Potentially fatal Legionnaires’ disease has been detected in water tanks in the dilapidated Galway Fire Station – in an area firefighters use to clean their breathing masks.
The deadly bacteria was found in two contaminated water tanks in the station on Fr Griffin Road – workers have been told to get a medical check-up if they feel unwell.
One firefighter told the Galway City Tribune: “One of those tanks is in the area where we clean our breathing apparatus masks, so who knows what we have ingested.”
The building has been branded by those stationed there as “the worst fire station in the country”, with the side of the building now in danger of collapse.
The situation has become so bad that firefighters themselves have called in the Health and Safety Authority to carry out an inspection.
And they have again hit out at management in Galway County Council for failing to address a series of historical complaints in relation to rodents, dampness and lack cleaning facilities.
The Council official in charge of Galway Fire and Rescue Service has said he is doing everything in his power to carry out repair works to the fire station in the Claddagh.
And he added that testing carried out on water tanks in the station – which preliminary results have shown contain high levels of bacteria – took place because he is being proactive. Peter Gavican, Director of Emergency Services with Galway County Council – who oversees the fire service across the city and county – said the delays in repair works to the station is down to the public procurement process.
For more on this story, see this week’s Galway City Tribune
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