could all get in the photo.

I don’t know if anybody has any photos from the nal nights when Dorset Street or Buckingham Street were closing, but it would be interesting to hear if someone does have a few photos somewhere, because it would be great to see them, they would be a very interesting snapshot of big parts of DFB history.

Retired D/O, historian and author Tom Geraghty shares photos depicting a changing Dublin Fire Brigade

C Watch on their last night at Rathmines fire station in 1982

BA training at Castlebridge in 1980

CASTLEBRIDGE BA TRAINING

is photo was taken at the BA training facility in Castlebridge, Co Wexford, in 1980, and shows re ghters Cornelia and O’Dowd, with A/C/O Walsh and a younger re ghter whose name I don’t recall as he was very new in the job at the time.

A er the Stardust re, Dublin City Council recognised the need for a dedicated training centre for Dublin Fire Brigade, and they bought the O’Brien Institute that was then given to DFB, but prior to that, the facility in Castlebridge, a few miles outside Wexford Town, was the only such BA training facility in the Republic of Ireland.

DFB acquired use of the facility for a number of months every year between 1980 and 1983. It was an old malt house converted into a top-class facility, which had tunnels and crawl spaces for going through in BA. It was ideal, because as an old malt house it had wooden shutters on the windows so you could make it pitch dark inside, but they also had smoke generators and heat generators, and barrels so we could set controlled res for training purposes.

ey had sliding panels at di erent

intervals along the interior so that you could change them up to avoid being too familiar with the training routines, running di erent ways over two levels.

e Chief Fire O cer in Wexford obviously got advice from UK training facilities because Castlebridge was converted into a BA training facility in a very professional way, with proper facilities such as kitchen, wash rooms, lecture hall, etc, as well as the actual BA training area.

Each course was made up of four instructors – two S/Os and two Sub-O swith 12 trainees in each class, running for two weeks. A ird O cer would also be there to supervise.

We used ten-stone dummies that we placed in di erent spaces around the facility, setting res in barrels that had to be put out with hoses, nding the dummies in spaces that you got into through tunnels, and it was all done in total darkness. Part of the crawls were sewer pipes, which was the toughest part when you are dragging a body through them.

e class would be Monday to Friday, with trainees given an allowance to stay in digs, and they would all go home on

the weekend and then go back for the second week.

e younger re ghter was a new recruit, and any new recruit who came into the job at the time was sent on the course, but they were mixed with more experienced people, which was the right thing to do, and is still a very good way of developing skills and teamwork to this day.

NEW TENDER’S EARLY DAYS

I thought this photo was interesting because it shows a Dodge Carmichael Emergency Tender on one of its rst major incidents, at the Ballymun Shopping Centre re in 1979.

e tenders had only been delivered to DFB in May, and the re in Ballymun occurred on 14 September of that year, so it was still relatively new.

I wasn’t at that re myself, because I was in Rathmines at the time, but despite the smiling faces in the photo, I know it was a big re that did a lot of damage.

You can see that the tender had a long door so that you could walk into it, which was the rst of that style we had in DFB. It could carry a lot more BA and equipment in it, so it was a very useful addition to the eet.

The Dodge Carmichael emergency tender at the Ballymun Shopping Centre fire

THE TIMONEY

Of similar interest is this photo of the Timoney WrL appliance, the rst Irishbuilt appliance supplied to DFB, which was delivered in 1982.

Timoney were a company in Meath manufacturing armoured cars that they

were selling to the UN in the Middle East. When the Arab-Israeli War broke out, the UK supported Israel so a few countries around that area boycotted British goods, and Timoneys decided they would make the vehicles, but sales weren’t high and they decided to adapt them into re engines. e Government at the time paid a 50%

subsidy to local authorities to purchase re appliances, and DCC purchased two, while the Dublin Airport Authority purchased one.

As re engines, they didn’t quite work out, they didn’t last long, and DFB sold theirs on to county re brigades. Without going into detail, it didn’t turn out to be a success story.

BEDFORD AMBULANCE

I thought this photo was interesting because it shows you the di erence in the style of ambulance used by DFB over the years and how that has changed. With these old Bedfords, you had to carry a person on a stretcher up three steps at the back to get them into the ambulance,

which was a problem if you were carrying someone heavy. It was tough on your back.

Newer ambulances had a Lomas gear on them, which worked on a ratchet so you could pull out the back and li the stretcher onto the Lomas gear, which was on rollers, and push it in and put a locking bar across it. at was a big improvement.

We phased out the Bedfords over a few

years when newer models were bought in ones and twos, because it wasn’t nancially possible to replace the eet in one go.

As is the norm now, the newer ambulances would have gone to the busier stations, with the vehicles they were replacing being moved on to other stations until they were eventually phased out.

WE PHASED OUT THE BEDFORDS OVER A FEW YEARS WHEN NEWER MODELS WERE BOUGHT IN ONES AND TWOS”

“

The Timoney was the first Irish-made fire engine purchased by DFB

The Bedford ambulance

FIRE ON THE HILL

A wildland fire in Killiney in July led to a major firefighting and logistical operation

The summer of 2022 was the hottest on record in Europe and saw record-breaking wild res, according to the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service. Wildland res are set to become more frequent, and as one such event in Killiney during the summer showed,

Ireland is not an exception.

Although it was not on a par with the devastating res that swept across southern Europe, the event towards the end of July nevertheless showed just what kind of operational and logistical response is required of Dublin Fire Brigade when unattended land catches re so close to human residences.

OPERATION

At its peak, the operation that began on 25 July became a seven pump, two water tanker re with 14 DFB units involved, a Senior O cer and Two D/Os in attendance, a Diesel Bowser required for refuelling, and a Logistics Support Vehicle that had to constantly re-supply vital equipment and resources to the re crews at the scene. D/O John Reilly, who at the time of the re was on D Watch Donnybrook but has since moved to C Watch HQ, was the rst D/O on the scene.

“ e initial call came in just before 5pm on 25 July as I was just about to go on duty, so I responded with crews from C Watch who were still on duty,” he tells me. “On the way out, a message came in from one of the other O cers who had arrived and said the re was dangerously close to houses and that his crew were wearing BA sets because of the smoke.

“ e area itself is di cult to access, because the roads are narrow, but when we got there, I could see the re was very

WILDFIRE

The fire meant a major logistical operation in terms of refuelling and replenishing supplies

close to the houses so we needed to have an immediate plan of action. We made the decision to have two lines of attack initially, to ght the re on Glenalua Road and Glenalua Heights, obviously trying as hard as we could to get as much water on to it as possible to slow the re’s progress.”

A third attack was then laid down from Glenalua Heights to Glenalua Terrace, with a fourth joining them to answer calls of re near houses on nearby Claremont Road.

Calls were put in for a water tanker, a request was made to Dun Laoghaire County Council to increase the water pressure in the area, and a drone pilot was brought to the scene.

PRIORITY

“ e priority was to stop the re spreading to the houses, particularly at Glenalua Heights,” D/O Reilly tells me. “ e gorse was dangerously close to the roo ine because with the design of these houses, the gorse is at the same level as the rst oor, so there was a risk it would spread across.

“I put in the call for increased water pressure, but the problem is that you don’t ever know if that is possible, or when it will happen, so I requested the fourth pump, because I knew we would get that,” D/O Reilly adds. “I knew we didn’t yet have the resources we needed, so I had to manage the operation until we did have them. It was very much tactical mode.”

“ ere was a lot of pressure on D/O Reilly regarding time,” A/C/F/O Greg O’Dyer tells me, “because they had to evacuate houses immediately, the re was within a metre of engul ng houses on Glenalua Heights and Glenalua Road.

“It wasn’t a massive area, but there were a few acres with steep hills and tough terrain, and the gorse was very high, with branches inches thick and too close to property. But D/O Reilly’s decisive action meant there was a lot of valuable property saved in what was a fairly dramatic re.”

D/O Reilly got in touch with the Mobilisation O cer to request both aerial support from the Air Corps and the use of a drone, and although the Air Corps helicopter would not make it until the next morning, the addition of a drone to the operation was something he says was very welcome.

DRONE

“Because I was on ground level, it was di cult to be able to see where all of our personnel were within their sectors, and how the re was developing. With the drone, I could instantly get a better view, could see the size of the re, which way it was moving, how fast it was spreading, whether there were any structures or obstacles in the path, and importantly, where the crews were so I could keep them updated.

“Naturally within the job you have to have a trust factor in your o cers and your crews, but there are also things that can happen that can endanger them, and that is why I was so happy with the drone use, because I could see if and when things changed suddenly. You could tell the crews where to go and where there was a risk. It is a valuable tool for every o cer. Using the drone was the best decision I could have made, because it allowed me to see things a lot quicker, and to take action a lot quicker.”

With the situation evolving and threatening multiple structures over several acres, and the levels of smoke rising, D/O Reilly ordered a full evacuation by the residents of Glenalua Heights, with

the assistance of gardaí.

A h pump was brought in as the crews tackled four sectors, while a request was made to gardaí to close surrounding roads. By 9pm, A/C/F/O Greg O’Dwyer was updated on events and was soon in attendance, liaising with the relevant authorities to acquire assistance with water pressure and organising water drops.

One person approached the command vehicle to voice concerns about the re approaching his premises, which D/O Reilly had to investigate.

“Once I realised what the situation was at this particular building, I had to request Pump 6, and a second water tanker,” he tells me. “ ere was a fuel tank near the house and we needed a di erent access point, which was di cult because the roads were already congested, so we had a big logistical task to move vehicles to allow another pump to get through.

“ at house had the only structure that ended up being damaged, a pump house, but that was done through excellent decision-making by the technical commander who was at that scene, because he saw there was a priority decision to be

“YOU HAVE TO BE REACTIVE IN TERMS OF DEALING WITH WHAT IS IN FRONT OF YOU, BUT YOU ALSO NEED TO BE PROACTIVE AND BE ABLE TO PLAN AHEAD”

Assessing the scene in Glenalua

made regarding this structure.”

