Mr. Dennis Keeley:

I thank the Deputy. The Metro Hotel fire was visually quite spectacular. It is a very tall building and it was quite a large fire. The performance of the building and the compartmentation was reasonably good. It was a very difficult and challenging fire for crews because of the height and the wind presenting particular challenges. The spread of the fire, if my memory is correct, could not be attributed to cladding or external cladding. Let us be clear on that. We in Dublin Fire Brigade and nationally have been looking at high-rise stroke complex buildings. It is not just high-rise buildings that have presented these challenges. Conclusions were reached regarding that particular fire. We have taken control of two new turntable ladders in Dublin. Traditional turntable ladders are 30 m but these are 42 m, which gives us additional height. They provide a very necessary function when required. The premise of firefighting in high rise is internally. That may be alien to the general public in the sense that when they see quite a spectacular fire, the idea of sending firefighters into the building can seem strange. That goes to the heart of good building design. The expectation is that the building is designed to facilitate through a fire shaft, access and egress - egress for the residents and those who are working there and access for firefighters who, using control, training, methods and equipment suitable for the task, can take control of the fire from below. That is the importance of the components of a building and their functionality.