The Irish Fire and Emergency Service Association (IFESA) today (Thursday 29 th Jan ) expressed serious concerns at proposed reductions in the manning levels and changed rostering arrangements of Retained Firefighter crews being adopted by Chief Fire Officers throughout the country as part of the implementation of the Department of Environment Community and Local Government's ‘Keep Communities Safe' (KCS) policy.

IFESA said the implementation of the new guidelines (Good Practice Note 2.6) issued by the NDEFM in December 2014 and endorsed by the National Director for Fire and Emergency Management will mean that the weight of response to Fire Service incidents in Ireland will now be at danger levels both to the public but also to the Safety of Retained Firefighters that arrive on the scene. IFESA said it totally rejects the justification by the National Director to Chief Fire Officers and County Mangers throughout the country that these manning and roster changes are in the public interest.

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