Fire chiefs: Stations will suffer if funds cut

The country’s chief fire officers have warned that equipment and fire stations could deteriorate if money is not provided by the Government.

The national conference of the Chief Fire Officers Association (CFOA) in Cork also heard yesterday that an area of land more than half the size of Co Louth was destroyed by fire in the first four months this year.

Many of those fires appear to have been started maliciously or deliberately, particularly beyond Feb 28 last, the date which marks the end of the period during which landowners can legally burn growing vegetation.