Limerick firefighters put their own holiday plans aside to assist and help those in need

WHILE most people sit down to a lavish ham and turkey dinner and totally chill out on Christmas Day, fire fighters across Limerick remain on constant standby, ready to respond to an emergency call at any moment. 

Justin McCarthy is a third-generation fire fighter and the station officer in Kilmallock Fire Station. 

READ ALSO: Hundreds pay over and above street parking fees for illegally parking in Limerick City

Kilmallock have a 12-man crew and there will be a crew rostered on over the holiday period. 

Working Christmas Day is never easy, but for retained fire fighters, they are on alert, ready to go out on a call if one comes in. 

“I've been called out on Christmas Day, I've left the dinner on the table and shot out the door. I think it's tougher on the wife and kids or family at home. We're rushing out the door to do a job and your head goes into that different space as soon as the pager goes off,” Mr McCarthy said. 

He added that he has ended up microwaving a Christmas dinner after a call and eating it by himself, but that's the nature of being on call. 

As retained fire fighters, many in Kilmallock and similar county stations would have other jobs, or be self-employed and when that pager goes off, everything is dropped and they are in the station within five minutes. 

“When you go out, you never know how long you'll be, you could have a call that lasts an hour or one that lasts 10 hours,” Mr McCarthy said. 

Mr McCarthy said that they are lucky to have a modern station and fleet and a crew of dedicated, compassionate fire fighters who are all part of the community.

“Most of us were born here, we live here and we are part of the community. Over the years, we have responded to calls for people we know and it's tough, but I think it might be a comfort for people that they know you. You are meeting people in their most vulnerable state. I remember years ago, we cut an older couple out of a car from a serious road traffic collision, a few months later when they had recovered, they walked into the station to thank us and we had a chat - that was lovely,” he said.

Tom O'Dowd from Ballyclough is part of a crew of 65 in Limerick City Fire Brigade. 

He left a  job years ago to be a fire fighter and said that it's a rewarding job.  “I worked in a big factory in Raheen and I wanted to do a job that's a vocation - in this job, you do make a difference in people's lives and when you meet people, you always remember that this could be the worst day of their lives,” he said. 

Mr O'Dowd has a wife and three grown-up children and said that like other stations, they would try to work the roster to suit those with small children and Santa visiting, so that they are not on a shift. 

He said the four Limerick City crews are  “like a big family.”

If they get a call, they can have a crew on the river within four minutes and he acknowledged that voluntary patrols by different groups are extremely helpful.  

“We are only part of the emergency services, we couldn't do what we do without gardaí, prison wardens, medical staff, and paramedics,” he said, stressing that they are all available to answer a call when it comes in and when people are most in need.