This article is from page 22 of the 2008-10-07 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 22 JPG
A TOTAL of eight people have died in drowning incidents on the River Fergus since 2004, according to the figures revealed by the water safety officer with Clare County Council.
Liam Griffin addressed members at yesterday’s meeting of Ennis Town Council along with the Chief Fire Officer for Clare, Adrian Kelly. Mr Griffin told the council that in some cases, the drownings were as a result of suicide.
He said, “I don’t think it’s possi- ble to rescue a person when they are
drowning. Unless, you had someone on the scene when it is happening, who is a top class swimmer. People drown in seconds, maybe minutes. When you hear of people getting rescued from rivers, it’s usually be- cause they have hung onto a branch or climbed up onto a bank.”
Mr Griffin outlined to the council the training methods employed to equip volounteers working with the Clare Civil Defence.
He also pledged his support to any review of existing procedures for water safety in Ennis.
“If the council feels there should
be a review, maybe replacing or up- grading water safety equipment, we would support that.”
Mr Griffin also called for people to respect life rings placed on the Fer- gus, saying that abuse and vandalism was a bigger issue in Ennis than any- where else in Clare.
Mr Griffin and Mr Kelly spoke at the council in order to clarify the specific roles of the different ele- ments that make up the rescue serv- ices in Clare.
Their appearance was prompted by comments made by Cllr Frankie Neylon (Ind) at the September meet-
ing of Ennis Town Council.
At the time Cllr Neylon, told the chamber that he had received a phone call from a member of the Fire serv- ices in Clare, alleging that the chief fire officer threatened to fire staff that entered a river to rescue a person from drowning.
Mr Kelly has since strongly reject- ed making the statement and re-iter- ated his stance in no-uncertain terms MK KOr Ne
“T never said anything like that and I never would,” the chief fire officer Cr ALOR
He said that members of the fire
services are provided with water awareness training and co-ordinate closely with other agencies on oc- casions when a body is reported to have entered the water.
“It is my responsibility to make sure firemen don’t get injured and get home to their wives,’ said Mr th
He added, “We are a fire and res- cue service not a water rescue serv- ice.’ Mayor of Ennis Peter Considine (FF) led tributes to Clare’s rescue services, with Independent council- lor Taiwoo Matthew calling their vo- lounteer work a “noble campaign”’.