Cork county fire service gets three new state-of-the-art fire engines 

New engines to be stationed in Fermoy, Carrigaline and Skibbereen

From left: Cork County Council chief executive Tim Lucey; Mayor of the County of Cork Cllr Danny Collins; and chief fire officer of Cork County Fire Service Seamus Coughlan with fire officers Finbarr Connolly, Skibbereen; Brian Luby, Fermoy; and Thomas Carolan, Carrigaline. Picure: Brian Lougheed

Three new state-of-the-art fire engines have been delivered to Cork’s county fire service that will be used to respond to motorway crashes and to emergencies at Ireland’s pharmachem hub in Cork Harbour.

Each new engine can accommodate eight crew, they each have a 1,800-litre water tank and come fitted with a water and compressed air foam pumping system. The appliances also carry a set of ladders capable of reaching up 13.5m in height.

One will be stationed in Fermoy, designated the call sign ‘Charlie-Kilo-Two-Five-Alpha-One’ (CK25A1) and will be the first turnout appliance in the station. The station is also equipped with another special emergency tender appliance to assist with road traffic collisions on the M8 motorway.

The second new appliance will be stationed in Carrigaline, designated CK35A1. It will be the first turnout appliance for the station, which also has a specialist ‘incident command unit’ and a second Class B fire appliance.

The Carrigaline station covers the vast Ringaskiddy industrial area, home to some of Ireland’s largest pharmaceutical companies, and the busy and growing deepwater Port of Cork facility.

The third appliance will be stationed in Skibbereen where it will replace a 2003 appliance that entered service when the new station was opened on March Road. Another class B fire appliance is already stationed in Skibbereen which has a firefighting crew of 10.

The fire stations in Fermoy, Carrigaline and Skibbereen serve a combined population of 70,000 people and respond to circa 400 calls each year.

Council chief executive Tim Lucey said the modernisation of the country fire service fleet was vital.

“Our crews in these areas cover a number of towns and villages, as well as large commercial premises, manufacturing plants, pharmaceutical industries, a deep-water port and the M8 motorway,” he said.

“These three new appliances will facilitate the work of our firefighters, ensuring they are well equipped to respond to emergencies with the very latest in modern fire-fighting technology.” 

The appliances were funded by the National Directorate for Fire and Emergency Management at the Department of Local Government.