'We'll consider anything' old Stradbally fire station set for new community use

The vacated fire station in Stradbally is open for a new use by the local community, Laois County Council has said.

Electric Picnic’s hometown is getting a large new modern fire station to meet growing demand, to be built on a site down the road from the old station.

The town’s fire crew departed in late 2024 to set up temporary home at their new site, and a discussion was held at the January 2025 meeting of Laois County Council on what the old building can be used for.

Director of Services Simon Walton ruled out the possibility that the site could be used for a community hall. A local committee is searching for a suitable site in the town to build a multi-purpose hall. 

“I don’t think there is any suggestion that it would be demolished and replaced. We’ll consider anything. I think there is strong local support for reuse of the building, to be used for the community. We have assessed it and it is reasonably robust and safe for a lot of uses,” the director told the Leinster Express / Laois Live. 

At the meeting, Cllr Paschal McEvoy who lives in the town, suggests clubs for older people.

“We have 30 or 40 new houses being built for older people in two developments. I had a motion to rent out the fire station for a men’s shed or women’s shed,” he said.

Mr Walton told him “we’re still using Stradbally fire station for some storage”.

“We will get approval shortly for the procurement and construction of the new station. The ongoing use of the old station can be reported on. There are a number of suggestions. We can put these to members to agree through local democratic routes,” the director said.

Stradbally fire station attended 157 emergency incidents in 2024, the second busiest of the eight Laois stations, only behind Portlaoise at 377 callouts. 

The new Stradbally station will have two bays for fire tenders, rooms for training, welfare and equipment, a Fire Service Drill tower, drill yard, underground water storage tank and temporary accommodation for Civil Defence for events like Electric Picnic. The crew is using a former Civil Defence building on the site which will be demolished after the station is built.