Cramped old Laois Fire Station 'slows' response to emergencies

Restrictions at the outdated fire station in Rathdowney are slowing emergency response times while there is a 'real problem' with space for people and equipment.

That's what Laois TD Brian Stanley told the Dáil when outlining the need for a new Fire Station in Rathdowney which he said has been sought for several years. The Portlaoise-based TD raised the issue in a week in which Laois County Council was given the green light to spend over €3 million on a new Stradbally station.

He said the station serves south Laois but is also called out to Abbeyleix and Ballinakill. Outside Laois, he claimed the crew can attend incidents in north Tipperary, south Offaly, north Kilkenny

He said the current station was built for a jeep and a small mobile pump but now houses three vehicles including two large fire tenders and one jeep.

“Only one of the larger vehicles and the jeep can be housed in it. It is very difficult to get the large tender in and out because it is on a narrow street and it’s a very small building. I can tell the Minister of State it takes good skill. I witnessed one of the crew reversing it in recently. It took a great effort to get it in and out. That slows down the response time in terms of getting out to calls,” he said in the statement to the Leinster Express / Laois Live.

Dep Stanley also put the spotlight on space. MORE BELOW PICTURE.

Pictured: Brian Stanley at the Fire Station

“There is a larger fire crew there now. It was down to four or five for a year or two. It is now up to nine and is due to go to twelve . There will be twelve firefighters in that station, but there is physically no space for them. The changing area is tiny, about 2.5 m or 3 m in each direction. It is basically a small cubicle of an area to change in.

“There is a real problem with space in the station. They have good equipment; the system has been modernised over the years and money has been put into it . I acknowledge that the equipment has improved dramatically. They just need extra space.

“They have one shower. As the Minister can imagine, it is totally unacceptable for a large crew to come back into after a house fire of any kind of fire and have one shower between them," he said.

Dep Stanley told the Dáil that there are also women firefighters working in the station.

Access is also a problem.

“There is no parking area. They must look for parking at a business down the road and hope the little area in front of that is not already full up. Otherwise, they must park on kerbs and on double yellow lines, so there is a real problem with that,” he said.
He added that a site for a new station is available.

READ ALSO: Stradbally to get state-of-the-art station

“It is a shovel-ready project. We do not need to draw up new plans. There are existing plans that have been used in similar towns,” he said.

He welcomed better pay and conditions as well as improved equipment.

“In Rathdowney though what is missing is the new fire station," he said.

He described the available sites as 'ready-to-go and brilliant but it needs to be prioritised in a new national Fire Station building programme for 2026 to 2030.

Minister of State Christopher O'Sullivan told Dep Stanley that Laois County Council has indicated a new fire station for Rathdowney to be “its number one priority project” for the fire services capital programme 2026 to 2030. He said the Council submitted an updated appraisal for a proposed new fire station at Rathdowney, which noted several issues with the existing station. He accepted the independent TD's point about the delay caused by having to draw up new plans when there are plans for existing stations.

“I am not sure and cannot see right now whether that can circumvent the different terms of the different stages, but I can certainly talk to the Department about whether that will help to progress it faster,” said the Minister of State.