‘VITAL’ RISK ASSESSMENT software has not been provided to Dublin Fire Brigade despite five years of promises.
The software was deemed necessary by the service in 2018 after a large fire at the Ballymun Metro Hotel. However, its development has faced major delays which, firefighters say, pose a “serious risk” to the safety of themselves and the public.
The software would provide more information about any potential risks associated with a building that is on fire, such as previous complaints in regards to its fire safety or any hazardous threats that could endanger members of the public trapped in the fire or firefighters attempting to extinguish it.
Speaking to The Journal, Siptu organiser for Dublin Fire Brigade Geoff McEvoy said the software would provide information about previous failures noted in a building’s fire safety report directly to crews when they are responding to a fire.
Siptu members in the Dublin Fire Brigade highlighted the delays in the introduction of this software on Monday, labelling it “a crisis situation in the service today”.
McEvoy said members of Dublin Fire Brigade were promised in 2018 that a unit would be set up within the service that would establish a “systematic process for risk assessment”.
While that unit, known as the Organisational Intelligence Unit, was set up, there has been delays in the procurement and implementation of software that would allow the operational crews to receive the information.
Dublin Fire Brigade told The Journal that the new unit’s role includes collating data and evaluating and supporting management in the development of area risk categorisations.
In a separate industrial agreement in January 2022, Siptu and members of Dublin Fire Brigade reaffirmed with the service that the risk assessment process and systems would be fully implemented.
McEvoy said: “The unit was set up. It was staffed. And as early as February 2022 we were told that the software requirement was crucial to the successful implementation of what was in place.”
Today, while the new unit’s role and risk assessment procedures have been finalised, the software remains delayed.
The chair of Dublin Fire Brigade’s Siptu branch Tom Larkin said in a statement last week that a government report on defects in housing highlights the risks associated with extinguishing fires in the country.
The report found that between 40% to 70% of properties may be affected by fire safety defects.
“But at this moment, fire crews have no knowledge of what those defects are or where they are,” Larkin added.
Siptu is calling for further investment to be placed into this software to “make that risk information available”.
McEvoy said last Monday: “Every day that management delays full implementation of our agreement on risk assessment for Dublin adds to the risks facing firefighters and the public.
“This is coupled with an extraordinary staffing shortage in the service that has resulted in increased risks for firefighters due to a lack of support in emergency situations.”
In a statement to The Journal, Dublin Fire Brigade said that the service has a dedicated health, safety and welfare unit, where “the production and management of various risk assessments is a core element of their work”.
The Brigade said that “a variety of software” has been acquired by the service for its new Operational Investigations Unit “and a procurement process is ongoing which, when completed, will provide for an enterprise-scale deployment of additional specific software”.
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