Southern Star - 03-06-06
Fire Safety and Hazards

Dear Editor
The Prime Time programme on fire safety and hazards (May 22) makes for sombre viewing. Fire service members and consultants expressed deep concern and discomfort about the practice of assessing fire risks from paper plans.

Recently there was a fire at a scrap metal facility in Ringaskiddy (a not unusual occurrence). When Indaver’s proposed toxic waste incinerator is built it will surround and enclose this facility. What then when another similar fire occurs? For the public who are aware of the dangers, this scenario instills both fear and incredulity.

When the chief planning officer of An Bord Pleanna, after an oral hearing, warned of his concerns, he was ignored and overruled. When the EPA inspector who presided over a second oral hearing was made aware of the situation, he chose to ignore this serious fire risk (along with many other risks).

After a recent traffic accident near Ringaskiddy, when more than 100 gallons of sulphuric acid spilt onto the public road, a retired fire-fighter stated that: “This is something we have been predicting and talking about for years and years but nobody is listening to us.”

Well nobody is listening to the non-government organisations who are speaking out for public safety and the environment either. And to make matters even worse, hazardous installations are to be fast tracked under the provisions of the new infrastructure bill, which will be voted on in the dail next month. This bill is not only crude and blunt, but also reckless.

Mamie Bowen,
Monkstown,
Co. Cork.