Meanwhile, a sixth and seventh pump were brought in, while the Diesel Bowser was called in from the Logistics Section to refuel the engines at the scene, but logistics also played a vital role in ensuring all crews had the equipment and water they needed, and all of this had to be overseen by the D/O on the scene.

“When you are covering so many di erent areas in di cult and challenging environments, the priority for you becomes crew welfare,” D/O Reilly tells me. “You also have replenishing challenges, for personnel as well as fuel for the appliances,

access to move in and out, displaced residents, so there is a lot to handle. e welfare of personnel is always at the forefront of your mind, and you have to balance the needs of the job at hand with exhaustion and hydration levels.

“You have to be reactive in terms of dealing with what is in front of you, but you also need to be proactive and be able to plan ahead. Once you know you have the initial threat stabilised to the point where you can take a breather, until that time you can’t relax for one second.” e rst crews were relieved at around 10.30pm, with subsequent crews from all

over the city working through the night before other Watches took over on duty the following day to ensure any rekindling threats were kept under control.

“ ere was a lot of equipment used and involved, a lot of appliances,” A/C/F/O O’Dwyer tells me, “and the Mobilisation O cers had a huge part to play. Logistics were bringing up extra equipment all the time, so it was a huge operation. “

D/O Reilly was relieved around midnight, and as morning came, the threat level and required response lessened and the number of pumps in attendance was scaled back, but BA sets and other

Burning gorse came very close to properties

Difficult terrain, poor visibility and nightfall increased the danger

D/O John Reilly (on left) with Sub-Officer Niall Grant

equipment, including water, had to be constantly replenished.

AFTERMATH

e Air Corps began making water drops from just a er 8.30am, which A/C/F/O O’Dwyer said “made a signi cant di erence to dampening down the hard to access areas of thick gorse growth”, but the decision had to be made to continue having a re ghting presence for the next 24 hours to continue the re picket and damping down.

“ e wind kept coming up the hill and churning up the re,” A/C/F/O O’Dyer tells me, “and when the gorse burns that heavy and the ground underneath is bone dry, under the surface of the earth you have a thermal blanket, so even when you put out the re above it, the heat from below keeps coming up and ignites whatever stubble is le , so we had to keep it at bay.

“It is hot and di cult work, dragging hoses across gorse and working in di cult terrain, but the rst crews there from Dun Laoghaire, Donnybrook and Nutgrove did a great job to save the houses there initially, and then all of the crews involved did very well to keep the area under control the next day.”

D/O Reilly was back on the scene the next morning, and with the chance to survey the area, was impressed by the work of the crews involved.

“When I walked from one sector to another, you could see the incredible work that had been done, but you could also see just how close it came to being a much more serious incident,” he tells me. “In the end, no houses were damaged because the crews did Trojan work. Working in gorse and that kind of terrain is not desirable because the risk of injuries is huge, but those are the risks of the job in these situations.”

INCREASED RISK

ese situations, he remarks, are becoming more common, and are only going to become more frequent as people continue to live so close to wildland.

“ ere is a big challenge with the gorse and the threat it poses to properties in

fire

areas like Killiney,” D/O Reilly says. “ ere is a balance between people wanting privacy and the bene ts of having the wild natural surroundings, and the risks that can then present in the case of a wild re. Homes in these areas are there because of the location being desirable, and you get a lot of bene ts with that, but it comes with a cost because natural vegetation can pose a threat, particularly when it hasn’t burned for years, as was the case here.”

He believes that while improvements are ongoing, DFB is in a good place to tackle any future incidents of this nature.

“It is hugely advantageous for our crews to have the equipment we had to deal with the wild res,” he tells me. “ ere have been great strides made in wild re

training but we still have some way to go, better equipment to deal with this risk, because it isn’t going away.

“Great stu has been done with the recruit training in this area of re ghting, and in Dun Laoghaire and Rathfarnham they have speci c equipment to deal with these res, as do North Strand and Kilbarrack on the northside, and we have the jeep to be able to access di cult terrain, but as long as we digest what has been done and what needs to be done, we can address it and move it forward.

“Overall, tackling these situations is a bit of a ‘loaves and shes’ scenario, trying to handle a situation when you need so many resources and have to manage with what you have, and deal with what you can.”

The Air Corps made water drops on the morning after the

NEW RECRUITMENT CAMPAIGN

Diversity, Equality and Inclusion at Centre of Message for Potential New DFB Members

An eye-catching recruitment campaign to attract potential new recruits to the Dublin Fire Brigade took place over three weeks from 28 October.

Aiming to not just increase the numbers within DFB, but to increase the diversity within those numbers, the campaign led with the slogan of “hiring a diverse team for a diverse job”.

It also conveyed the message that “it takes more than physical strength to be a re ghter/paramedic” to highlight the many attributes that the organisation is looking for, including “compassion, communication and teamwork”.

Assistant Chief Fire O cer Greg O’Dwyer tells me that the emphasis on diversity was something DFB has been working towards for several years.

“While we would never condone any kind of positive discrimination, we certainly want to enhance the diversity of our workforce,” he explains, “and we are trying to reach out to minority groups, and in particular to females, to allow people to know that they are eligible and have the attributes to apply.

“We have a public sector duty in DFB as part of Dublin City Council, to do that. DCC was the rst local authority to apply the Public Sector Duty charter, and DFB was the rst section of DCC to take it on, and what that means is that we had to put in place an implementation plan to improve diversity, equality and inclusion across our organisation.”

MESSAGE

As part of this three-year implementation plan, one recommendation was to hold workshops at re stations, as well as forums, and surveys to discover

The recruitment campaign adverts on social media, emphasising the strengths of compassion, communication and teamwork

the perceived barriers to people from minorities applying for positions in DFB.

“At one of these workshops,” A/C/F/O O’Dwyer says, “I was talking to a female re ghter who said she was part of an athletics club and when she applied for DFB and got in, her friends expressed surprise and said: ‘Oh, we never knew we could apply for that, would we be able to do that job?’ and we found that we needed to get the message across that yes, of course they can do the job, and that the biggest barrier to, for example, females joining DFB is a misconception that they wouldn’t be able for it, and therefore didn’t apply.

“Of course, anybody who applied still has to pass all the same tests – aptitude, physical and medical tests, requirements for driving license, etc – applications all have the same requirements and people need to prove a certain level of ability, but we aimed to get rid of the false impression that you have to be 6/2 and 15 stone to join DFB because there are certain aspects of the job that require other assets and abilities, such as skill, teamwork, communication and compassion.

“Normally we only get a 5% rate of female applicants, and we only have about 5% in each class of recruits and 5% in the job generally, but that would align with the percentage of females who are applying,” A/C/F/O O’Dwyer adds. “We are trying to increase the percentage of females applying, which in turn could increase the percentage of females in the job, but it must be emphasised that this wasn’t just a

campaign to get more females in the job, it was to get as many eligible candidates to apply as possible by getting the message across that the job is not just for a certain pre-conceived type of person, whether male or female.

“So far, it looks like this campaign was a success in this regard, with a 20% application by female candidates this time, four times the normal application ratio. We wish them all well in the rest of the recruitment process and hope this feeds into more successful female recruits joining our ranks.”

EQUALITY

e message of equality was equally strong, and was founded on engagement with community groups for minorities who similarly may have felt they were not eligible to apply.

“ rough working with the South Dublin City Partnership and various groups, we emphasised the fact that minorities are part of the community, and our re stations are part of the same community, so we would like them to be a part of it and to show their interest in joining,” A/C/F/O O’Dwyer tells me.

Career days were held for these groups to educate people about the job, with the partnerships working to identify candidates who show an interest and try to help them with the application process and test preparation.

e recruitment campaign itself saw DFB spreading their message of

attracting a diverse group of new recruits via newspaper and radio ads, bus shelter billboards and a very active social media campaign, and this was supplemented by an Instagram-based “Ask Me Anything” session and an event hosted by former Lord Mayor Alison Gilliland in which three female re ghters explained their roles and how the job was very much open to females and other minority groups within DFB.

CAMPAIGN

e campaign features three operational re ghters – Aleric Collier, Adam McNally, and Laurie Baxter - and one retired member – Liam ‘Nobby’ Clarke – who all volunteered to take part. “ e advertising company wanted to use actors, but I felt it was important to have our own personnel as the faces of the campaign,” A/C/F/O O’Dwyer tells me.

e results of the recruitment process –which has almost 5,000 applicants, will be the acceptance of approximately 200 new recruits who will join a panel lasting two years.

“ e exact number depends on the quality of the applicants,” A/C/F/O O’Dwyer explains, “and with that panel, we will have two classes a year for the next two years to train up and join our ranks.”

e top 700 applicants will have taken an in-person supervised test in December, with the top 500 interviewed in the new year before that is whittled down to the target gure of 200.

“We will also be doing a recruitment campaign for Emergency Service Controllers next year,” A/C/F/O adds, “and we will take a similar approach in terms of the message and the platforms we use, so that will also help increase the diversity we are looking for.”

Street advertising at bus shelters

Aleric, Liam, Adam and Laurie at the advertising shoot in Phibsboro fire station

ON COURSE TO STEP UP

Halfway through the latest Station Officer Development Course, Adam Hyland talks to Course Director D/O John McNally about what new S/Os will learn

“We’ve just begun the rst week of the course, and so far, we are giving the candidates an overview of the roles and responsibilities involved in being a Station O cer,” Course Director D/O John McNally tells me.

“Over the next couple of weeks, we will be looking at various aspects of the role, but in this rst week, they will get a solid overview of the services we provide, from BA to RTCs, HazMat to Hi Line, Swi water

Rescue to Wildland re ghting, as well as other DFB roles such as re prevention and logistics, before we move on to the more speci c training of incident command.

