Limerick firemen attacked by thugs
Firemen attacked: One of the houses at Salvia Court, Southill which was burned during last weeks suspected arson attack and below, the damaged fire engine
SEPARATE investigations are continuing after two firemen were hospitalised having been attacked by a group of youths while putting out two house fires at Salvia Court in Southill last week.
The firemen were injured when the youths began throwing rocks and other missiles at them shortly before 9pm last Wednesday.
Ten other firemen, who were also tackling the house fires were not hurt.
The injured firemen were discharged from hospital the following morning.
“When fire fighters arrived and began the work of extinguishing the blaze they were attacked by a group of youths throwing rocks. In fear of the safety of his crew, the Fire Service Incident Commander drew back from the incident and requested assistance from An Garda Siochana,” said a spokesman for the Limerick City Fire and Rescue service.
The windscreen of a highreach fire fighting appliance was also damaged during the incident and the vehicle will remain out of service until it is repaired.
Both of the derelict houses were completely destroyed by the fires, which gardai believe were started maliciously.
Limerick city chief fire officer, Michael Ryan condemned last week’s incident.
“The attack on our fire fighters is shocking and disgraceful. The crew that attended this call are all dedicated professionals who are proud that they save lives and property in Limerick,” he said adding that emergency service workers should be able to do their job safely.
“We are all angry and shocked that they were subjected to such a cowardly attack, but we know that this was the actions of a small minority in an area where we have a good relationship with the community,” he said.
Limerick City Council and Roxboro Road gardai are investigating the circumstances of last week’s incident
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Sunday 26 May 2013
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