Cork City Fire Brigade

The Cork City Fire Brigade (Irish: Briogáid Dóiteáin Chathair Chorcaí) is the local authority fire and rescue service for Cork City and its surrounding suburbs. It is a branch of Cork City Council. There are currently three fire stations manned by Cork City Fire Brigade; two of which are full-time. Cork City Fire Brigade is staffed by 153 active personnel, making it the second-biggest fire service in Ireland after the Dublin Fire Brigade.

Cork City Fire Brigade
Operational area
Country Ireland
CityCork
Agency overview
Established1877
Annual calls3,019 (2018)[1]
Employees153
Annual budget€18.2m (2019)[2]
Chief Fire OfficerJohn Ryan
Facilities and equipment
Stations3
Engines11
Platforms3
Rescues2
HAZMAT1
Rescue boats1
Website
Official website

In addition to its main purpose of firefighting, the Cork City Fire Brigade also deals with floods, road traffic collisions, trapped-in-lift releases, and other incidents such as those involving hazardous materials, major transport accidents and medical emergencies. It also conducts emergency planning in conjunction with other emergency services such as the Garda Síochána and performs fire safety inspections and education.[3] It does not provide an ambulance service as this function is carried out in Cork City by the HSE National Ambulance Service, but since 2013 CCFB have taken on a medical role responding to all cardiac arrests in the Cork City area. All firefighters are trained to PHECC Emergency First Responder level and all of its fire engines carry first aid equipment including advanced airways and defibrillators.

History

Organised Insurance Fire Brigades were established in the city following the Fire of Cork in 1622.[4] Acts later passed in 1714 and 1715 made it mandatory for Church of Ireland parishes to provide 'small and large fire engines', but it was not until 1799 that the first effective fire engines were located in Cork. These were maintained by the privately run brigade of the Royal Exchange Assurance Company, and two more insurance brigades were also established - those of the Atlas and West of England. These brigades gradually declined in the 19th century, leaving the city in need of a dedicated fire service. This led to Cork Corporation forming Cork Fire Brigade in 1877. One of the most notable chapters in Cork Fire Brigade's history occurred in 1920, during the Irish War of Independence, with the Burning of Cork by British forces who hindered attempts to fight the conflagration and seriously wounded four firefighters with gunfire.[5] The fire destroyed over 40 business premises and 300 residential properties, amounting to over five acres of the city.[6] The Brigade entered into a new chapter of its history in 1923 with its first motor-pump being put into service, eventually leading to complete mechanization of the fleet and the withdrawal of the old horse-drawn equipment.[7] Further changes occurred throughout the 20th century, including the opening of the brigade's present headquarters on Anglesea Street in 1975 and improvements in fire-fighting equipment and vehicles. Following the 2019 Cork boundary change, Cork City Fire Brigade saw the addition of another station at Ballincollig and a significantly increased area of responsibility.[8]

Stations and equipment
Water tender ladder of the Cork City Fire Brigade
Hazardous material unit outside Anglesea Street station
Station Callsign Station Name Duty System Appliances
Charlie Oscar 11Anglesea StreetWholetime4x WtL, 1x ALP, 1x HP, 1x ARP, 1x ET, 1 HMU, 1 WrC
Charlie Oscar 12BallyvolaneWholetime2x WtL, 1x ET
Charlie Oscar 13BallincolligRetained2x WtL

Cork City Fire Brigade currently operates two full-time fire stations; Anglesea Street Station which is manned by 112 firefighters and the smaller Ballyvolane Station which is manned by 28 firefighters.[9] Both stations operate in four watches; Blue, Red, Green and Amber. Cork City Fire Brigade firefighters work in a shift pattern of 9am to 6pm and 6pm to 9am on weekdays with 24 hours shifts on the weekends.[10] In addition to these stations, the brigade operates from a retained fire station at Ballincollig which is manned by 10 firefighters.[11] The brigade is at the scene of 89% of fires within ten minutes and has the best performance overall in Ireland, with just over 1% of fires taking more than 20 minutes to reach.[12]

See also

Further reading
  • Pat Poland (2010). For Whom the Bells Tolled: A History of Cork's Fire Services 1622-1900. ISBN 9781845889869.
  • Pat Poland (2018). The Old Brigade : the Rebel City's Firefighting Story 1900-1950. ISBN 9781527222182.

References

Notes
  1. "Cork City Fire Brigade Twitter Status". Twitter.com. Retrieved 2019-05-25.
  2. Cork City Council Budget 2019 (PDF) (Report). Cork City Council. 22 October 2018. p. 62. Retrieved 9 June 2019. Fire Department / Total expenditure of €18.2m is provided
  3. "Operational Brigade". Cork City Fire Brigade. Retrieved 2018-12-21.
  4. "History of the Fire Brigade". Cork City Fire Brigade. Cork City Council. Archived from the original on 24 May 2019. Insurance Fire Brigades were established following the great Fire of Cork 1622
  5. White & O'Shea 2006, pp. 126-27.
  6. Ellis 2004, p. 244.
  7. "History". Cork City Fire Brigade. Retrieved 2018-12-21.
  8. "The New Cork: city expands tonight to include 85,000 new citizens". The Evening Echo. 2019-05-30. Retrieved 2019-05-31.
  9. "Stations". Cork City Fire Brigade. Retrieved 2018-12-21.
  10. "Cork City Fire: Prepared for all kinds of disasters". The Evening Echo. 2017-08-28. Retrieved 2018-12-21.
  11. "Cork City Fire Brigade Twitter Status". Twitter.com. Retrieved 2019-05-25.
  12. "Cork City fire service is most expensive". The Irish Examiner. 2015-11-22. Retrieved 2018-12-21.

Sources
  • White, Gerry; O'Shea, Brendan (2006). The Burning of Cork. Mercier Press. ISBN 1-85635-522-5.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Ellis, Peter (2004). Eyewitness to Irish History. John Wiley & Sons.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
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