A brief History of the Fire Services in Ireland

Beginnings
One of the earliest references to an organized fire response is in a manuscript which gives an account of life in the monastic town of Clonmacnoise in the tenth century.

In the late 17th century insurance companies in order to help prevent huge losses from fire started to form their own fire fighting forces in Dublin, Cork and several other large towns. These small insurance brigade were responsible for the properties which were insured by their own company and were not obliged to respond to other fires.

In order to identify which property was protested by which company a distinctive type of plaque called a "Fire mark" was place on the wall of the property. The mark of Sun Alliance showed the face of the sun with rays emanating from it. At certain times brigades would band together to fight a big fire providing suitable recompense followed.
In 1711 one John Oates water engine maker was paid £6 a year at the cities pleasure to retain a fire engine in good order and to engage six men at his own expense to be ready in the event of fire. By 1800 the police and parishes were starting to acquire fire engines to protect their parishes from the ravages of fire. Firemen work for the insurance companies were easily spotted because of their brightly coloured uniforms emblazoned with their employers logo.

The Towns improvement Act of 1854 allowed for local authorities to provide fire fighting and related equipment to be provided at their discretion for towns which were above 1,500 in population.

In 1862 the Dublin Fire Brigade Act came into force which with the creation of the brigade in Dublin lessened the need for the insurance companies to provide their own force. in 1907 section 90 of the Public Health Act enabled local authorities to enter into agreements for the common use of fire fighting equipment. If people in a rural area required assistance fro an urban fire service they were liable for any costs incurred.

In 1877 Mark Wickham an escape inspector from Dublin was chosen to command the newly established Volunteer Fire Brigade in Cork, a position he held until 1891. Other firemen form Dublin were chosen to supervise the fire brigades in Clonmel and Kilkenny.

On the 16th of December 1909 the first motor pump arrived in Dublin. Mr. Purcell an engineer designed the vehicle and asked leyland motors to build it. the engine was a 50 hp four cylinder dual ignition with forced lubrication to all bearings. the rear mounted turbine pump was capable of delivering 350 gallons (420 U.S.) a minute. Equipment included carrying 32 feet of 5 inch suction hose, 1,500 feet of delivery hose, standpipes and various tools etc.

At the start of 1940 the number of mobile appliances was only 24 and with war having broken out in the rest of Europe and the possibility of action occurring in Ireland an urgent improvement in the fire fighting capability became apparent. Out of this reappraisal came the Fire Brigades Act of 1940 which was the basis for the first countrywide fire fighting system. urban and rural authorities were now required to make provisions for the effective and prompt extinguishment of fires and the rescue of persons along with the recovery of property form fire.

Modern Times
In 1981 an extensive Fire Services Act was created which laid out an effective level of fire cover, training, fire planning and fire prevention measures. It also detailed powers available to fire service personnel during the course of an incident. This act is still in force at this time. The fire service is governed by the Department of Community and Environment and run locally by 37 different local authorities throughout the 26 counties.