Members of the public got up close and personal with emergency response equipment at an open day in Dublin city centre organised by the country’s emergency services today.
The event, put on by the Frontline Emergency and Security Services Éire Forum (FESSEF), brought 300 national security and emergency services personnel together to give demonstrations to the public.
“It’s very rare that you get a chance to see operationally what these guys do without being in the middle of a crisis,” said Tara Robertson of Dublin City Council. The Council supported the open day at the Royal Hospital in Kilmainham.
“We think it’s a great occasion for the emergency and frontline services to get together and celebrate their work and for the public to come and have a look at what they actually do on the ground,” she said.
Organisers hope the inaugural event might lead to an annual one and a national day of recognition for emergency services.
FESSEF chairperson Seamus O’Neill said it was also an opportunity for services “to acknowledge and show their appreciation for the ongoing support they receive from members of the public”.
Participating organisations included Dublin Fire Brigade, the Civil Defense, An Garda Siochana, the National Ambulance Service, St. John Ambulance, the Irish Coastguard, RNLI, Airport Police and Fire Service, the Red Cross and the Order of Malta.
A team from Dublin Fire Brigade used hydraulic equipment referred to as the “jaws of life” to cut a volunteer out of a car, simulating what they would actually do after a road traffic collision.
Event coordinator Greg O’Dwyer of the Dublin Fire Brigade said: “When somebody is involved in a road traffic collision, any injuries they have may be worsened by further movement of the car. The whole principle behind the extraction is we take the car away from the patient, not the patient out of the car, so we don’t cause any further injury.”
The Army bomb disposal unit had its Kerry-made bomb disposal robot on display. The unit is often called to do field tests on potentially harmful substances. Its equipment is able to test for anthrax, botox, ricin and other chemicals in the field.
But pipe bomb disposal is the number one reason the unit is called out. Last week it received its 100th call-out of the year for a pipe bomb.
Young members of St John ambulance cadets, some of whom want to be paramedics, did first aid demonstrations. Organisers hope the event encourages young people to consider emergency response as a career.