New fire station goahead and a second-hand lorry for Laois service
Plans are progressing to build a new fire station for the Electric Picnic town of Stradbally, while Laois County Fire & Rescue Service has also added a second-hand lorry to its fleet among other investments.
Approval in principal to build the new station, replacing a small outdated building in Stradbally, has been granted to Laois County Council by the National Directorate for Fire and Emergency Management (NDFEM).
A design brief has now been drawn up by the council. and a design team is being sought which will design it and then oversee tenders and construction.
Meanwhile the wait continues for a planned upgrade of Mountmellick fire station, to include a new training tower. No approval has been given by the NDFEM to date, Laois County Council reported this May.
That €150,000 upgrade is also to provide a new rear concrete yard, replacing an overgrown area adjacent to the town's park and Owenass River. Tenders were first sought two years ago.
The Laois fire and rescue service has also received €90,000 of Paratech trench rescue and urban search and rescue equipment, with training complete for the Laois crews.
A secondhand Mitsubishi Fuso lorry costing €25,000 was bought, as a technical response rescue unit and to carry the new search and rescue equipment.
By mid May, the Laois service had attended 73 fires, 91 special service incidents and 30 false alarms over its eight stations.