“All of the o cers here have been active in the role of Sub-O cer for a few years already, so they are familiar with what is involved, but they will then receive an overview of the incident command system, followed by a week of exercises in the Training Centre, where they will play the role of being an incident commander, both on the yard and in the XVR simulation suite.”

To facilitate training across both areas, the class will be broken up into two groups, D/O McNally tells me, with one taking to the yard for physical incidents, while the

The Station Officer Development Course candidates and Instructors at the Training Centre

other takes on exercises in the XVR simulation suite, before they switch.

TRAINING

“ ey will get a very good insight into how to manage incidents from an incident command point of view, on a Level 1 basis where they will be the O cer in charge until a more senior o cer arrives,” D/O McNally says, “so it gives them the skills they need to manage the incident in a safe manner in order to bring the incident to a safe and successful conclusion, both for the re ghters and the public involved.”

e XVR simulation suite, he tells me, is vital in providing

Moore come in to spend half a day with the o cers, putting them in front of a camera and microphone to answer questions, and giving them feedback on where they can improve,” Course Director McNally tells me.

“ is is valuable training to have, because it enables the o cers to have the skills to talk to the media. e media will always look for a headline, and O cers have to be careful, when they are the face and voice at the scene, not to give out sensitive information. For example, if there is a house re, you can’t fall into the trap of o ering your opinion on how the re started.

THEIR ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITIES INCREASE GREATLY IN THAT THEY HAVE TO MANAGE THE STATION ON A DAILY BASIS, BOTH ON-STATION AND AT EVENTS”

experience of scenarios that wouldn’t be possible to replicate in the training yard.

“We can have, for example, a simulated incident involving a Luas and a vehicle crash, which we wouldn’t be able to show ordinarily,” he says. “ e simulation allows them to see and experience these incidents and manage them in a virtual environment, and all of this will be new to them when they take it on next week.”

As well as incident command, other aspects of the S/O’s role will also be covered, including training on Automatic Fire Detection systems, with a module put together by re ghters with experience in the re detection industry to help understand and interpret the information displayed, as well as media training to be able to handle the media at the scene of an incident.

“For that part of the course, we will have media expert Cathy

at is not our role, and we train our o cers to know and say that re investigation is carried out by An Garda Síochána, and it is our role to make the scene safe.”

QUALITIES

When the course nishes, the S/ Os will take up their new roles across the city and county before returning in the New Year for modules covering HR and health and safety, but while the course continues, I ask Course Director McNally what he thinks makes for a good Station O cer.

“It’s someone who can manage their station,” he says simply. “ ese people were Sub-O cers who worked under a Station O cer, and now they will be going out as S/Os with Sub-O cers and re ghters under them, so their role and responsibilities increase greatly in that they have to manage the station on a daily basis, both on-station and at incidents.

“When they nish this course, they will have the skills to do that, to deal with matters at the station and at incidents when they go on turnouts. ey have already made the transition from Sub-O cer, so it is just a natural progression and a step up in rank.

ADVICE

“ ey need to be mindful to give their crew their own time and space, and apply what they will learn on this course, particularly in relation to incident command, because it is all about managing a scene in a safe manner, making sure the public is safe and the incident doesn’t develop into something bigger, but also to have the control measures in place to keep your crew safe.

“My advice would be to keep your re ghters safe, run your station well, and always be open to taking advice from your peers who are there to help.”

THANKS

Course Director McNally adds that there are many people to thank for the delivery of the course over the next two weeks.

“We have a core group of instructors in Assistant Course Director S/O James Hetherington, S/O John O’Flaherty, S/O Brian Gunning, S/O Eugene Maher, and Sub-O cer Alan Corcoran, plus next week we will have excellent training in incident command from D/O Niamh O’Regan, D/O Pat O’Riordan, D/O James Bisset, D/O Willie Maher, D/O Derek Cheevers and D/O John Chubb. All of them must be thanked in advance. We also have a large group of visiting lecturers and instructors who will deliver small portions of the course that are too numerous to mention, but they will all contribute greatly, so my thanks to them.”

A MEMORABLE

VISIT

e New York Fire Brigade GAA team made a welcome return to Dublin last October to take on the Dublin Fire Brigade GAA team and enjoy the hospitality of their hosts.

ough the match is the obvious highlight of the trip, it is just one element of the ongoing relationship between both sides, and has since its inception in 2002 been praised for enhancing the bond that has been formed between the two departments.

at rst match at Gaelic Park was followed by DFB trips to New York in 2004, 2006 and 2008, then again in 2019, with FDNY visiting Dublin in 2003, 2005, 2007, and 2016. e 2019

game was covered in Firecall that year, but FDNY GAA manager Battalion Chief Eddie Boles of Battalion 17 in the South Bronx is quick to talk up the history of the tie and praise the original organisers.

ORIGINS

“It all started with that match in Gaelic Park in 2022, which took place as the pre-match for an All-Ireland tie between New York and Sligo,” he tells me. “It was a big day because the place was sold out, so it was great exposure for both teams and both clubs.

“A er 9/11, we were in our own bubble because we were dealing with the a ermath of what transpired that day and what happened a erwards. We were committed to search and rescue, then recovery. We were either in the rehouse, digging at Ground Zero, or going to countless funerals on our days

o for months a erwards because we lost 343 re ghters that day.

“ e president of our club at the time, Billy Nolan, was born in Dublin and raised in New York, and he was contacted by DFB, and then contacted us, so we got a team together and it turned out to be a very competitive match, with only two points between us. We went to Dublin for a rematch in 2003, and from there, it has just grown and grown.

“We are very close with the Dublin team now. e relationships and the camaraderie we have built from the start has been incredible. ey are like a second family to us, an extension of our Gaelic Football family here.”

WELCOME

e FDNY team had planned to make a trip over to play in 2021, but unfortunately COVID-19 put paid to

FDNY Battalion Chief Eddie Boles and DFB’s Dean Kelly talk to Adam Hyland about the latest GAA match between the two sides and the bond between both services

that, so the 2022 match was eagerly anticipated by both sides, with the visitors also arranging a trip to play a NIFRS team a er they rst got involved in 2005.

DFB team member Dean Kelly of C Watch Kilbarrack tells me that some DFB members went to greet the FDNY team at Dublin Airport on their arrival before they headed north to play NIFRS rst.

“I know they really wanted to come over in 2021 to commemorate the 20th anniversary of 9/11 and the relationship that started with us all those years ago,” he says, “but them coming over this year was a big deal for us, so we had scrolls done up by the Lord Mayor to be handed out a er the game. We also had a welcome party for them at the Church Bar with

a few presentations and a catch up, then played the game before more socialising a erwards, so it was great. e bond gets stronger every time, and the relationship between both sides just keeps growing.”

Chief Boles also mentions the signi cance of visiting to play in 2022.

“Our last trip in 2016 coincided with the 100th anniversary of the Easter Rising, so we were proud to use that

connection,” he says, “and even though we couldn’t come in 2021 for the 9/11 anniversary, it worked out well because that was the 20th anniversary of the rst game we played against each other, so it was a nice motivation to have.”

When I ask him what the hospitality was like on this trip, he jokes: “Oh it sucked! But no, seriously, it was outstanding. Every time we come over DFB go above and beyond to help us and entertain us: probably a bit too much because it shows on the pitch! I go over regularly – at least twice a year – and will be over in a few weeks, and we always get together. I generally get together with someone from DFB, mostly Tadgh Fallon, and the hospitality is always outstanding and they take very good care of us. Next time, I think we’ll play DFB rst

THE RELATIONSHIPS AND THE CAMARADERIE WE HAVE BUILT FROM THE START HAS BEEN INCREDIBLE”

“

DFB members were at Dublin Airport to welcome the FDNY team on their arrival

though, then NIFRS, because on this trip we went to the North rst and drew a really good game, and we were a little beat up and worn out.”

MATCH

As for the match itself, the tie to decide who won the Lord Mayor’s Cup took place at Whitehall Colmcille’s grounds because Croke Park was being re-laid and the Club Championships meant Parnell Park wasn’t available, and was described as ‘very competitive’ by both sides.

Following a moment to pay respects to the victims of the Creeslough tragedy, the game got underway, with DFB eventually taking control and running out 3-17 to 3-7 winners.

FF/P Kelly says the DFB team were a little rusty because “it was our rst time getting together in a couple of years”, but that the quality of the team and panel shone through, but he was taken aback at how competitive the FDNY team were.

“ ey had a great mix of youth and experience, all of them well able to play, and they gave us a very good, tough game that was closer than the score would suggest. I was surprised at how good they were, a very young team with plenty of potential, so we look forward

to going over to New York to play them again, because it will be a game they won’t want to lose, and a determination to win the Cup from us.”

“ ey did beat us by a few points, but it was an entertaining game,” Chief Boles tells me. “It wasn’t as close as previous matches but it was as always very competitive. e quality is always there, but Dublin has a real quality side that would be able to compete on senior club level in Dublin. e three full backs and half-backs all play senior football for top clubs, and they are sprinkled with quality and experience throughout. We aren’t up to that quality, but we have sheer competitiveness of who we are and that drives us on.

“ ere were some moments that went against us - our top player who plays senior football in New York was injured - but we still gave it a go and still battled. e wind didn’t help either!”

For him, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that his team made the match competitive. Playing regularly in the GAA Leagues in New York, and training once a week, they are always match-ready, but they also have that in-built talent to play GAA.

“People sometimes ask how come

we have a Gaelic Football team in New York, but many of us, if not all of us, are rst generation Irish,” he tells me. “Most of us had fathers who came over and didn’t know baseball or basketball or any of those sports, so they showed us their sport and got us involved with the local clubs over here. Most of us started playing when we were very young and played through Juniors, Minors and Senior football in New York, so it isn’t something we just picked up. It is in the blood!”

