Local Councillors lend their support to Balbriggan Fire Brigade (EMS)

February 15, 2017 ADMIN

This evening Cllr Tony Murphy and Cllr Grainne Maguire visited Balbriggan Fire Station to pledge their support to protect the Dublin Fire Brigade (DFB) fire based Emergency Medical Services (EMS). The HSE has drawn up a comprehensive plan to take control of Dublin’s ambulance service away from Dublin Fire Brigade (DFB), which has provided the services since 1898. There are serious implications for Balbriggan, Skerries Rush and Lusk and the greater North Fingal area if this plan is implemented.

The Foxtrot district is made up of Balbriggan, Skerries, Swords and Finglas fire stations, with 274k people covering 51 square kilometres as well as parts of the city.

Hughie O’Leary District Officer for Foxtrot District Fire Based EMS System said:

“We provide a Fire based emergency medical system ambulance for for the people of Balbriggan & Skerries and the North County. We feel that the combined service of both the medical expertise provided by the fire fighters in Balbriggan, Skerries and Swords and backed up Finglas and parts of Dublin Fire Brigade is the best model for pre hospital emergency care to the citizens of Fingal. ”

“We are deeply concerned that the change in this model might result in the removal of the EMS service that is so efficient, cost friendly, and useful and we genuinely feel it is the best model and any removal would be detrimental to the people we serve.”

“Statistically on a European wide basis and also nationally we provide the most immediate service as we are strategically located, we can be turned out to the most important echo and delta life threatening calls. About 70% of our calls are based on EMS call-outs.”

“The provision of this service on a fire based EMS system and the fact that it is so efficient, cost friendly, and useful makes it in our view the best model and any reduction in that we feel will be detrimental to the people of Fingal and North County Dublin”

Cllr Murphy and Cllr Maguire are demanding that this decision is reversed and that the service is retained to ensure lives are not lost due to a bad economic decision.