It has emerged that when firefighters attend the scene after a person has fallen into the Shannon, they are denied a craft to allow them enter the water.
Sad cllr Tom Shortt at this week’s meeting of City Council.
“It’s primitive that a fire fighter hangs out of a rope to try to reach a drowning person – we are not equipped properly – a craft that could be put on the water in seconds is essential, rather than a man at the end of a rope.”
With increasing concerns being raised that despite their ability to arrive first on the scene (between one and two minutes, compared to about 20 minutes by the Marine, Search and Rescue), a Fire Service spokesperson points out that “with only a five minute window in fast flowing water before hypothermia sets in, we need to strike quickly.
“The council says we have no statutory obligation to attend these calls.
“We say we are being called and we need the proper tools – in this case, a boat – the fire service pays Limerick Marine Search and Rescue €12,000 per year for their services and by the council’s own admission, are not under any contractual agreement. We are paying for a service we don’t have a statutory obligation to perform”.
Cllr Ger Fahy who is a member of the Marine Search and Rescue, said that with their new slipway on the Dock Road, their members can be on the river within two to three minutes. “At times, we are first on the scene and have saved so many lives – it’s a demanding but also fearful job, and how many of the fire- fighters have, I wonder, qualified for this. We train constantly and know every ebb and flow of the river. We have to ensure the safety of the rescuers and we work with the Fire Brigade who operate surface rescue for the divers who go down”.
Cllr Denis McCarthy who is the father of a Limerick city fire-fighter, pointed out that the divers who attend rescue missions are fully qualified in diving and search and rescue, and Cllr Jim Long stressed the need “to find a way of getting a boat into the river close to where the drowning person is”.
Mr Mackey said that very specific skills and equipment are required by those “getting into a river with strong currents.
“Some would go with speed boats, jet skiis, pontoons etc – it’s not simple, we have to take some time to reconsider the service”.
Picture caption: Limerick firefighters seek a rescue boat to assist in in rescues on the River Shannon in Limerick City.