Chief Boles tells me that the match against NIFRS was also very enjoyable, and that they were eager to exact revenge for a last-second loss when the team from the North visited them earlier in 2022.

“I’ve never seen anything like it,” he says. “We were level, but the buzzer sounded just as the ball went over the posts from a NIFRS shot, and we lost by a point. e last kick of the game! It was a good game though, and when we went to play them in October we drew, but were robbed because we had a goal disallowed that should have been a goal, but that’s another story…”

CHARITY

Apart from the football and the strengthening of the bond between the

Paying respects to the victims of the Creeslough tragedy before the game

re services, Chief Boles says there is another very important aspect of these trips across the Atlantic.

“All three clubs – FDNY, DFB and NIFRS – have been raising money to donate to Burns Centres throughout this relationship,” he tells me. “When DFB come over they always give a donation to the New York Fire ghters Burns Centre, and when we go over to Dublin we donate to the Children’s Burns Centre in Crumlin, and in Northern Ireland the Burns Centre for Children at the Royal Victoria Hospital.

“So, there is always benevolence involved, and we go over not only to play and build on our bond as re ghters in di erent departments, but to also build on that component of raising money and donating it to the Burns Centres, which are dear to our hearts. at aspect is really important to us.

“Some of the older guys came over on a golf trip in 2021, and we met up with some DFB people in Tara Street station and presented cheques of $25,000 to each of the Burns Centres, and we did the same thing on this trip in 2022.

“Similarly, when we went to

Northern Ireland, we went to the James Connolly Labour Centre on the Falls Road, and a er a very nice reception for us, we presented them with a cheque in honour of the 343 re ghters we lost in 9/11, as well as the more than 300 re ghters we have lost since because of 9/11-related illness. at money was raised in coordination with the New York Friends of Ireland. e Chairs, Terry O’Sullivan, the International President of the Labourers Union, and James Callahan, President of the Engineers Union, are both very well known in Irish labour circles in Ireland and Northern Ireland, and together with John Samuelsen of the Transport Workers Union were instrumental in raising money to build the James Connolly Irish Centre in Belfast.

“ at is a very important part of why we make these trips, not just for the sport, and the camaraderie between our departments, but also to give donations to the Burns Centres and other charities.”

REMATCH

An invite has already been issued by FDNY to DFB to visit New York later this year, and both sides are

keen to make it happen.

“ ere will be a determination from them to win the Cup back,” FF/P Kelly tells me, saying that he hopes DFB can get some more game time under their belts beforehand with games against NIFRS and An Garda Síochána to start with.

“We don’t know when exactly the rematch will be, because we haven’t heard anything de nite yet,” says Chief Boles, “but every time we get together it is always great, so we are looking forward to them coming over and we can win the trophy from them!”

Before nishing the call, he again underlines the importance of this ongoing relationship and thank DFB GAA for helping to make it so special.

“We are really grateful to Dublin Fire Brigade for reaching out to us in 2002,” he says. “We were in a really di cult time and they brought a little spark back to us when they visited. ey started something great that has grown into something wonderful.

“We have two departments that give it a go on the pitch, we build the camaraderie a er the match, and there is benevolence involved too in raising money for Burns Centres and other charities in our respective countries, so it is all good.

“DFB come over here, we go over there, whether it is with the team or in smaller groups or by ourselves, we have that camaraderie and friendship that we know we can meet up with anyone. We always make time to see each other. It really is an extension of the brotherhood we enjoy in each of our departments, and we are joined in this brotherhood across the ocean.”

IT WASN’T AS CLOSE AS PREVIOUS MATCHES BUT IT WAS AS ALWAYS VERY COMPETITIVE”

“

The DFB and FDNY GAA teams gather before a very competitive match

DAFT FUNK

C Watch North Strand became the Daft Funk Brigade (DFB) in December to raise funds for a special cause

Towards the end of the rst week of December, some teaser tweets started appearing on DFB’s social media pages hinting at something in the works at North Strand re station.

A few days later, all was revealed when the ‘Da Funk Brigade’ (DFB),

aka C Watch North Strand, dropped a special dance video to help raise funds for St Joseph’s Primary School for Children with Visual Impairment in Drumcondra.

C Watch say they were so taken aback by the enthusiasm of the students and sta on a recent community visit that they decided they needed to do something to help raise funds for resources and activities. Teaming up with the Special Needs Assistants and other St Joseph’s sta members, they put together a dance routine with the help of video creator Harry Merton

and choreographer Ali Flood to bring some cheer to the festive season.

“We’ve always tried to keep in contact with schools, particularly special needs schools, in the area, because we feel that a er COVID-19 it is very important to have that, as these students were deprived of that community outreach with agencies such as DFB,” they tell me.

“Visits from the likes of us bring out the best in the students, but it also brings out the best in us, because we realise again what we are doing as part of our duty to the community, making us realise why we are here, and that

Daft Funk Brigade hit the dancefloor

was the inspiration for the video fundraiser, it inspired us to want to do something di erent, to fundraise for that extra little bit of equipment they might need.

“It always makes a lasting impression on you to go and visit schools and particularly the special

and a bond with St Joseph’s, the students, teachers, carers and parents, and one we want to grow because we feel we are making up for the time lost during the pandemic.”

“I am 33 years in DFB, and in that time, I’ve done fundraising of all sorts inside and outside the job, but for me this was de nitely the most enjoyable one-o fundraiser I’ve been involved in,” says S/O Peter FitzGerald, “because it all just clicked, everyone had a good time, and we raised a lot of money.”

equipment for the school, so with this o -beat dance video we have been able to achieve something tangible, it means something, so everyone involved can be very proud of that.”

e idea for ‘Da Funk Brigade’ itself came from the fact that the visors on the DFB helmets resemble the headgear of the band Da Punk, and so Da Funk Brigade (DFB) was born, and I’ve been told “we will be patenting that at C Watch North Strand!”

needs schools. It means that little bit more, and because we hadn’t been to see the students at St Joseph’s in two years, it became more poignant.”

Following the video’s release, C Watch and members of A Watch returned to the school and were taken aback by the enthusiasm shown by the students as they sang Christmas carols, with C Watch members saying they have “developed a relationship

He is keen to thank all involved, especially Senior Man Roy O’Brien, who “really helped facilitate the whole thing from Day One and was great throughout and was instrumental in putting it all together”, as well as Ali Flood, Harry Merton, Sue Nolan, Mandy and Bridget from St Joseph’s, and all of the C Watch crew for embracing the idea and spending several nights practising and shooting the video.

e fundraising target was €5,000 but the total is fast approaching twice that, with the Christmas period expected to see the sum top the €10,000 mark, and C Watch say “that will make a signi cant di erence in terms of IT or physiotherapy

ey also tell me that Da Funk Brigade will be looking to do something new in the future, so watch this space.

IT INSPIRED US TO WANT TO DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT, TO FUNDRAISE FOR THAT EXTRA LITTLE BIT OF EQUIPMENT THEY MIGHT NEED”

The Daft Funk Brigade of C Watch crew and St Joseph’s staff

Visiting St Joseph’s again to hear the students sing Christmas carols was uplifting

FACING UP TO MEN’S HEALTH

The Movember campaign was a great success and is growing as a movement, Sub-Officer Jonathan Forbes tells Adam Hyland

The annual Movember initiative organised and run by the Frontline MO-BROs continues to grow from strength to strength, and given the importance placed on general health and mental health awareness within Dublin Fire Brigade, it is tting that members of DFB continue to play a pivotal role in this campaign.

Alongside national re services, An Garda Síochána, the National Ambulance Service, the Defence Forces and Air Corp, Coast Guard and Civil Defence, DFB members have always shown a willingness to put pride aside for one month and grow sometimes

un attering facial hair to get the conversation going around men’s health.

CHALLENGE

Every year sees the organisation take on a main challenge, and this year’s headline event was the Head To Head Challenge, with frontline workers walking the 40km+ from Bray to Howth, with DFB members covering the distance in full PPE, helmet and BA set.

“One of the Frontline MO-BROs team, Airman Aaron Crompton, had been getting Air Corps members to walk across the Dublin Mountains for a few years running,” Frontline MO-BROs Captain and Sub-O cer Jonathan Forbes of C Watch Phibsboro tells

LEFT: SE McCormack gets a close shave | ABOVE: Movember | RIGHT: The Frontline MO-BRO founding members | BOTTOM LEFT: Frontline MO-BRO team members in Syria with the 66th Inf Grp UNDOF | BELOW: Making their way across Dublin on the Head To Head Challenge

me, “so we said let’s make it bigger and better this year, open it to the public and to all frontline services, and walk through the main thoroughfares of the city to try to bring the maximum awareness to the public.

“DFB and Dublin Airport Fire and Rescue personnel walked it in full PPE, weighing in at around 26 kilos, so it was tough going, but it helped get us noticed and get the message out there of what we are trying to do.”

Raising awareness is key to the initiative, but every year the campaign also raises a considerable amount of money for men’s health charities, and Sub-O cer Forbes says the response from the public this year was once more incredible.

“ e response on the day was fantastic, and over the course of the month we raised more than €53,000. A lot of that was from members getting sponsored, and from bucket collections on the day. e buckets were an extra weight, but it was a weight we didn’t mind carrying!”

Other events also took place across the country.

“We had members of the Defence Forces in Galway walking 40km around Carrauntoohil, others walking the distance up Croagh Patrick, gardaí around the country doing the same distance around their locality, so we had more than 100 people taking part nationwide, a broad

spectrum of people from all emergency services. We presented a united front and combined all of our resources.”

GROWING

Just like the facial hair each member has adorned, the Movember initiative has grown over the years, Sub-O cer Forbes tells me.

