Fire brigade surprised at council’s call-out charge decision

FIRE officers have expressed shock at the decision by Dublin City Council to force the owners of commercial premises in the city to pay charges for calling out the fire brigade from next year.

Dublin City Council has confirmed it will impose charges starting on January 1, 2003 for all call-outs for emergency services provided by Dublin Fire Brigade. Similar fees are already in operation in other parts of the country.

However, SIPTU, which represents the majority of the 880 fire officers in Dublin, claims the charge goes against the recommendations of a recent report on the fire services which was commissioned by former Environment Minister, Noel Dempsey last year.