An area of land more than half the size of County Louth was destroyed by fire in the Republic of Ireland during the first four months of 2013.
At the start of its two-day annual conference in Cork City today, the Irish Chief Fire Officers Association said approximately 42,000 hectares or 420 square kilometres of forestry and gorse land were burned between January and April.
The CFOA today suggested that the majority of the fires were started maliciously or deliberately beyond February 28th, which marks the end of the period during which landowners can legally burn growing vegetation. The Association also claimed that Fire Service resources throughout Ireland, particularly in the west of the country, were “stretched to the limit” in dealing with the fires while property, wildlife and entire landscapes were destroyed.
In one incident alone during the Easter Bank Holiday Weekend, 2800 hectares of land was destroyed during a blaze at Ballcroy in County Mayo. Meanwhile, figures show that Fire Service units in Munster were called out to deal with 491 separate forest and gorse fires during the first four months of 2013.
Speaking in Cork today, CFOA Chairperson Seamus Murphy, who is Chief Fire Officer with Mayo County Council, stated: “The starting of fires maliciously and deliberately by landowners to clear vegetation outside of the late February deadline is illegal and reckless as it not only puts life and property at risk and causes immense damage to wildlife and the environment, but it also diverts critical Fire Services resources away from responding to other emergency incidents.”
He continued: “While the weather at present is not conducive to large forest, bog and gorse fires, we would like to remind landowners that it is an offence under the Wildlife Act to burn growing vegetation between 1 March and 31 August in any year, on any land not then cultivated. The sad fact is that if this simple rule was adhered to, many costly and dangerous wildfires would be avoided.”
Learning from New York’s emergency response to Superstorm Sandy and the evolving role of social media in Major Emergency Management are amongst the other key topics being discussed at this year’s CFOA conference at the Silversprings Moran Hotel in Cork City.
Keynote speaker Peter Holland (H.M. Chief Fire and Rescue Advisor) will today speak about recent changes within the Fire Services sector in the UK while Sean Hogan (National Directorate for Fire and Emergency Management) will be discussing ‘Keeping Communities Safe’ – the newly published Government Policy document for an integrated approach to efficient fire safety in Ireland.
Robert Maynes, Queens Borough Commander with the New York City Fire Department (FDNY) will tomorrow (Thursday) present his paper on the response of his Department to Hurricane Sandy, which devastated parts of the U.S. east coast in 2012, while Monika Buscher of Lancaster University (UK) will discuss the role played by Social Media in supporting emergency professionals and volunteers in mobilising information and resources for an improved disaster response.
Meanwhile, Dr. Joe O’Mahoney, Occupational Psychologist with AHR Services will be discussing ‘Wellbeing in the Fire Service’ and the importance of positive team morale and teamwork within the Fire Service, as well as the psychological wellbeing of fire-fighters following attendance at critical emergency incidents.
Other speakers scheduled to address the two-day conference include Des Prichard, Chief Fire Officer & Chief Executive of East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service (UK); Paul Boissonneault, Fire Chief and C.E.M.C. in the County of Brant in South Western Ontario (Canada); Tore Eriksson, President of the International Association of Fire and Rescue, Vincent Carrigy, Fire Safety System Auditor (Ireland), and Pat Conneely of the Health and Safety Authority.
The annual showcase event for Ireland’s Fire and Emergency Services sector, which is hosted this year by Cork City Fire Department and supported by Engineers Ireland, also features a Fire Industry and Technology Exhibition.
The CFOA comprises the Chief Fire Officers of all Local Authorities in Ireland. The Association is also a member of the Federation of European Fire officers Associations and attends their twice yearly meetings. Further details on the Irish Chief Fire Officers Association (CFOA) conference are available from www.corkcityfirebrigade.ie/cfoa2013 or www.cfoa.net.
At the start of its two-day annual conference in Cork City today, the Irish Chief Fire Officers Association said approximately 42,000 hectares or 420 square kilometres of forestry and gorse land were burned between January and April.
The CFOA today suggested that the majority of the fires were started maliciously or deliberately beyond February 28th, which marks the end of the period during which landowners can legally burn growing vegetation. The Association also claimed that Fire Service resources throughout Ireland, particularly in the west of the country, were “stretched to the limit” in dealing with the fires while property, wildlife and entire landscapes were destroyed.
In one incident alone during the Easter Bank Holiday Weekend, 2800 hectares of land was destroyed during a blaze at Ballcroy in County Mayo. Meanwhile, figures show that Fire Service units in Munster were called out to deal with 491 separate forest and gorse fires during the first four months of 2013.
Speaking in Cork today, CFOA Chairperson Seamus Murphy, who is Chief Fire Officer with Mayo County Council, stated: “The starting of fires maliciously and deliberately by landowners to clear vegetation outside of the late February deadline is illegal and reckless as it not only puts life and property at risk and causes immense damage to wildlife and the environment, but it also diverts critical Fire Services resources away from responding to other emergency incidents.”
He continued: “While the weather at present is not conducive to large forest, bog and gorse fires, we would like to remind landowners that it is an offence under the Wildlife Act to burn growing vegetation between 1 March and 31 August in any year, on any land not then cultivated. The sad fact is that if this simple rule was adhered to, many costly and dangerous wildfires would be avoided.”
Learning from New York’s emergency response to Superstorm Sandy and the evolving role of social media in Major Emergency Management are amongst the other key topics being discussed at this year’s CFOA conference at the Silversprings Moran Hotel in Cork City.
Keynote speaker Peter Holland (H.M. Chief Fire and Rescue Advisor) will today speak about recent changes within the Fire Services sector in the UK while Sean Hogan (National Directorate for Fire and Emergency Management) will be discussing ‘Keeping Communities Safe’ – the newly published Government Policy document for an integrated approach to efficient fire safety in Ireland.
Robert Maynes, Queens Borough Commander with the New York City Fire Department (FDNY) will tomorrow (Thursday) present his paper on the response of his Department to Hurricane Sandy, which devastated parts of the U.S. east coast in 2012, while Monika Buscher of Lancaster University (UK) will discuss the role played by Social Media in supporting emergency professionals and volunteers in mobilising information and resources for an improved disaster response.
Meanwhile, Dr. Joe O’Mahoney, Occupational Psychologist with AHR Services will be discussing ‘Wellbeing in the Fire Service’ and the importance of positive team morale and teamwork within the Fire Service, as well as the psychological wellbeing of fire-fighters following attendance at critical emergency incidents.
Other speakers scheduled to address the two-day conference include Des Prichard, Chief Fire Officer & Chief Executive of East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service (UK); Paul Boissonneault, Fire Chief and C.E.M.C. in the County of Brant in South Western Ontario (Canada); Tore Eriksson, President of the International Association of Fire and Rescue, Vincent Carrigy, Fire Safety System Auditor (Ireland), and Pat Conneely of the Health and Safety Authority.
The annual showcase event for Ireland’s Fire and Emergency Services sector, which is hosted this year by Cork City Fire Department and supported by Engineers Ireland, also features a Fire Industry and Technology Exhibition.
The CFOA comprises the Chief Fire Officers of all Local Authorities in Ireland. The Association is also a member of the Federation of European Fire officers Associations and attends their twice yearly meetings. Further details on the Irish Chief Fire Officers Association (CFOA) conference are available from www.corkcityfirebrigade.ie/cfoa2013 or www.cfoa.net.