“We had something like 198 members of the Frontline MO-BROs taking part from across all emergency services, and some of those individuals were actually teams, so for example you had the Defence Forces over in Syria all under the one name, so it was a massive increase on what we have had over the years, which is great.”

ABOVE: West of Ireland BROs heading for Croagh Patrick | ABOVE: Queueing up at Sam’s Barbers for a pre-Movember shave BOTTOM LEFT: The C Crew of the Airport Fire and Rescue Service | BELOW: Starting the Head To Head Challenge in Bray

is can only lead to more awareness of the issues at hand within the emergency services, where the message of putting bravado aside and opening up about health concerns is so important.

“ ere is de nitely a heightened awareness of the need to talk about mental health and men’s health in general now,” Sub-O cer Forbes says. “People are more inclined to talk to their colleagues, partner or friends. e stigma and the bravado of the uniformed job where it is not the done thing to talk about your feelings is starting to dissipate.

“Having the likes of the CISM team and other supports that are available to you, whenever and however you want or need it, is great. It is impartial, you can talk to somebody who has been through the same stu as you, they are one of your peers, so it is a lot easier for men and women to talk about it.”

Combining forces to utilise media contacts and gain publicity saw Frontline MO-BRO members do numerous radio interviews, but other events also took place to put the campaign in the public eye.

“Detective Superintendent Sé McCormack of An Garda Síochána did a lot of our radio coverage, but we had other events running throughout the month too,”

own jeep decked out in MO-BRO logos and drove it around Dublin to raise awareness.”

Sam also o ered free shaves to all participating members at the start of the month so they could begin growing their moustaches in earnest, and Sub-O cer Forbes is keen to thank him, as well as Clive Carroll of dublintown.ie, who was taken on as public relations o cer and brought a lot of exposure to the cause.

“Special mention must go to Aaron Crompton of the Air Corp, Jonathan Tu of the Defence Forces, and Sé McCormack of An Garda Síochána though, as they were the three main contacts for the big agencies and organisations, who brought in so much support,” Sub-O cer Forbes adds.

CONVERSATION STARTER

As for the small matter of growing a moustache to get noticed, he says there were varying degrees of success.

“At one stage we were talking about sending some Miracle Gro to some of the re and police stations to help them out,” he jokes. “It has also been known that some members have been using Just For Men to make their facial hair look more impressive.

“It’s all in good spirits though. It’s the worst moustaches that make the conversation, because when you see the

FIGURES

e stats show why this is still so important. e latest available gures from 2019 show that there were 11 men diagnosed with prostate cancer every single day in Ireland.

“ ose are crazy numbers, and obviously it is not good to have that many people diagnosed, but the positive side is that it at least shows men are getting checked more now,” Sub-O cer Forbes says.

“But on the mental health side of things, in 2021 there were more than 300 men who died by suicide, with three out of every four suicides in Ireland is by a male. e leading cause of death in males in Ireland between the ages of 15 and 29 is suicide. at is a gure that has to be changed, and it can be changed by men talking to each other about how they are feeling.

MESSAGE

“ e world has changed, and things that were accepted ten, 20 years ago, are not accepted anymore. e things you would have had to go through on your own back then, you don’t have to go through alone anymore. ere are people you can talk to, and ways to look a er yourself better.

“We are on all the social media platforms @frontlinemobros and they are all monitored 24/7, so if you need to talk, there is always someone there to point you towards trained professionals, whether that be Pieta House, Suicide or Survive, or Samaritans. Or if you just want to see what we are all about, check out our socials.”

Next year will be the Frontline MO-BROs tenth anniversary, and plans are already underway to make Movember even bigger.

Sub-O cer Forbes tells me. “ e Air Corp had a co ee and information morning at Baldonnell, and Airman Glen Tyson of the Air Corp ran a tattoo event in Voodoo Tattoo in Finglas.

“Corporal Jonathan Tu of the Defence Forces also did the Four Peaks Challenge in under 30 hours wearing a 10 kilo weight vest. He was exhausted by the end, but the main challenge for him was the logistics of getting from one mountain to another, and we had some great support there from Sam Donnelly, owner of Sam’s Barbers in Dublin, who is one of our founding members. He provided transport on the day, and had his

really bad ones, they are the ones that get the laugh, and get the conversation going, and that conversation creates awareness, which in turn creates donations and gets the message out there.

“It is all about having some craic over the course of 30 days, and bringing all of those services together. e inter-agency rivalry disappears completely because it is everybody looking out for each other and trying to get publicity and awareness for Movember itself, for the Frontline MO-BRO team, and getting that message out there about men’s health and mental health.”

“A few of us have already signed up to do the Dublin City Marathon in full PPE, so if anybody wants to get involved, get in touch with me,” Sub-O cer Forbes says.

“Since we started ten years ago, the team has raised more than €350,000, and we are hoping to break the €400,000 next year, so more participants would be great. We are getting repeat participants as well as new people every year, and that in turn creates awareness, brings in more publicity, and gets the message across of who we are and what we are doing. Hopefully, we will have more people next year signing up to help us with our message, a few more moustaches to get the conversation going around men’s health.”

IT’S THE WORST MOUSTACHES THAT MAKE THE

Liam ‘Nobby’ Clarke

The veteran firefighter coined ‘the original of the species’ by his colleagues talks to Adam Hyland about his career

In 2004, Firecall ran a feature on Liam ‘Nobby’ Clarke covering his upcoming retirement from Dublin Fire Brigade a er 41 years of service. Now 18 years later, we made a welcome return to his home to nd that he is still full of stories and memories of his time in DFB.

ose who know Nobby well, and there are many, will remember his dedication to the job and his experience, but what they remember most is his personality and good nature. ose who don’t know him will almost certainly have heard the name, and perhaps a story or two. His face may be familiar

RETIRED MEMBER PROFILE

too, not just because he was in the 1996 RTÉ documentary covering D Watch Phibsboro, but because he recently appeared in the latest DFB recruitment campaign covered elsewhere in this issue.

CAREER

Sitting at his kitchen table, he points at each of the many photographs he has put together and says: “ ere’s a story behind that one!” True to his word, his supply of stories and anecdotes is endless, too numerous (and some too risky) to print here, and are testament to the fond memories he has of his career that began in 1963 when he swapped a job as a sheetmetal worker to join the Brigade.

“I got married and needed job security,” he tells me, “and my father said that if I got a job in uniform I would never need for anything, so with my older brother already in the job, I decided to join. My wife Maureen used to say that I had actually married the re brigade, and she was probably right.”

Following a six-week training course at Tara Street, Nobby began working there and stayed for 12 years, though he o en found himself sent to other stations as the need arose.

“ ere were only four stations back then – Tara Street, Dorset Street, Buckingam Street and Rathmines – and Dolphin’s Barn came along a bit later, so it wasn’t too bad,” he says. A er a few years in Buckingham Street, North Strand and Finglas re stations were

opened and Nobby spent time at each, with 12 years served at Finglas until another new station was built at Phibsboro.

“I liked Finglas and made some great friends there,” he tells me, “but I wanted to get back into the city, so when Phibsboro came up, I went there and stayed for the rest of my career. For me, it was the best station in the job. I loved every minute of it

and never wanted to leave.

“I genuinely enjoyed every single day because you couldn’t get a better bunch of re ghters than the ones I worked with, the likes of Leslie Crowe, Damien Fynes, Peter Kavanagh, Martin Williams, Clippy, Mulligan. You went in at 9am and you started laughing, and you didn’t stop laughing until you went out the door at the end of your shi . You could write a book on the stories and anecdotes. I loved it all, such a great laugh.

“It wasn’t all fun and games and we got our fair share of di cult cases. Nowadays, they have things in place to help you handle that, but back then we used to just come back

YOU WENT IN AT 9AM AND YOU STARTED LAUGHING, AND YOU DIDN’T STOP LAUGHING UNTIL YOU WENT OUT THE DOOR AT THE END OF YOUR SHIFT”

“

to the station and talk about it, to get it o our chests, and you couldn’t get a nicer bunch of people to do that with.”

STORIES

Over the course of an hour, I’m treated to some of those stories involving soakings, beds going missing, a dummy’s hand he used as a prank prop, and an important piece of advice to never announce you are going to the bathroom when going to bed on a night shi .

ere was serious work done too, with Nobby certainly playing his part in this 41-year career, delivering 12 babies.

“You’d go out on the ambulance and see life going out of this world, and an hour later you get a case where you are bringing life into this world,” he tells me.

He brought extra blankets with him on ambulance duty and handed them out to those in need living on the streets, becoming, as he says ‘a familiar face and they all knew my name’.

MAJOR INCIDENTS

He was also on duty for some of the most memorable incidents in DFB history, including an explosion at a pumping station at North Wall, a major re at a music shop o Gra on Street, the bombing of Nelson’s Pillar in 1966, a plane crash that killed two people at Dublin Airport in 1967, the burning of the British Embassy

in 1972, and the Stardust disaster.

He also saw some unusual incidents, including pulling a bull from the Li ey (I won’t share how he says he did it) and tells me that as far as he knows, he is the only person in Dublin Fire Brigade who has ever been called to an attack by a lion.

“I was working in Finglas re station, and it was April Fool’s Day,” he tells me. “I was called out to Ballymun, where the circus was in town. When I arrived there were a few workers standing outside a tent, so I went over and asked what was going on, and was led into the tent where there stood a lion’s cage.

ere was no lion, but on the oor was a man’s body. Apparently, he had been training them when one of the lions attacked.

“I put him in the ambulance and drove to Jervis Street Hospital where there was a nurse who hated re ghters for some reason and always gave us short shri . When she asked what we had in the ambulance, I said ‘I know it’s April Fool’s Day but I have a lion tamer who has been badly mauled by a lion’. Well, she tore into me for wasting her time, until she nally came out and saw for herself.”

