Gardaí investigating cause of fire which destroyed lifeguard hut on North Kerry beach

No injuries were reprted in the fire which broke out in the early hours of Saturday morning

The burnt lifeguard hut. Picture: Cllr Deirdre Ferris/ Twitter

Gardai are investigating the cause of a fire which destroyed the lifeguard hut and valuable equipment on Banna Beach in Kerry.

No one was injured in the fire which broke out in the early hours of Saturday morning.

Sinn Féin Councillor Deirdre Ferris said: “Everything was destroyed, the entire hut was totally burnt out.” 

There is a campsite and mobile home park near the beach which is a protected conservation area, so Ms Ferris said if the fire had spread there, it could have caused even more serious damage.

The fire services and Kerry County Council staff attended the scene around 3am after the alarm was raised.

A Garda spokesperson said: “The scene is currently preserved for a forensic examination and investigations are ongoing.” 

Ms Ferris said she understands from the preliminary investigation that malice is not suspected.

“They are calling it an ‘unfortunate accident’. The concern I had was this is an ongoing issue, there was a big fire in the dunes last year when five acres were burnt from a campfire,” she said.

There are concerns too locally about an increase in illegal camping in the dunes, with large parties often involving bonfires, Ms Ferris said.

She said concerns have also been raised about people throwing disposable barbecues into the beach bins without ensuring they are cold and fully extinguished.

“The dunes themselves are supposed to be protected from camping, but unfortunately it is an ongoing issue,” Ms Ferris said.

“We are trying to protect them, we have a very rare sand lizard here one of only two places in the country. The locals do have a difficult time with late-night parties in the dunes.” 

The council was able to supply replacement equipment before the beach became busy again on Saturday but have not yet been able to replace the hut. 

Ms Ferry tweeted a photograph of one of the lifeguards standing on the promenade in the sunshine on Saturday morning with this new equipment stacked around his feet.

“There is a new unit on standby to come out,” she said. 

“They have to wait to make it safe because they would have to close off most of the car park and use a crane to lift out the one that is there, and replace it.” 

She praised the council workers for acting so quickly to ensure the lifeguards could go on duty as normal within hours of the fire.