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Wexford County Council gears up for Storm Callum

11 Oct

Wexford County Council’s Crisis Management Team met earlier today to review preparedness for Storm Callum. The meeting was attended by senior staff of the Council and also by representatives of an Garda Siochana.

A range of public safety issues were discussed, including flooding, road maintenance, water services, shelter for vulnerable and homeless persons, safety of piers, harbous and coastal areas, electricity supply issues, and public information.

Wexford County Council has considerable experience in managing severe weather events and we wish to assure the public that we taking all steps necessary to ensure public safety and minimise disruption during this severe weather event. Our preparations include:

•    erection of flood defence barriers in Wexford, New Ross, Arthurstown and Ballyhack
•    filling and stockpiling of 5000 sandbags for use if required
•    civil defence – personnel and equipment placed on standby
•    continuous cleaning of gullies and shores to minimise local flooding
•    additional call centre staff on standby to deal with emergency calls
•    fire services and local emergency crews placed on standby
•    provision of additional beds at Ozanam House, Wexford, to accommodate persons currently “sleeping rough”
•    contact with ESB Networks in the interest of continuity of electricity supply to key public infrastructure

Storm Callum and the associated Orange Weather warning is a significant weather event and members of the public should not be complacent in their preparations for the storm, with the most severe weather forecasted to pass through Wexford between 10am tonight and 9am tomorrow.

As the storm approaches, Wexford County Council offers the following key public information messages

•    Avoid unnecessary travel, especially at the height of the storm
•    If you must travel, exercise extreme caution – expect the unexpected – especially localised flooding, falling/fallen debris and on-coming vehicles veering across the road
•    Stay away from the coast and from exposed piers, harbours and cliffs during the storm Do not risk your own life or the lives of the emergency services who may have to attempt to rescue you, by visiting these areas

For more updates see @Wexfordcoco (Twitter), visit our website www.wexfordcoco.ieand stay tuned to TV and local radio.

Remember, if you wish to report an emergency to Wexford County Council you can do so as follows:

•    Telephone us during office hours – 053 91 96000
•    Telephone our Out-of-Hours Emergency Line 1890 666777
•    Email us – customerservice@wexfordcoco.ie

Pieta House – Wexford – 14 Francis Street, Wexford

06 Sep

 

Visited Pieta House Wexford on 5th September to meet with Sally Griffiths of Pieta House Wexford. Pieta House Wexford is located at 14 Francis Street, Wexford directly opposite the Friary. The meeting was to highlight that Pieta House is now in Wexford and is providing suicide bereavement support and suicide and self-harm prevention services to people of all ages in the south-east. The work that Pieta House carries out is fantastic if you or anyone you know needs help they can be contacted on 053 9122787, or text HELP to 51444 or email mary@pieta.ie

Civil Defence Supporting the Principal Response Agencies at the Papal Visit

24 Aug

Civil Defence volunteers will play a major role in the Papal visit this weekend, Saturday 25 and Sunday 26 August. They will be involved on the ground in both the Phoenix Park and at Knock Shrine in supporting the Principal Response Agencies of the Gardaí and the National Ambulance Services.

In terms of Knock Shrine, 140 volunteers will be on duty and coordinated by Rose Doherty who is the Civil Defence Officer for Mayo. The 140 volunteers are drawn from counties Donegal, Sligo, Roscommon, Galway and Laois. While their main role will be assisting the Gardaí in terms of safety and stewarding at the event, volunteers will also be involved in supporting the National Ambulance Service. Volunteers will be on duty from Saturday night until Sunday evening.

Civil Defence will have four ambulances on duty at Knock manned by eight Emergency Medical Technicians. Civil Defence will also provide 2 four wheel drive vehicles to assist the Gardaí in safety and stewarding. Laois Civil Defence will also provide a communications vehicle using the TETRA network to ensure efficient communications between all volunteers and with the Gardaí and National Ambulance Service if required. Finally Roscommon Civil Defence will provide their Welfare unit to provide food for all volunteers on duty over the Saturday night and Sunday.

In terms of the Phoenix Park where up to 500,000 people are expected on Sunday the 26 August, overall, there will be approximately 400 Civil Defence volunteers on duty. While Dublin Civil Defence under James McConnell, the Dublin Civil Defence Officer, will be the lead for Civil Defence they will be assisted by volunteers from counties Wexford, Wicklow, Clare, Cork, Laois, Kildare, Limerick, Meath, Monaghan, Kildare, Cavan, Louth and Offaly.

Volunteers will be supporting the National Ambulance Service and the Gardaí. Civil Defence will provide a range of equipment including 11 ambulances, 9 fire appliances, 19 heavy vehicles including four wheel drives, large vans and medium size trucks and 2 minibuses for transportation and logistics. A number of volunteers will also support the Gardaí with drone capability if required. Dublin Civil Defence will also provide a communications vehicle using the TETRA network to ensure efficient communications between all volunteers and with the Gardaí and National Ambulance Service if required. Civil Defence will also have a welfare unit in operation to provide food for all volunteers on duty over the Saturday night and Sunday.

Make a Wish Children’s Charity – Team Building 35k Hike

10 May

Wexford Civil Defence presented a cheque today for € 2713.00 to the Make a Wish Children’s Charity. The money was raised from a sponsored Hike of 35k on the Wicklow Way from Marley Park to Lough Tay as part of a team building exercise. Well done to the volunteers who completed the walk and collected the money.

Thanks to our support vehicles drivers and the number one chef for providing a fantastic evening meal.

 

 

 

 

Wexford County Council – Storm Emma – Recognition Event

09 Apr

 

Wexford County Council hosted a South East Radio Outside Broadcast live from County Hall, Carricklawn, Wexford on Monday 9th April 2018.

The event recognised the outstanding response of County Wexford to the recent challenges of Storm Emma and is a welcome opportunity for Wexford County Council to say Thank You to those who contributed in such a generous and effective manner to the overall response to this extreme weather event. Wexford Civil Defence and other voluntary organisations were invited along to take part in the broadcast which afforded us the opportunity to highlight the work we completed during Storm Emma, and to thank all the volunteers from Wexford Civil Defence who helped out during the extreme weather conditions. Continue Reading

Wexford Civil Defence – Storm Emma

11 Mar

Wexford Civil Defence deployed 4×4 Jeeps to Wexford, Enniscorthy, Gorey and New Ross on Wednesday 28th February 2018 in preparation for Storm Emma. We also supplied beds and blankets to Wexford County Council to establish a homless shelter in Enniscorthy Presentation Centre.

We continued to supply support to Wexford County Council, HSE, and NAS from Thursday 1st March right through to Tuesday 6th March when we took our last call.  Wexford Civil Defence were also supported by 4×4 Teams and EMT’s from Tipperary and Laois on 4th & 5th March. Continue Reading