PERSONALITY

With all of that experience, Nobby was always regarded as the senior man, but his good-natured personality meant he o en found himself on the receiving end of practical jokes.

“ e lads I worked with, I was like a father gure in some ways to them,” he says. “Although you mightn’t think that with the slagging I always got.”

Pointing to another photo, he tells the story: “I went to Chicago to visit my sister, and while we were there we went to the zoo, but a monkey

Senior man

One of the many photos with a story behind it

escaped from its cage and was running around. When I got back, I told the lads at the station the story, and thought nothing more about it, but a few days later one of the lads dressed up as a monkey, jumped out and chased me around the station.”

To this day, he takes the slagging with his usual good humour. Having overcome skin cancer more than a decade ago, his head bears the scars of skin gra s, and this too has given dark-humoured ammunition to his former colleagues.

“I went to a funeral of a re ghter one day,” he tells me, “and we were all dressed up in our blazers and hats. We were standing outside and Paddy Rooney, who was in Kilbarrack for years, says to me: ‘Nobby, I was looking at a programme on the telly before I came out, it was about the moon, with all the craters on it, and I still think I’m watching it now, looking at your head!’ I thought that was very funny. at’s how the job went, you made jokes about people, even about serious things, but it was all in good humour and you have to know how to take it.

“It was all about personality. I never gave out to anybody, tried to be friendly with everyone I met and get along with them, and was able to brush o challenging incidents and not let them a ect me. I used to tell young lads that the most important thing you needed to come into the Fire Brigade was a good personality, and I was lucky to always have that.”

MEMORIES

Despite his senior man status, Nobby says he never went for promotion because he enjoyed the job too much to move into an O cer role, and didn’t want to leave his colleagues at Phibsboro once there. “I wanted to stay where I was,” he says. “D Watch was the best part of the whole job, I enjoyed it so much. It was a good station and the crew I had, you couldn’t get any better.”

He also speaks fondly of his wife Maureen, who sadly passed away in the last couple of years and who he “relied on for everything outside of my job”, and of his children, including Paul, a former Dublin GAA All-Star and AllIreland winner who works with the Dublin Airport Fire and Rescue Service, before we move to the garage to see his many photos and pieces of memorabilia including helmets, pins and the last ever DFB re engine bell.

With such a bank of memories and stories, Nobby says that staying in touch with former colleagues is as important as ever in his later years, and regularly attends Retired Members Association meet-ups at the Teacher’s Club, and breakfasts at Sportslink with his Phibsboro crew. “ e craic is great at these meet-ups – you are telling stories from years back. It also keeps that line of contact open,” he says, “which is important.”

“I USED TO TELL YOUNG LADS THAT THE MOST IMPORTANT THING YOU NEEDED TO COME INTO THE FIRE BRIGADE WAS A GOOD PERSONALITY”

Posing for his profile in Firecall in 2004

With his Phibsboro D Watch crew

recruitment campaign photoshoot.

“I was sitting at home when I got a call from A/C/F/O Greg O’Dwyer, who said the Chief had mentioned my name while putting together a few people to be in a recruitment campaign, and at rst I thought it was one of my old colleagues pulling my leg,” he tells me.

“I always got on very well with the Chief, and he used to say I was a great man for helping fellas out, so he said a sta car would come over and bring me in to Phibsboro, dress me, etc, to do with an ad for recruitment. So, I said yes, and went

along to play the role of a person being helped to an ambulance by a young re ghter.

“It was a very professional shoot and the pictures look great. I told them I wanted to take home one of the bus stop posters to put on my hall door!”

As for how it felt to go back to his old station, Nobby says he got a great reception.

“I knew about four or ve of the crew who are there now, but the strange thing about it is that most of the people had never seen me before, but going into Phibsboro they all said ‘Hi Nobby’ to me. e Chief has said a few times to go in and have dinner with the crews, and that welcome is always there for me I feel, so that is

a lovely thing. A lot of people will have heard of me as Nobby, even if they don’t know me personally.”

Back in 2004, he told Firecall: “I only hope I go out of here leaving a mark, that people will say: ‘Ah I remember Nobby Clarke’, and judging by the number of times his name comes up in conversation with other re ghters, many of who describe him as a legend, his popularity and personality, it doesn’t look like that is in any doubt.

When I put that fact to him, his response is be tting of him: “Well, I never set out for people to know who I am, it was always just in my nature to get on with people, and I think that’s maybe why they remember me.”

The aftermath of an explosion at a pumping station, with Nobby at the back beside Willie Bermingham

BINGE WATCHES

WHAT TO STREAM ON THE LONG WINTER EVENINGS

SWEET HOME

Netflix, 1 series, 2 to follow

We’ve had zombies, demons and inhumanely fatal games, but in yet another apocalyptic horror drama from South Korea, this time we see an end of the world scenario in which people start transforming into grotesque monsters, each unique and based on their deepest desires from when they were humans. e special e ects are incredible, but the terror takes hold in the story of a desperate group of survivors (a suicidal teen, a former re ghter, and a possible gangster) trapped in an isolated apartment building while they try to unravel what is going on and why. As is the norm with the excellent string of such series from South Korea, the horror genre is elevated by the deeper commentary on society and economic politics that make it more layered than the monster apocalypse theme would suggest.

HOUSE OF THE DRAGON

Sky Atlantic, 1 series, 2 to follow

QUANTUM LEAP

Amazon Prime, 5 series

NBC have rebooted this sci-fi comedy, so now is the time to re-watch the brilliant original so you can have your take on how much the new version ruins yet more precious TV-related childhood memories. For those who missed it first time around, Scott Bakula plays Sam Beckett, a physicist who accidentally falls into a time-travelling loop that sees him appear in the bodies of random people from the past, and having to right a wrong with the help of hologram assistant and social history researcher Al (Dean Stockwell) before making his next “leap” into another identity. The fact that Sam can never return to his present but finds solace in helping others overcome their challenges makes this bittersweet, but it is also funny and endearing.

If you haven’t already started watching this Game of rones spin-o , you may as well start now, if only so you can join the debate over whether it is any good. Centring on the silver-haired Targaryen dynasty some 200 years before the birth of Daenerys, the drama unfolds to reveal how the most powerful family in Westeros came to fall so far by the time upstart families like the Lannisters began their rise. e producers look to have taken notes regarding fan appreciation of the slower, political machinations seen in Game of rones, and though it is at times too slow for a series featuring numerous dragons, and could do with more scenes outside the walls of the royal court, it is worth watching so you can have your opinion.

ANDOR

Disney +, 1 series, 2nd on the way

MONSTER: THE JEFFREY DAHMER STORY

Netflix, 1 series

e crimes of serial killers never make for comfortable viewing, but the audience for their stories never seems to diminish either, and so Net ix brings us this one-o series about one of the most notorious murderers of recent times. Dahmer killed at least 17 young men between 1978 and 1991 in Wisconsin and Ohio, and was only apprehended a er one potential victim managed to escape his apartment and alert police, who quickly discovered numerous body parts in his rooms. It can at times appear exploitative, but the producers have at least tried to portray sympathy for the victims, and veer towards revealing the systematic failures that led to Dahmer staying free for so long, rather than focusing on the grisly murders themselves.

THIS ENGLAND

Sky Atlantic, 1 series

Boris Johnson will always be a polarising gure, but his leadership of the UK during the COVID-19 pandemic did his popularity no favours, and in this drama series penned by Michael Winterbottom alongside TV writer Kieron Quirke, we see exactly why. Depicting the rst wave of the pandemic across Britain, it is based on testimonies of people within the Johnson administration, various intergovernmental advisory groups, and hospitals and care homes, and pulls no punches in showing how confused and confusing the almost daily U-turns and mistakes that led to the deaths and illness of so many were. Kenneth Branagh dons the prosthetics to portray Johnson in all his befuddled glory, and the series is worth watching for this alone.

The Star Wars spin-o s continue to roll out faster than the Millennium Falcon through hyperspace, but this is one of the better ones, focusing on thief-turned-rebel spy Cassian Andor, who would later lead the mission to deliver the plans of the Death Star to the Rebel Alliance in Rogue One. Fans will enjoy the knowing nods to Star Wars lore, with a fast-paced story showing the early days of the rebels’ organisation and the reasons why Andor and his companions decide that there must be opposition to the all-conquering Imperial forces. A certain gravitas is added to proceedings with the knowledge that the main character is fated (spoiler alert) not to survive the Rogue One mission five years after events here, so don’t expect it to be as carefree as other spin-o s.

THE LAST KINGDOM

Netflix, 5 series

If you like your chainmail dramas a little more rooted in history than fantasy, this could be for you. Based on Bernard Cornwell’s The Saxon Stories series of novels and set in 9th century England, it’s a sweeping drama telling the tale of competing kingdoms under occupation by seemingly endless armies of Vikings, with Wessex under King Alfred the last kingdom standing to resist the invading hordes. The plot lies mainly around one Uthred of Bebbanburg, an Anglo-Saxon kidnapped and raised by invading Danes, who finds his loyalties constantly tested as political machinations and loyalties pull him from Saxon to Viking camps. The action and violence mounts with every season, but it always retains that air of reality regarding what life must have been like before the kingdoms of England were united.

BAD SISTERS

Apple TV, 1 series

Lying somewhere between Derry Girls and Big Little Lies, this Dublin-based black comedy-drama features a great cast of Irish actors including writer and producer Sharon Horgan, Eva Birthistle, Sarah Greene, Brian Gleeson and Eve Hewson, as well as the UK’s AnneMarie Du and Denmark’s Claes Bang. Based around five sisters who all have beef with the husband of one of their clan, things take a turn south when he is found dead under unusual circumstances, with each having a motive and an insurance company investigator determined to discover the truth behind his demise. It’s funnier than most Irish comedies but it also has good drama. And you can enjoy the Dublin setting sightseeing that comes with a locally filmed show.

