New fire engine officially handed over to Gaoth Dobhair Fire Brigade

A new €450K Fire Engine has been officially handed over today to Gaoth Dobhair Fire Brigade today
Elected representatives, Council officials, members of the Fire Brigade along with family, friends and members of the community came along to mark the official handing over of the new state of the art Fire Engine to Gaoth Dobhair Fire Brigade by Cathaoirleach Cllr. Nicholas Crossan.
The new Class B fire engine which costs €450k replaces the 1998 Volvo fire engine which was previously based at Gaoth Dobhair Fire Station and according to Chief Fire Officer, Joseph McTaggart “will enhance the ability of Gaoth Dobhair Fire Brigade to deliver the operational fire service to the community it serves”.
Speaking at today’s event Cllr. Crossan commended the Fire Brigade in Gaoth Dobhair for their dedication and commitment to their service saying, “we are proud of our Fire Service and of your commitment to excellence in all that you do and it gives me great pleasure to hand over this new state of the art appliance which will ensure that you are well equipped to respond to any callout”.
This new fire engine, which is funded by the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government under its 2018 – 2020 Fire Service Fleet Renewal Programme, is based on the latest Scania P320 chassis and has an integrated crew cab providing seating for up to eight fire-fighters. It comes with an integrated water tank coupled with an on-board Godiva Prima main pump which is capable of pumping out 3,000l of water per minute at an average pressure of 10 bar.
It comes equipped with a Compressed Air Foam System (CAFS), a 1,200l/min portable pump, a number of multi-stage ladders, a number of hoses, nozzles and a front-mounted electric winch.
Supplied by Sídheán Teoranta of An Spidéal, Co. Galway, this new appliance is also equipped with the most up-to-date emergency lighting and high-visibility markings to ensure better safety for fire-fighters and for members of the public while the fire engine is responding to and attending at an incident.
Station Officer Eoin Gillespie was the Master of Ceremony at todays event which included an address from Garry Martin, Director of Economic Development, IS and Emergency Services in Donegal County Council as well as a joint blessing from Rev Liz Fitzgerald, Church of Ireland and An tAthair O’Baoil, RC.
The new fire engine will have an operational life span of approximately 20 years and it is anticipated that it will respond to approximately 45 calls per annum in the Gaoth Dobhair Fire Station Ground Area. These calls varying from small chimney fires up to the more serious building fires and road traffic collisions.