Community campaign and petition to safeguard Arranmore Fire Service
The move was made as two firefighters are retiring from retained positions, leaving Arranmore a completely voluntary service
A campaign and petition have been launched to safeguard the future of Arranmore Fire Service.
Arranmore Fire Station operates with two paid (retained) positions and a volunteer crew. Two firefighters are retiring from retained positions, which will not be replaced.
The community campaign SOS - Save Our Service and petition was created following a meeting on the island which called on Donegal County Council to retain and staff the fire station.
“The community has been informed that if sufficient volunteers cannot be recruited, the fire service on the island could be withdrawn entirely,” petition starter, Siobhán Cox said. “This has caused widespread concern among residents, businesses, and visitors who rely on a local emergency response.
“Arranmore firefighters complete the same training, face the same risks, and respond to the same emergencies as firefighters elsewhere in Ireland. We believe the island deserves the same level of protection as every other community.”
Campaigners pointed to the Aran Islands in County Galway, the only other island with its own fire station, which has a fully retained crew of 12 firefighters.
“We are asking why Árainn Mhór (Arranmore Island) should be treated differently. We are asking for equal protection, not special treatment.”
The issue was addressed at the July Plenary meeting of Donegal County Council by Independent councillor Michéal Choilm MacGiolla Easbuig.
Garry Martin, Director of Human Resources, Economic Development and Emergency Services, said: “There is no diminishing of the service on the island fire service.
“It is a voluntary service and the same level of volunteers will be maintained on the island to facilitate that voluntary service. There are a number of people that are either retiring or close to retiring and there seemed to be a bit of a conflation with an exercise that Dungloe Fire Brigade had where they provide services onto the island. There seemed to be a conflation with that replacing the voluntary service, which there is no diminishing of.”
Mr Martin highlighted that houses on the island are equipped with smoke detectors and fire blankets and “it is not national policy to provide a blue light service on the islands.”
Councillor MacGiolla Easbuig was left unsatisfied with the response, and it was concluded that a written response would be circulated to all elected members.