This article is from page 1 of the 2012-10-30 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 1 JPG
ELDERLY people are terrified in their own homes this Halloween while it is expected that Clare County Council faces a clean-up bill of up to € 50,000 from the night’s activities.
While the majority of people enjoy the fun and festivities of the season, Clare Fire Chief Adrian Kelly said he has come across numerous examples of older people being forced to stay in their home, all the time fearing it will catch fire.
“We literally had old people in tears last year because they were afraid to go out and they were afraid in their homes because they could see burning embers coming towards their houses and they were afraid their homes would catch fire. The fires often go on late into the night and create other anti-social problems, he added.” A spokesperson for Clare County Council put the conservative cost of Halloween at € 50,000. The estimate takes into account the cost of fire servwice call-outs, removal and disposal of stockpiled material, removal and disposal of burnt material, and clean-up and restoration after the night.