CALLS are to be made for the immediate inspection of all fire hydrants in Letterkenny to ensure that they are fit for purpose.
Concern emerged in December after Donegal Fire Service was alerted to a fire in a two-storey semi detached house in Meadowbank Lane in the town, but struggled to access water due to a clog in the closest fire hydrant. Firefighters had to go further to another fire hydrant before they got access to water.
While no-one was injured in the incident, it prompted fears locally.
Speaking to the Donegal News, Cllr Gerry McMonagle said it is “prudent” immediate action is taken in order to prevent a similar incident from happening.
He will table a motion at today’s meeting of Letterkenny Municipal District calling on Donegal Fire Service, as a matter of urgency, to carry out an immediate inspection of all fire hydrants in the MD to ensure that they are in working order.
Cllr McMonagle said the incident in December was “worrying”.
“The fire brigade arriving and not being able to access hydrants because they are blocked is very worrying. It is prudent that we have a process in place for the regular inspection of fire hydrants.”
Cllr McMonagle said he did not believe fire hydrants were inspected in recent times. It is something that he wants to see changed.
“It’s is not something that I have seen happen in recent times but now that Irish Water is in charge of water supplies and that responsibility is away from the Council, I want to make sure there are regular checks.”
The Letterkenny-based councillor said the situation is compounded by regular water outages locally and in other areas.
“There are numerous water outages in this town, in Newmills and in Manorcunningham on a weekly basis. If there is an unfortunate incident, what do we do? If there aren’t any checks and balances in place, it will be too late if it comes to it and a fire hydrant is blocked or has little output.”
The issue also poses a significant issue in unfinished estates. Cllr McMonagle said he is aware of prior incidents when there was no water or a low water outage in unfinished estates.
“We (Donegal County Council) have taken over 50 estates in the last 12 months, but there are others not yet taken in charge. We had a situation in Gleann Tain where residents were without water almost daily. There was no water coming from their taps, therefore there was no water in the pipes.
“It’s not too much to ask, after all we all have to an NCT on our cars done every year.”
Cllr Jimmy Kavanagh will also bring a separate but connected motion to today’s Letterkenny MD meeting, calling on the council to liaise with Irish Water and the fire service to implement a plan for inspecting and ensuring fire hydrants are in working order.
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