An independent councillor has criticised the institutional response to powerful wildfires ravaging the Dublin mountains in his area, saying that there needs to be “joined up thinking” when it comes to tackling blazes.
Councillor Michael Fleming of the Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council was commenting on the response to repeated fires that had sprung up in the Glencullen area of the Dublin mountains, in the south of the county.
Cllr Fleming appealed to the public on Sunday after previously controlled gorse fires reignited, saying that “urgent help” was needed as the forest itself was in danger.
“The forest is in danger, so anyone who is available to assist, please make your way there as soon as possible,” Cllr Fleming said.
Firefighters from Rathfarnham and Dun Laoghaire districts attended the fire, which broke out just days after a similar fire in the same area had been tackled by the Dublin Fire Brigade.
According to the Fire Brigade, smoke travelled out over Three Rock Mountain and across south Dublin, leading residents to close doors and windows.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland this morning, District Officer with the Dublin Fire Brigade Darren O’Connor said that the fire had largely died and was now being monitored locally. He said that weather conditions, including winds that swept the fire uphill and dry ground contributed to its spread.
O’Connor said that it was “impossible” to say what the source of the fire was, but noted that they generally start near pathways and roadways.
“The prolonged weather has led to quite a number of outbreaks, and it is very arduous for us to work in and it has been very difficult,” O’Connor said, adding that the summer has been one of the busiest periods Dublin Fire Brigade has experienced in recent years.
Cllr Fleming described the public response to his appeal as “unbelievable”.
“The fire was getting dangerously close to the forest, which would have spread across the mountain, and who knows where it would have stopped. It would have been too hard to control,” Cllr Fleming said.
“So many people tried to get up to help, but enough volunteers were on the mountain in a very quick amount of time.”
However, he said that despite the rapid and generous response from members of the public, “something needs to change”.
Rather than tasking Dublin Fire Brigade with the majority of the work, the councillor said that other agencies should be better equipped to collaborate and offer direct help.
“The civil defence should be called out by the fire brigade if needed. The forestry service should help with issuing the helicopters when asked. There needs to be joined up thinking when it comes to these wildfires, and all services should work together. But that does not seem to be happening,” he said.
“There’s people’s lives at risk here. There’s people’s livelihoods at risk. There’s wildlife at risk. What I’ve seen over the last couple of days has truly shocked me.”
The Stepaside local said that “something needs to be done about our response to these fires”, and thanked the fire brigade for doing “such a brave and great job”.
That said, he concluded that “we do need joined up agencies”.