The Cork City Fire Brigade ( ga, Briogáid Dóiteáin Chathair Chorcaí) is the local authority

fire and rescue service A firefighter is a first responder and rescuer extensively trained in firefighting, primarily to extinguish hazardous fires that threaten life, property, and the environment as well as to rescue people and in some cases or jurisdictions also ...

for

Cork City Cork ( , from , meaning 'marsh') is the second largest city in Ireland and third largest city by population on the island of Ireland. It is located in the south-west of Ireland, in the province of Munster. Following an extension to the city's ...

and its surrounding suburbs. It is a branch of

Cork City Council Cork City Council ( ga, Comhairle Cathrach Chorcaí) is the authority responsible for local government in the city of Cork in Ireland. As a city council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. Prior to the enactment of the 2001 Act, t ...

. There are currently three

fire stations __NOTOC__ A fire station (also called a fire house, fire hall, firemen's hall, or engine house) is a structure or other area for storing firefighting apparatuses such as fire engines and related vehicles, personal protective equipment, fire h ...

in use by Cork City Fire Brigade; of which 2 are full-time and 1 is part time (retained). Cork City Fire Brigade is staffed by 153 active personnel, making it the second-biggest fire service in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

after the

Dublin Fire Brigade The Dublin Fire Brigade (DFB; ga, Briogáid Dóiteáin Átha Cliath) is the local authority fire and rescue service and ambulance service for Dublin City and the majority of the Greater Dublin Area. It is a branch of Dublin City Council. T ...

. In addition to its main purpose of firefighting, the Cork City Fire Brigade also deals with floods, road traffic collisions, trapped-in-lift releases, and other incidents such as those involving

hazardous materials Dangerous goods, abbreviated DG, are substances that when transported are a risk to health, safety, property or the environment. Certain dangerous goods that pose risks even when not being transported are known as hazardous materials ( syllab ...

, major transport accidents and medical emergencies. It also conducts

emergency planning Emergency management or disaster management is the managerial function charged with creating the framework within which communities reduce vulnerability to hazards and cope with disasters. Emergency management, despite its name, does not actuall ...

in conjunction with other emergency services such as the Garda Síochána and performs fire safety inspections and education. It does not provide an

ambulance An ambulance is a medically equipped vehicle which transports patients to treatment facilities, such as hospitals. Typically, out-of-hospital medical care is provided to the patient during the transport. Ambulances are used to respond to medi ...

service as this function is carried out in Cork City by the

HSE National Ambulance Service The National Ambulance Service ( ga, An tSeirbhís Náisiúnta Otharchairr) is the statutory public ambulance service in Ireland. The service is operated by the National Hospitals Office of the Health Service Executive, the Irish national heal ...

, but since 2013 CCFB have taken on a medical role responding to all cardiac arrests in the Cork City area. All firefighters are trained to PHECC Emergency First Responder level and all of its

fire engines The Fire Engines were a post-punk band from Edinburgh, Scotland. The Fire Engines were an influence on many bands that followed, including Franz Ferdinand and The Rapture, with Meat Whiplash and The Candyskins both taking their names from Fire ...

carry first aid equipment including advanced airways and defibrillators.

History

Organised Insurance Fire Brigades were established in the city following the Fire of Cork in 1622. Acts later passed in 1714 and 1715 made it mandatory for Church of Ireland parishes to provide 'small and large fire engines', but it was not until 1799 that the first effective fire engines were located in Cork. These were maintained by the privately run brigade of the Royal Exchange Assurance Company, and two more insurance brigades were also established - those of the Atlas and West of England. These brigades gradually declined in the 19th century, leaving the city in need of a dedicated fire service. This led to Cork Corporation forming Cork Fire Brigade in 1877. One of the most notable chapters in Cork Fire Brigade's history occurred in 1920, during the Irish War of Independence, with the

Burning of Cork The burning of Cork () by British forces took place on the night of 11–12 December 1920, during the Irish War of Independence. It followed an Irish Republican Army (IRA) ambush of a British Auxiliary patrol in the city, which wounded twelve ...

British forces The British Armed Forces, also known as His Majesty's Armed Forces, are the military forces responsible for the defence of the United Kingdom, its Overseas Territories and the Crown Dependencies. They also promote the UK's wider interests, su ...

who hindered attempts to fight the conflagration and seriously wounded four firefighters with gunfire. The fire destroyed over 40 business premises and 300 residential properties, amounting to over five acres of the city. The Brigade entered into a new chapter of its history in 1923 with its first motor-pump being put into service, eventually leading to complete mechanization of the fleet and the withdrawal of the old horse-drawn equipment. Further changes occurred throughout the 20th century, including the opening of the brigade's present headquarters on Anglesea Street in 1975 and improvements in fire-fighting equipment and vehicles. Following the

2019 Cork boundary change The boundary between Cork city and County Cork, under the local jurisdiction of Cork City Council and Cork County Council respectively, was changed in mid 2019 when the Local Government Act 2018 came into force after the 2019 local elections, wit ...

, Cork City Fire Brigade saw the addition of another station at

Ballincollig Ballincollig () is a suburban town within the administrative area of Cork city in Ireland. It is located on the western side of Cork city, beside the River Lee on the R608 regional road. In 2016 it was the largest town in County Cork, at wh ...

and a significantly increased area of responsibility.

Stations and equipment

09C5475 Cork city fire brigade - Flickr - D464-Darren Hall

Cork City Fire Brigade currently operates three

; Anglesea Street Station which is staffed by 112 firefighters,

Ballyvolane Ballyvolane () is a townland and suburb of Cork on the north side of the city, that borders Mayfield, White's Cross, Glenheights and Dublin Hill. The townland of Ballyvolane is in the civil parish of St. Anne's Shandon. Ballyvolane is within the ...

Station which is staffed by 28 firefighters and Ballincollig station which is staffed by 10 firefighters. Anglesea street and Ballyvolane stations operate in four watches; Blue, Red, Green and Amber. Cork City Fire Brigade firefighters work in a shift pattern of 9am to 6pm and 6pm to 9am on weekdays with 24 hours shifts on the weekends. The brigade is at the scene of 89% of fires within ten minutes and has the best performance overall in Ireland, with just over 1% of fires taking more than 20 minutes to reach.

Ranks

References

Notes

Sources

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External links

Cork City Fire Brigade
Fire departments Fire and rescue services in the Republic of Ireland Emergency services in the Republic of Ireland Organizations established in 1887