Donegal Fire Service Management accuse local firefighters of 'scaremongering'

Donegal County Council Fire Service Management will meet Letterkenny firefighters in the coming days to discuss ongoing issues, having accused them of "scaremongering."

A statement, issued to the media on behalf of firefighters in the Letterkenny Fire Station, highlighted a number of issues, which management state are “ inaccurate, untrue, self-serving and deeply misleading.”

However, Donegal County Council Fire Service Management have said in reply they “wish to state that the claims contained in this statement were inaccurate, untrue, self-serving and deeply misleading and wish to refute them in the strongest manner possible.

“Such scaremongering is deeply unfair to the people served by the Donegal County Council Fire Service and it is not acceptable to fire service management that staff members make such comments," management say. "In that context, fire service management will be discussing this matter with the Letterkenny firefighters in the coming days.

“Donegal County Council Fire Service Management wish to reassure the public that public safety remains of paramount importance to the Fire Service and that the necessary resources required to respond to emergencies are and will continue to be made available to Fire Service personnel.”

A crisis is unfolding in Donegal’s fire services, and the consequences could be deadly, Donegal firefighters said last week.  warning that "the impact of cuts will be measured in lives lost."

Firefighters said that slashed resources by senior management mean that firefighters in Letterkenny and Buncrana are facing an uphill battle to do their jobs properly, with the removal of the second fire tender further complicating matters.

In Letterkenny for example, there are only seven firefighters available at one time - from 14 in all - which they describe as “an operational model that is completely untenable and unsafe.”

The firefighters claim they were not given any consultation on the matter and accuse senior management of “the deliberate under-resourcing of emergency services.”