Bord na Móna - Source Issue 7 - (Page 16)

raging inferno Bog fires caused huge damage to land, stock and machinery in earlysummer. fortunately, and thanks to the herculean efforts of Bord na móna staff, fires were put out and more importantly, no one was injured B og fires are a significant threat to people, land and stock and Bord na móna faced serious challenges earlier this year when thousands of acres of peatland were under fire. “we had ten fire zones over the may Bank holiday weekend alone and four on the june Bank holiday weekend,” says gerry Brennan, health and safety manager with Bord na móna. some fires were started from illegal gorse and heather burning on land not owned by Bord na móna and encroached onto company bogland, whilst others were caused by trespassers, most likely by sparks from quad bikes or motorbikes. “we fought the fires on our own property and on private property so that those fires didn’t come on to our own land.” as soon as bog fires start, Bord na móna’s fire plan springs into action. essentially, this is a plan that covers all eventualities in terms of fires on bogs, workshops, factories, offices, laboratories and coal yards. in fighting fires Bord na móna staff are ably assisted by the local authority fire service and the gardai. “we have a good relationship with the fire services, local authorities, an garda síochána, environmental protection agency, health service executive, landowners, national parks and wildlife service and we liaise with each of these agencies around this issue,” says gerry, adding that, at the height of the fires, 450 employees were deployed to drive machinery and fight the fires. “water is not an efficient method of fighting fires on bogs, so bulldozers and ditchers are used to turn over wet peat onto the fire, which is then compressed by the machinery to extinguish the smouldering fires. “safety is vital at all times. we had to rotate people over the four days, ensure people had adequate food and water, establish welfare facilities, account for people when they were out and ensure that everyone was accounted for when they came back in. fighting these fires is a “round the clock” job. equally, decisions had to be made to call people out of the fire because of the smoke and to wait until conditions were more favourable. we estimate that the direct cost due to stock lost was €1.5 million. that’s not including loss of production, machinery or employee costs.” fortunately, there was no loss of life or limb, but the cost to wildlife was high. this was the middle of the nesting season in gorse, so the nests of a whole range of fowl were burned, along with loss of life to small animals. according to the wildlife act, in order to 16 | Source Summer 2011

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Bord na Móna - Source Issue 7

Bord na Móna - Source Issue 7
Contents
A Round-Up of News from Around the Company
Willow Harvest for Farmers
New Approach, New Business
Strategic Growth and Development
Challege and Change
Anua Beginning
Raging Inferno
Mapping a Sustainable Future
Project Update
Heritage Corner
Nationwide

Bord na Móna - Source Issue 7