An exhibition at City Hall opened today to remember the Dublin Fire Brigade’s work during the 1916 Rising. Dublin’s an tArdmheara, Criona Ni Dhalaigh was there to launch the ‘Dublin Fire Brigade and the the 1916 Rising Exhibition’ .
The Exhibition will exhibit materials that you don’t often see, with very rare pieces from the Dublin Fire Brigade’s Museum and other private collections. It will cover the days the DFB fought during the Week of 1916 and the impact the blazing fires had on the city.
Pieces on display in the Vault of the City Hall include: a log book that covers the Battle of Mount Street Bridge, a silver medal given to the Rathmines firemen of 1916 for their service during the rebellion (the silver medal is on loan from Canada; given by the grandson of one of the firemen who fought fires during 1916) and pieces from the Powers Whiskey Distillery and Guinness Brewery Fire Brigades.
“I am delighted to be involved with opening this exhibition here in City Hall, a venue which was a 1916 battleground and which provides an evocative backdrop for this exhibition of rarely seen material. I want to congratulate Dublin Fire Brigade on putting together an important piece of Dublin’s lost history in this exhibition,” an tArdmheara said at the opening of the exhibition today.
She also stated, “ The work done by the members of Dublin Fire Brigade during the Rising has never been truly appreciated and as we reflect on the events of that time, it is of great significance that we can now acknowledge the heroism if these men who were simply doing their job, but in the worst of circumstances.”
The Exhibition is free and open from Monday to Saturday’s , 10.00 am to 5.00 pm. If you are interested in visiting the Dublin Fire Brigade Museum, situated in the Training Centre on the Malahide Road, Dublin 3. You need to contact the Training Centre first if you intend to visit the museum.
Last week, The Training Centre hosted an Exhibition Week to celebrate 1916. The Exhibition Program included talks from Hugo McGuinness on the Battle for Annesley Bridge, a concert by Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eireann, a 1916 Living History day, where volunteers dressed up in uniforms with weapons and equipment from 1916.
Other things to look out for while at City Hall is the story of Joe Connolly who fought in the Rising. Joe became Chief Fire Officer after the Rising. He left Tara Street Station, to fight in the Rising. During this time he was imprisoned in Frongoch before returning to his occupation as fire-fighter.
Dublin Fire Brigade is over a thousand years old and has been fighting fires across the city ever since. Throughout the years the DFB has changed its methods and ways of fighting fires, as new ways of combating fire became necessary.
In the sixteenth century leather buckets for carrying water to fight fires were used. Around 1700 an order for two engines from London were made, one of them to be built in Dublin. A house for the two engines were built here in Dublin shortly after fetching the engines from London.
During the 19th century police and parishes all owned their own engines and a uniform with a badge to identify which engine they owned. This meant that whoever arrived at any fire first, where their “fire marks” were displayed on a building, would get awarded the highest pay.
Later on, fire escapes were set up at cathedrals like Christchurch. During the 19th century, a brigade consisting of 24 men were established at a fire station in Whitehorse yard at Winetavern Street, around the corner from Christchurch.
Engines during this time used to operate with manual pumps, with handles on either side of the engine, which allowed the water to spray continuously as long as the fire-men kept pumping the water. After this, came steam power. Originally horses were used to pull the engines, which ended in 1925.
Notable events since 1882
-1884 Fireman John Kite killed on duty when a house collapsed.
-1898 Establishment of Dublin Fire Brigade Ambulance service. 537 calls in the first year.
-1899 First telescopic aerial ladder.
-1903 Dorset street fire station opens.
-1907 New headquarters in Tara street. Costing £21,840 and built on 1/2 acre.
-1909 First motorized appliance arrives. Capable of 30mph with inbuilt pump and lockers.
-1916 Easter rising with fires and shelling all over the city. Snipers cause firemen havoc.
-1921 Custom house destroyed by republican forces.
-1936 Three firemen killed in a fire and explosion on Pearse street.
-1941 German bombs land on parts of Dublin killing 38 and destroying over 70 houses.
-1956 All ambulances and engines have radios fitted (started in 1951).
-1968 New control room opened in Tara street.
-1974 3 terrorist bombs explode in Dublin killing 28 and injuring over 100.
-1981 48 young people die in the Stardust disco fire.
-1982 Purchase of the O’Brien Institute for a training centre.
-1994 Fire-fighter Tim Horgan killed in ambulance crash while responding to a call.
-1995 Over 4000 fire calls in 8 weeks as gorse and forest fires hit Dublin.
-1996 Ship fire fighting training introduced.
-1998 New headquarters built in Townsend street. Tara street closes after 91 years. New Station Opens
-2001 Dublin control room starts taking fire calls for Longford County. This brings it to a total of 4 counties and Dublin. Ambulance service achieves I.S.O. accreditation.
-2002 Entire fleet of ambulances now replaced by new Lunar body.
-2003 Swiftwater rescue technician training introduced
-2004 10 of the 11 ambulance are now replaced by the new Ford Voyager
-Dennis Sabres have replaced about two thirds of the fleet with more on the way. Rope Rescue Course Introduced
-2005 Training started In Switzerland for tunnel fire-fighting
-2007 Swords Fire Station opens full-time with one fire appliance and ambulance. Malahide retained station closes.
-2008 11 of the 12 ambulance are now the new Ford CEN box body.
-2009 New Mercedes ambulances introduced and all ambulances CEN.
-2010 New Scania fire appliances goes operational in HQ with new turntable ladder due to Dennis no longer making fire appliances.
Dublin Fire Brigade Today
-Dublin Fire Brigade employs over 1000 personnel.
-There are 12 full-time stations and 2 retain station that can be paged in case of an emergency.
-DFB runs an Emergency Ambulance service and fire, rescue and emergency call taking service.
-All fire-fighters are registered Paramedics.
-Fire-fighters in the Townsend Street headquarters have turntable ladder, swift-water rescue, control room and specialist vehicle duties.
-Approximately 133,000 calls are taken for Dublin fire and ambulances annually.
-Over 200 fire-fighters have received specialist tunnel fire-fighting training in Hagerbach Switzerland.
-All appliances carry 4 ladders; 5 M to 13.5 M, a selection of hydraulic cutting equipment, chemical suits, foam supplies, fire fighting equipment.
-DFB also owns a Breathing Apparatus pod, a Decontamination pod, a Major Incident pod and a Communications pod.
-There are 4 water tankers; two of which are 4 wheel drive with 5200 litre capacity on call.
-DFB owns a fleet of Dennis Sabres and has recently bought a number of new Scanias.
-The newer engines are kitted out with compressed air foam systems that uses very little water.
-A final word from Dublin’s an tArdmheara, Criona Ni Dhalaigh, “I encourage anyone with an interest in the Rising to view this important exhibition to learn about the Brigade’s work.”
References
http://irishfireservices.ie/ dublin-fire-brigade/history/
http://www.dublincity.ie/ dublin-fire-brigade-and-1916- rising-0
http://www.seanhaughey.ie/ dublin-fire-brigade-1916- rising/
https://www.facebook.com/ DubFireBrigade/
http://irishfireservices.ie/ dublin-fire-brigade