BLISS IN A BOTTLE

When you say ‘Burgundy’ to somebody, chances are the rst thing they would think of is wine, so ubiquitous is it in this region where the grape is king. But the region has several other ne dining specialities to boast of, and a whole host of activities that make it the pride of France.

It may seem cheesy, but a visit to the Gaugry dairy is a great place to start your culinary crusade. It specialises in époisse, a delicacy so well respected that people come from miles around to taste it. As with champagne, true époisse cheese must come from the area and be made using traditional methods, and the end result is something worth travelling for Tastings are highly recommendeddrop in, sample some cheese and  ne wine to go with it, then buy some to bring home.

(www.fromageriegaugry.com)

CUTTING THE MUSTARD

Dijon is the main city of the Burgundy region, and it is a lovely, easily

manageable place to get around. It’s famous for several speciality foods available in many quaint shops around town – spiced bread, cassis licquer, and mustard. e Moutard Maille is a famous mustard shop established in 1747, still following the recipe that makes their product stand out. It’s worth a visit not only to sample and buy some of the stu but to see the sheer volume of jars and bottles adorning the walls, and to see it poured out from taps like a thick, beige pint. ere is much to see and do. Perhaps France’s most famous architect, Gustave Ei el was born here, and curiously, though he o ered to design and build the town’s excellent market square, he was refused, and so moved on to bigger things.

e Notre Dame cathedral of Dijon is a beautiful example of 14th century Gothic architecture replete with gargoyles and grotesques, but there are more lovable aspects too – one external wall features a small owl gure, the mascot of the city, which you can touch with your le hand for good luck.

Another must-see is the 1,000-yearold monastery that houses the sculpture museum of Francois Rude, whose work can be seen all over France, particularly at the Arc de Triomphe (Les Marseilles) and Père Lachaise cemetery.

THERE’S MORE TO BURGUNDY THAN WINE, BUT IT IS STILL KING, WRITES ADAM HYLAND

Burgundy is paradise for wine lovers

Sample cheese and wine at the Gaugry dairy

But there is also a very cultural feel to this town: the museums are free, there are two opera houses, and the Place de la Liberation square has been transformed from a car park into a lovely square lled with great restaurants.

CURRANT AFFAIRS

You’d imagine a trip to a museum dedicated to the blackcurrant, or as the French call it ‘le cassis’, would be a small oddity or a quaint little curio by a roadside somewhere, but not in nearby Nuits st Georges, which hosts the remarkable Cassisium. A gigantic exhibition and museum praises all things blackcurrant, because from this humble berry comes a smooth syrup licqeur that is wonderfully versatile, can be made into more than a hundred avours and goes with anything –making it perfect for cocktails, as a visit to the on-site cocktail bar will prove. (www.cassissium.fr)

ere are of course at least ve senses, and Burgundy caters for them all, and a great way to enjoy them while maybe working o your indulgences is to take a cycle along the picturesque Burgundy canal starting from Lake Kir in Dijon. ere are no less than 17 bike hire companies along the route, and being a canal bank, the way is smooth and steady, allowing you to take in all the sights, sounds and smells of the French countryside with what is a truly lovely way to spend an a ernoon.

THE GAUL OF IT

Burgundy also has much to feed the mind for anybody interested in history. e castle in the medieval town of Chateauneuf en Auxois has tapestry-lined walls, medieval toilets and turrets and towers that make for an excellent guided tour, but the real draw of the area is at Alesia, site of the battle between King of the Gauls, Vercingétorix, and Caesar’s Roman army in 52BC. It’s a great place to learn about a gure whose name would be on everybody’s lips if it weren’t so hard to say, full of fascinating information and artefacts, and where the children will be entertained for hours by displays of warfare techniques and a chance to try their hand at the weapons used. (www.alesia.com)

e Unesco World Heritage Site of Fontenay Abbey is also a must-see. Established in 1118 by St Bernard of Calirvaux, it is one of the oldest in Europe, with almost all of its buildings perfectly preserved.

But of course in Burgundy all things come back to wine, and a vineyard visit is a must. In existence since the time of Vercingetorix, Vignoble De Flavigny at Flavigny-sur-Ozerai in Alesia is held in very high esteem - the medieval kings of France chose their wines from here. A limited number of bottles are produced here every year, so you know you are only getting the very best. Just like Burgundy itself, sample it, savour it, and bring a little bit of it back home.

ACCOMMODATION:

Spoiling yourself can become a real theme in Burgundy, not just through food and wine but through relaxation. The hotel spa resort La Cueillette at the Chateau de Citeaux in Meursault (pictured) displays the sublime beauty of the landscape, the furnishings and the grand eloquence of the restored chateau built over a 12th century Cistercian wine cellar. A fruit therapy spa experience with swimming pool, hammam, sauna, Jacuzzi and a restaurant headed by a Michelin-star chef mean this idyllic spot o ers total well-being and some well-deserved treats. (www.lacueillette.com)

Those who like luxury are spoiled for choice when it comes to accommodation. The Abbaye de la Bussiere sur Ouche is remarkable, but hugely expensive, but the Chateau DeChailly is another fantastic hotel and golf resort with luxury rooms and suites, a spa, and its own helipad, should you wish to arrive in style.

There are cheaper accommodation options too, such as the Hotellerie D’Aussois in Semur-en-Auxois, a fine place overlooking a lovely town, but the region also has many campsites, hostels and guesthouses to suit every budget.

FLIGHT DETAILS:

You can fly to Lyon Saint-Éxupery with Air France or Aer Lingus, with connecting trains to Dijon.

La Cueillette at the Chateau de Citeaux in Meursault

Dijon and Burgundy offer indulgence, history and relaxation

EMERGENCY SERVICES NEWS FROM AROUND THE GLOBE

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

USA SPACE CENTER STATION CLOSURE

e Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, is set to close one of its three re stations this year, forcing between 12 and 20 re ghters out of a job. Fire Station 3, the closest to the Artemis I launch pad, has not responded to a re call in ve years, with the two other stations handling 90% of emergency calls. Nevertheless, Local 525 Union President Kevin Smith said the decision was confusing. “ ere has never been more activity on both Kennedy Space Center or Cape Canaveral Air Station, and eliminating these jobs just makes no sense. e three re stations don’t have a traditional response program for structural res like departments responding to residential neighbourhoods, but they do cover a wide area that includes Playalinda Beach and federal wildlife areas.”

RUSSIA

FIRE AT ILLEGAL CARE HOME

GERMANY

WARTIME BOMBS UNEARTHED

Fire ghters across Germany have faced a busy few months as a number of unexploded WWII bombs have been unearthed in recent months. In October, a 250-kilo US aircra bomb was unearthed during construction work in the city of Dresden, with re ghters evacuating more than 3,000 people to local emergency shelters before bomb disposal teams could enter the site to defuse it. In September, Munich re ghters had to go door to door asking people to leave a 500metre radius around a site when another 250-kilo aircra bomb was discovered in the Ostpreußenstrasse area of the city. In August, another unexploded bomb was found during construction work in the Moabit area of Berlin, with re ghters evacuating residents in a 500metre radius, closing o rail and commuter lines and surrounding roads.

At least 20 people died a er a large re swept through a home for the elderly two days before Christmas in the Siberian city of Kemerovo. A further six people were injured in the re that saw the entire top oor of the two-storey wooden building gutted. Initial reports suggest the re may have been caused by a faulty heating boiler. Dozens of re ghters were deployed to ght the overnight blaze, with the re fully extinguished by Christmas Eve. e private home for the elderly is believed to have been operating illegally, according to local o cials. e governor of the region said all similar facilities would now be inspected, and a criminal inquiry has been launched. Local re service o cials told media that many unregistered care homes for the elderly are operating across Russia, and as such are considered private property, meaning they are using a loophole that allows them to avoid re safety inspections. e Kemerovo region of Siberia has faced other tragedies in the last few years, including a re in a leisure centre in 2018 that saw 60 people killed.

EU FOREST FIRE RESOURCES INCREASE

Following a record-breaking forest re season in Europe, the EU Commission has proposed providing €170million from the EU budget to reinforce its rescEU ground and aerial assets for the summer of 2023. e rescEU transitional eet, it is aimed, will have 22 planes, four helicopters, and more ground teams in place by then. It is also planned that by 2025 the eet would be further reinforced through the procurement of more airplanes and helicopters. Data for 2022 reveals a 30% increase in the burnt area over the previous worst year recorded (2017), and a more than 170% increase over the average burnt area since EU-level records began in 2006. is season, the EU’s Emergency Response Coordination Centre received 11 requests for assistance for forest res, deploying 33 planes, eight helicopters and 350 re ghters across Europe via the EU Civil Protection Mechanism.

FRANCE NUCLEAR SUB SEES ANOTHER FIRE

CHILE FIRE DAMAGES EASTER ISLAND FIGURES

Fires that ripped through part of Chile’s Easter Island in October have caused permanent damage to some of its iconic carved stone gures. e high temperatures of the res accelerated the process through which the giant carvings, known as moai, will eventually turn into sand, authorities said. Half of Easter Island’s 800 moais stand inside the Rano Raraku volcano, with the re that swept across 104 acres of surrounding land and inside the volcano damaging 20% of the area’s gures. Mayor Pedro Edmunds Paoa accused Chile of abandoning the island, saying: “ e work of avoiding accidents and res involves a prevention plan that requires resources, and that’s what we don’t have.

CHINA

A French nuclear submarine that was devastated by a re in 2020 su ered another re onboard at the end of September as repairs in the port of Toulon neared completion. Around 90 re ghters were called to the scene – headquarters of France’s Mediterranean eet - to extinguish the re on board La Perle, which is thought broke out in an area used for food storage. O cials say there was no risk of radioactivity on board as though the nuclear submarine had fuel on board, its reactors were not working at the time. ey also said it could not be con rmed if the re would a ect La Perle’s scheduled return to active service, which is expected to be in the rst half of 2023.

