John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

1512. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if Dublin Fire Brigade has the ability to deal with fires that break out in high rise developments in Dublin. [15067/18]

Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The provision of a fire service in its functional area is a statutory function of individual fire authorities under the Fire Services Acts, 1981 and 2003. Dublin City Council provides fire services on behalf of the four Dublin local authorities.

My Department supports the fire authorities through setting national policy, providing a central training programme, issuing guidance on operational and other related matters and providing capital funding for priority infrastructure projects.

National policy in relation to fire safety is set out in the 2013 document titled “Keeping Communities Safe – A Framework for Fire Safety in Ireland”.  For the first time, this document set out a national process and standards against which local authorities can benchmark their fire services.

This policy document provides for each fire service to undertake an Area Risk Categorisation process in respect of each of its fire station areas. The outcome of this process is a judgement by fire service management to establish a risk grading across very high risk, high risk, medium risk, low risk or very low risk categories.

The initial fire station risk ratings for Dublin are published in the 2016 report “Local Delivery – National Consistency – Fire Services in Ireland”, and are set out in the following table.

Arising from the work of the External Validation Group mandated by the Management Board of the National Directorate for Fire and Emergency Management which prepared the “Local Delivery – National Consistency” report referred to above, I am satisfied that the fire services provided in the Dublin area are meeting the above standards.

In relation to fighting fires in high rise buildings, my Department issued guidance titled “Fighting Fires in High-Rise Buildings” in April 2011. This was part of a suite of 47 Standard Operational Guidance documents developed by fire service personnel and issued by the National Directorate for Fire and Emergency Management.

The primary means of ensuring fire safety in high rise buildings derives from the passive and active fire safety features in the building which enable fires to be detected at an early stage and safe evacuation of occupants to take place, as well as containing fires within compartments.

While it is not possible to provide absolute guarantees in relation to fire safety in all buildings at all times, I believe that the current arrangements in place at both national and local level for fire safety and fire service response, including in Dublin, are appropriate and effective.

John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

1513. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the instructions being given to Dublin Fire Brigade regarding the outbreak of fires in high rise buildings. [15104/18]

Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The provision of a fire service in its functional area is a statutory function of individual fire authorities under the Fire Services Acts 1981 and 2003. Dublin City Council provides fire services on behalf of the four Dublin local authorities.

My Department supports the fire authorities through setting national policy, providing a central training programme, issuing guidance on operational and other related matters and providing capital funding for priority infrastructure projects.

National policy in relation to fire safety is set out in the 2013 document titled “Keeping Communities Safe – A Framework for Fire Safety in Ireland”.  For the first time, this document set out a national process and standards against which local authorities can benchmark their fire services.

An External Validation Group was mandated by the Management Board of the National Directorate for Fire and Emergency Management to visit all 27 fire services and review the state of local authority fire services. They prepared the 2016 Report “Local Delivery – National Consistency - Fire Services in Ireland” .  Arising from their work, I am satisfied that the fire services provided in the Dublin area are operating to  appropriate standards.

My Department does not issue instructions to local authority fire services but has developed a close collaborative working arrangement since the establishment of the National Directorate for Fire and Emergency Management in 2009.

In relation to fighting fires in high rise buildings, my Department issued guidance titled “Fighting Fires in High-Rise Buildings” in April 2011. This was part of a suite of 47 Standard Operational Guidance (SOG) documents developed between 2010 and 2012 by fire service personnel and issued by the National Directorate for Fire and Emergency Management. A copy of the SOG concerned, SOG 3.02, is available on my Department's web-site at the following link:http://www.housing.gov.ie/sites/default/files/migrated-files/en/Publications/Community/FireandEmergencyServices/FileDownLoad%2C33367%2Cen.pdf. 

The National Directorate has engaged fire services staff working in local authorities to develop a further four SOGs addressing - SOG 3.16 Compressed Air Foam Systems (CAFS), version 1.0 (September, 2015); SOG 7.02 (A) Incidents involving acetylene (September, 2015); SOG 4.04 Aircraft incidents (August, 2015); SOG 5.14 Body retrieval and suicide attempts (September, 2015). These draft SOGs, in the same format as the previous 47, were submitted on 10 March 2016 to trade unions for consultation  as part of the new Fire Services National Oversight and Implementation Group (FSNOIG) process. However, no progress has been made with these documents through this process, despite the implications for health and safety of staff.

A National Incident Command System was also developed and promulgated by the National Directorate in 2009 with appropriate training and support materials. Operational response to a particular incident or category of incidents is a matter for each fire service, taking account of national policy and guidance. The Incident Commander is the person who will decide on the appropriate course of action to be taken in any given situation, taking into consideration the balance of needs, risk and resources with particular regard to the health, safety and welfare of the fire-fighters.

John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

1515. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government his views on the age of the Dublin Fire Brigade fleet of vehicles; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15120/18]

Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The provision of fire services in local authority areas, including the establishment and maintenance of fire brigades, the assessment of fire cover needs and the provision of premises, is a statutory function of the individual fire authorities under the provisions of the Fire Services Acts 1981 and 2003.

My Department supports the fire authorities through setting national policy, providing a central training programme, issuing guidance on operational and other related matters and providing capital funding, including recoupment (within the overall funding available) of costs incurred by fire authorities in relation to the approved purchase of fire appliances and emergency equipment, as well as construction and upgrading of fire stations. 

Dublin City Council provides fire services on behalf of the four Dublin local authorities.  My Department has recently received an update report from Dublin City Council in relation to its fire appliance fleet and will be liaising with the Council in relation to determining priority projects for financial support in the years ahead. Continued investment in the fire appliance fleet is one of the key national priorities for the Fire Services Capital Programme.

A new national joint-procurement programme was announced in 2017 to purchase 20 new fire appliances, under which Dublin City Council's Fire Service received an allocation of three new ‘Class B’ appliances. In 2015 under a similar programme, Dublin's Fire Service was also allocated three ‘Class B’ appliances. They requested and received approval to substitute the cost of one of those appliances to purchase a pre-used turntable ladder. In addition to these, since 2008, my Department has also funded four ‘Class B’ appliances and one turntable ladder for Dublin.

Management of the number, type and age profile of fire appliances is a matter for each of the fire authorities. In the assessment of their fire cover needs, including the provision and management of a fleet adequate to their requirements, fire service management use evidence based on multi-annual data of actual fires in determining fire station area risk categorisations and have regard to standards set out in the national policy document “Keeping Communities Safe” for benchmarking their services. My Department also includes the area risk categorization process in determining priority projects for financial support.