UNDER fire from rocks, responding to hoax river rescue calls and hoax domestic house fires, Limerick City fire fighters put down one of the busiest nights of the year on May Eve as crews also dealt with up 17 bonfires.
With bonfires a tradition on May Eve, firefighters and emergency responders had expected crews to be busy.
However, by 6.30pm on Monday night, crews were responding to hoax rescue calls, the first at the River Shannon where a woman was falsely reported as having entered the water.
Limerick City Fire SwiftWater Technician Rescue Crews we’re alerted to ther report of a woman in the river at Thomond Bridge.
Arriving within minutes of the call, firefighters including the Rescue Boat FireSwift carried out a thorough search and deemed the call to be a hoax.
Gardai and emergency paramedics with the National Ambulance Service also attended with Limerick Marine Search and Rescue also on alert.
During the course of the night, fire crews attended 17 bonfires and while the majority of were monitored and being properly supervised, crews extinguished three due to safety concerns.
However, as the night wore on, firefighters also came under fire from youths throwing rocks and stones on Crecora Ave while the attended a bonfire.
While the Fire Appliance was hit several times, no injuries or major damage occurred.
A short time later, firefighters were attacked for a second time while attending a bonfire in Watergate. There were no injuries but the Fire Appliance was again damaged. Gardai responded to the incident.
Hoax calls were also made to the Fire Service alerting them to a supposed domestic fire in Roundwood Estate and while attending this, another hoax call was made to a domestic fire in Fedamore.
After attending both alerts, it was deemed that these calls were hoax and the caller’s details were passed to Gardai.
Fianna Fail general election candidate Cllr James Collins has called for prison sentences for those who attack frontline emergency responders such as ambulance crew, fire and rescue staff, or gardai,
“We are frequently hearing of ambulance crews also being harassed when they attend in certain parts of the city. We have to put in place deterrents to protect emergency responders who are after all, putting their personal safety at risk in order to help others.
“Fianna Fáil previously introduced legislation to ensure that all those working on the frontline are protected and that those convicted of a serious attack on an emergency worker would receive a minimum five year prison term.
“Regrettably the Fine Gael led Government failed to support this key piece of legislation. Our party have now updated this Bill and will be pushing the Government once again on the issue.”
“These brave frontline staff are attending to emergency calls and then coming under attack with youths firing stones and other objects at them. It’s appalling and nobody should be allowed to get away with treating gardai, ambulance crew or fire brigade staff in this way.
“These are the very people we ask to run towards emergencies when we are seeking to escape them. They have to be protected with stiff penalties for anyone who attacks them.”
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