Council pushes ahead with state of the art Fire Training Centre in Tullamore

Councillors unanimously agreed to press ahead with Part 8 for the proposed, state of the art Fire Training Centre in Tullamore, during the June monthly meeting of Offaly County Council.

Plans for the new training and development centre for Offaly Fire Service were published in April.

Offaly County Council is planning to construct the new facility on an overgrown vacant site adjacent to the existing Tullamore Fire Station at Srah.

The proposal is for a two-storey fire service training and development centre building, spanning 680 square metres.

It will include unisex changing facilities, a PPE storage room, PPE drying room, briefing room, toilets and showers, breathing apparatus and compressor room, office, lecture room, instructors office, syndicate rooms and canteen.

There will also be a training tower, vehicle storage unit and goods store and vehicle maintenance workshop as well as an underground confined space training facility.

The council says the extension is required to facilitate an expansion of courses that can be offered, increase the capacity of the courses as well as improve the facilities currently available on site.

Offaly County Council Fire & Rescue Service secured €900,000 in funding under the 'Fire Service Capital Programme 2021-2025' for the development of the training centre which will provide facilities not only for Offaly but for fire authorities across the country.

The facility will allow for an extended range of courses to be delivered, including national QQI courses in Firefighter Skills, Breathing Apparatus, Pump Operations, Transportation and Hazardous Materials.

The centre will also be utilised for the delivery of Officer Development courses as part of the Central Training Programme delivered nationally by the National Directorate for Fire & Emergency Management.

The vacant greenfield site is approximately 0.54 hectares in area.

Vehicular access to the proposed development is to be provided via the existing fire station access off the R443 Srah Road. Pedestrian access will be provided via the Pearse Park Road and existing access road to the adjoining premises.

Plans for the proposal are currently on display at Tullamore Town Hall, and the Central Fire Station, Tullamore.

Submissions or observations on the proposed development had to be in before June 9th.

Director of Services Sharon Kennedy told the June Council meeting that the new centre will be 80 metres from the nearest dwellings.

Cllr Tony McCormack said this is going to be a huge thing for the town and will provide training for people from around Ireland. He said it will be financially beneficial for the town because there will be more bed nights. “The pub trade will benefit as well as the B&B trade,” he remarked.

“I was in Chandler Arizona earlier this year and saw a similar fire training centre in action. It's very impressive.”

Cllr John Leahy said he's fully supportive of the Part 8 for the training centre (A Part 8 planning application is the method the County Council uses to apply for planning permission). “The site is a perfect location,” he remarked. “It was very prudent to purchase the site back in the day. We are very fortunate to have 52 firefighters in Offaly and five fire stations. They will now have a state of the art training centre.”

Cllr Leahy said he has great admiration for firefighters, “for a number of reasons. When they are on duty, when they are on call, they are very restricted in terms of their movement; they can't go too far away in case there's a fire and they get a call. Also, when there's a fire everyone else is running away from the danger, but firefighters are running into it.

“This new centre will be one of the biggest training centres in the country. The trainees will receive two to three weeks training in the centre.”

Cllr Frank Moran said he works with the National Ambulance Service “and during my work I've been hearing great things from others about the proposed training centre and what a step-up it will be.”

The fact it will be a regional training centre will be massive, said Cllr Neil Feighery.

Cllr Seán O'Brien said safe entry will be needed for the construction traffic. “We need to be careful that we take care of everyone in the area.”

Cllr Eamon Dooley said he has massive admiration for firefighters. “Any time the firefighters are going out they are risking their lives,” he said, “and the least we can do is give them the best training.”

Cllr Dooley raised the issues of major fires on bogs and fires at solar and wind farms. “What's our plan for dealing with major fires on our bogs? I know that the fire service don't have the equipment to deal with fires at solar and wind farms. We need to do something about that. Will that be incorporated into the new training centre?

Sharon Kennedy said bog fires can take a long time to be put out and can draw very heavily on the Council's resources. “We intend to reopen our discussions with Bord na Mona,” she pointed out, “regarding training for bog fires and the securing of resources for the problem.”

Eoin O'Ceilleachair, Chief Fire Officer, thanked the fire officers, their families, and the employers who agree to make fire officers available to deal with incidents. He said the centre will pay for itself. “We have engaged with the boxing club in terms of the boundary treatment,” he added. “Any access through Pearse Park will be very minimal in nature.”