A fire that broke out yesterday afternoon (June 21) in County Wexford could have had a disastrous impact on a local community.
Firefighters and other emergency services responded to an extremely urgent call, where a fire broke out at Flanagan's Emo garage, Castlebridge.
There was great concern as there may have been tragic consequences for customers and many others in the surrounding areas of Castlebridge.
At the time, locals were anxious about the dangers of the fire, with fears building it may further develop and cause an explosion.
Emergency services received the alert at 16.54, just as rush hour traffic was building up. Fire services arrived at the fuel court by 17.08, taking just 14 minutes from the time of the call to attending the incident.
The incident in question consisted of a fire on the forecourt of the petrol station involving a single petrol pump and a motorcycle due to a petrol spillage.
The fire had been extinguished just as two fire brigade units arrived, but it was decided to isolate the pumps as a precaution.
Thankfully, nobody was hurt in the incident.
The fuel pumps were shut down and sand was spread across the garage grounds.
By 20:00 all traffic delays were reduced to normal flows.
The fuel pumps are expected to reopen later today (June 22), however, the situation still remains under investigation.
Locals were very grateful that the fire service responded to the call, as they suspended strike action this week.
Wexford Fire Service Strike Action
The fire service in County Wexford operates a retained fire service, which has been involved in strike action over the last few weeks, as talks broke down between their union and Government.
SIPTU (the representative body of the retained firefighters) and Darragh O'Brien, Minister for Housing and Local Authorities, will proceed to a Labour Court hearing next week as talks broke down and there were fears of further strike action by the emergency responders.
Retained firefighters have been pleading with Government to introduce a more sustainable pay package for the fire service on a national level, as the current lifestyle of the retained firefighters puts severe financial pressure on both them and their families.
As reported by the Irish Examiner, the hearing will take place next Monday and all industrial action has been suspended until further notice as requested by the Court.
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