First Irish 4x4 water tanker to fight Laois bog and forest fires
The Laois fire service has received a boost in the form of the first 4x4 firefighting water tanker.
The tanker was delivered last week to Laois County Fire & Rescue Service, to be based at its Durrow station.
It is capable of being driven across rough ground, to bring water to fires on bogs and in the Slieve Bloom Mountains.
Chief Fire Officer Declan Power is pictured formally handed over the keys to Durrow Station Officer David Donohue.
The tanker cost €170,000, funded by the Department of Housing.
Assistant CFO Anthony Tynan told the Leinster Express why the new machine is so important.
"We identified the need for this in the 2018 fires in the Slieve Bloom Mountains. The conditions were hard on vehicles. This 4x4 tanker can go over rough forest tracks and on bog lanes and it has a bigger tank," he said.