3,000 sign petition on fears of fire station closure

THREE thousand people from communities on the Cork/Waterford border have signed a petition amid fears that a fire station may be closed.

Concerns have heightened after what appeared to be a dramatic U-turn by the Department of the Environment, which previously promised the people of Tallow, Co Waterford, that building them a new fire station was a priority.

A site for a station was identified in 1991 and the following year the Department of Environment announced that building a station was a priority.

Last May, the same department said it was allocating €600,000 to the project. However, locals got a shock when TD John Deasy asked a Dáil question about the timescale of the project.

He was informed by Junior Minister Tony Killeen the €600,000 was an early estimate “rather than an actual commitment” under the Fire Services Capital Programme. In the meantime, Tallow has slipped down the priority rankings.

Locals now fear that if Tallow fire station closes they could be put at risk.

The petition, organised by Tallow Community Council, has not only been signed by a number of people living in Waterford, but also by the Cork communities of Conna, Ballynoe, Coolagown, and Kilmagner.

“Let us not forget that Tallow fire station covers as big an area of Co Cork as it does of Waterford. The Department of the Environment guarantees to have a fire service within eight miles of any rural area,” said Tallow Community Council chairman Michael O’Keeffe.

He said fire stations at Midleton, Youghal and Fermoy, were all more than 12 miles away and if Tallow was closed down it would have potentially far-reaching consequences for the safety of locals.

“Last year, Tallow fire station received nearly twice the number of call-outs for road traffic accidents as our nearest station,” said Mr O’Keeffe.

The station is more than 50 years old and during this time has only received minor alterations. It is also very cramped.

Mr O’Keeffe said considering the increase in population in the area it covers, the amount of industry in that area and the number of road accidents annually, it was imperative that a new station was built.

“Tallow should have a state-of-the-art fire station and we cannot understand why there is any delay in achieving this,” the community council chairman added.