TALL BUILDINGS OUTGROWING FIREFIGHTING CAPACITY

A re at a 218metre-tall skyscraper in Changsha, China, in September, has brought to light the fact that re ghting capabilities across the country have not kept up with the speed of tall building construction. e re at the China Telecom Building was responded to by local re stations, but the vertical height of their ‘Water Dragon’ meant e orts to extinguish the re were unsuccessful, resulting in the building being completely destroyed. Calls have now been made for re ghting vehicles, machinery and equipment to be brought in line with the structures they are expected to perform rescue operations at. Tragedies in China in recent years have repeatedly highlighted the need for better re safety and re ghting operations. In June 2021, communities in Henan called for higher re safety standards a er a martial arts school burned down killing 18 people, while in 2017 similar calls were made a er a re in Beijing killed 19 people. A re in a 28-storey residential building in Shanghai that killed 58 people in 2010 was also the catalyst for demands in re ghting capability improvements.

THIS SEASON’S BEST READS BOOKSHELF

THE SATSUMA COMPLEX

If you’ve ever seen him on Would I Lie to You? you’ll know that comedian Bob Mortimer can tell funny stories, whether they are true or not. If you’ve seen him on Gone Fishing with old friend Paul Whitehouse, you’ll know he can be insightful and sweet. If you’re a fan of his bizarre work on Vic Reeves’ Big Night Out and Shooting Stars, you’ll know he has a hilarious sense of bizarre and surreal humour. In his rst novel, he combines all of these elements to bring us a hugely enjoyable crime mystery.

e likes of Richard Osman and Ardal O’Hanlon (the latter’s Brouhaha was reviewed in our previous issue) have introduced a new wave of ‘cosy crime’ stories, and you would be forgiven for wondering if every comedian thinks they have a novel in them, but in the case of Mortimer, they absolutely have. Having interrupted a tour with comedy partner Vic Reeves in 2015 to undergo life-saving heart surgery, he discovered a desire to try new things, hence several podcasts, an autobiography, and now this novel, and as with all of his work, it doesn’t disappoint.

Taking liberal doses of his own experiences as a shy solicitor in London in the days before he fell into comedy, the author is clearly visible in Gary, an unassuming legal assistant who stumbles into a mystery one night when he meets an old private eye friend for a pint. His friend departs suddenly, leaving behind a USB stick of unknown origin in the shape of a corn cob, and Gary thinks nothing much of it, instead becoming smitten with and unsuccessfully irting with a woman at the bar whose name he never discovers.

However, when his friend is found dead in suspicious circumstances a few days later, with the aforementioned lady somehow connected, he begins a quest to discover the truth, ambling through the streets and pie shops of South London in an e ort to nd the woman from the pub, in turn revealing a case of domestic abuse, police corruption and possibly murder.

AUTHOR: BOB MORTIMER

Mortimer brings all the tropes of the crime novel into play well – the unwilling but curious investigator, the femme fatale, brutish policemen - and provides good twists to keep us on our toes, but it is the surreal details that make this stand out. ese range from the little quirks each character displays, to interludes where Gary imagines a squirrel questioning his investigative capabilities, but somehow none of these comic elements seem forced, instead becoming part of the main character’s narrative and point of view.

is is a clever, charming and very funny crime story that doesn’t take itself too seriously, much like the author himself, and is a highly recommended read.

THE GUARDIANS: 100 YEARS OF AN GARDA SÍOCHÁNA

An Garda Síochána celebrated the centenary of its foundation this year, and along with the fanfare and ceremonial events to mark the historic founding of an unarmed police force that replaced the British-led RIC comes this book looking at the 100-year history of the force.

Compiled by Garda Stephen Moore and overseen by an editorial board, it consists of 39 individual articles and essays (not counting the forewords and prefaces) from contributing gardaí of all ranks that cover the whole gamut of Garda history. This includes the origins of the organisation from its first clandestine meeting, through operations during Civil War, World War II and the Troubles, but it also includes contributions on social and political aspects, major crimes and events, and the evolution of the force to become what it is today. Once you’ve read it, you’ll have a newfound appreciation for the men and women who act as guardians of the pace.

THREE CASTLES BURNING: A HISTORY OF DUBLIN IN TWELVE STREETS

DFB historian Las Fallon’s son Donal is an accomplished and wellrespected social historian in his own right, and this book based on his popular podcast is a great read. If you’re a fan of that podcast you’ll know what to expect – fascinating insights and little-known trivia about Dublin’s streets and characters that will make you look at the city in a di erent light.

Fallon focuses on 12 specific streets - Henrietta Street, Watling Street, Fishamble Street, Rathmines Road Lower, South William Street, Parnell Street East, James Joyce Street, Ship Steet, Church Street, Eustace Street, Pearse Street (to Westland Row) and Moore Street – and champions the people who lived and worked there. Activists, architects, poets, merchants and artists are all represented in the depiction of the making and remaking of a city, and Fallon brings his characteristic flair to the telling of the stories of these lesser-known heroes and events that transpired in their time.

LEAVE THE GUN, TAKE THE CANNOLI: THE EPIC STORY OF THE MAKING OF THE GODFATHER

The stories behind the making of Francis Ford Coppola films are legendary. The documentary Hearts of Darkness revealed the chaos and madness behind filming Apocalypse Now, and in this fascinating book that takes its title from an infamous line in the film, journalist and author Mark Seal gathers the truth, lies and everything in between that transpired during the making of Coppola’s other masterpiece, The Godfather. He reveals stories that are just as gripping, entertaining and dramatic as the film itself through interviews with the director and actors including Al Pacino, James Caan and Talia Shire, plus other ‘silent sources’. Alongside the usual complications came predictable but major interference from the Mob, with several underworld characters vying to be in the cast, a brawl between author Mario Puzo and the heavilyconnected Frank Sinatra, and ominous threats directed at producers. A great read for film-lovers, well told in a pacey, page-turning fashion.

AUTHOR:

AUTHOR:

TECHNOLOGICAL TOOLS

THE LATEST INNOVATIONS FOR THE WORLD’S

SANITISING BRIDGE

Fire vehicle and equipment specialists Rosenbauer have developed a new solution to combat the spread of easily-communicable diseases in high-tra c sites and public hotspots. eir RPS AeroGate disinfection bridge, rst demonstrated at the Interschutz trade fair in June, creates a germ-free environment inside a glass cube across a 5metre length, giving pathogens no opportunity to take hold, and reliably deactivating them when passing through the portable structure.

e air on the AeroGate disinfection bridge is enriched with a biological agent that breaks down the lipid layer of bacteria and viruses, with the sanitation liquid atomised so nely by highpressure frequency nozzles that the air volume in the disinfection bridge is evenly and completely lled, and people passing through the space feel nothing but a slightly increased humidity level.

e e ectiveness of the aerosol used for the RPS AeroGate has already been con rmed by specialist institutes, and veri cation of its harmlessness to health is currently still in progress.

e bridge, which is versatile and exible both as a mobile solution and xed structure that can be used in tents at events and as a permanent installation at airports, shopping centres, hospitals and exhibition centres, allows up to 750 people to pass through it per hour, and is wheelchair-friendly. It is also extremely easy to service thanks to the simplicity of the technology involved and the design.

TUNNEL RESCUE VEHICLES

Muller Technologie has presented two new re and rescue vehicles specially designed for tunnel rescue to the Rhaetian Railway for use in the Vereina tunnel in eastern Switzerland. A vehicle will be stationed at each end of the tunnel, with the Klosters-Serneus and Zernez re brigade bases alerted to go to the portal stations in the event of an incident.

Both vehicles have a low-bed wagon with an identical driver’s cab at both ends, and has a 25,000 litre temperaturecontrolled water tank and storage space for all necessary re ghting equipment.

e vehicles can carry up to 12 re ghters with BA and PPE in the crew room, with space for four more team members in the cabs, and can each carry up to 100 people out of a danger zone.

EMERGENCY SERVICES

AI-ASSISTED HELMETS

Researchers in Scotland have developed a helmet that uses arti cial intelligence to help re ghters nd and rescue people more quickly in challenging conditions. A team from the newly-opened National Robotarium in Edinburgh designed the device using sensors, thermal cameras and radar technology, with operational tests carried out in collaboration with the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service at their training facility in Newbridge, Edinburgh.

It is hoped the technology could support re ghters and scene commanders to safely navigate dangerous conditions such as smoke- lled areas, using real-time technology mounted on a 1kg device that ts on standard re ghting helmets.

Dr Chris Lu, Lecturer in Cyber-Physical Systems in the School of Informatics at the University of Edinburgh, who is leading the project, said: “Fire ghters o en operate in environments with very low or no visibility due to the vast amount of smoke released from a re. is can make detecting the location of potential victims and the whereabouts of re ghters very challenging in situations that are o en extremely time-sensitive. is new technology has the potential to support on-theground re ghters and scene commanders to make crucial in-the-moment decisions that can enhance search rescue e ciency, ensure safer collaboration between teammates and, most importantly, improve outcomes for potential victims of re scenes.”

TINY RESCUE VEHICLE

Opel has created a new one-o rescue vehicle for a re and emergency services department in Germany.

e special version of the Rocks-e heavy quadricycle, which measures just 95 inches long and 55 inches wide, and has a turning radius of just 7.2metres, was presented to the re brigade eet at the Russelsheim plant near Mainz.

e electric vehicle is intended for use as a highly-manoeuvrable piece of equipment designed to reach and bring re ghters swi ly to every corner of the Russelheim facilities, and has a tiny 8hp electric motor and 5.5kWh battery.

It has a top speed of 45km/h, and can cover 75km on one charge.

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