A Waterford Councillor says two local areas are facing a crisis when it comes to a fire service.
Declan Clune says retained firefighters are few and far between in Portlaw and Kilmacthomas.
Speaking at a meeting of the Comeragh district, he says there could be very serious implications. He used the hypothetical example of a house fire in Portlaw, where only two fire fighters were on duty, pointing out that one of them would need to stay behind at the station for health and safety reasons:
"Now the nearest station would be Kilmacthomas, which has its own challenges in term of staffing. So, more often than not, Kilmacthomas is not in a position to support Portlaw. The result then is that a firefighter would have to come from Carrick-on-Suir," Councillor Clune said.
"I don't want a scenario where we're sitting here in six months' time, where somebody is seriously injured or worse in a fire or house-fire, that we were unable to attend," he added.
"A matter of serious concern"
Responding to Councillor Clune, Waterford Council Director of Services, Ivan Grimes said it's something they're fully aware of:
"There is a difficulty generally in keeping and recruiting retained firefighters. It's not exclusive to Waterford, it is an issue across the country but I want to assure you we are very aware of the issues in Portlaw and Kilmacthomas."
Mr Grimes described the situation as "a matter of significant concern," and said that if the issue isn't addressed, the viability of both fire stations is in doubt.
"And that's not something I say lightly but it is something that the Chief Fire Officer and myself and our HR department are monitoring very closely," he added.
