Firemen to the fore for TG4 documentary

The ultimately successful campaign to locate a fire station to serve South Connemara is the subject of a new documentary which will be screened on TG4 just after Christmas.

Fir Dóiteáin, An Cheathrú Rua (the Carraroe Firemen) is an observational documentary that focuses on the training and setting up of the new station and we follow the firemen for the first ten months of operation.

But the saga goes back over 50 years with the people of South Connemara campaigning for a fire station given that the closest facilities to them were in Galway and Clifden – both nearly an hour away.

This was not practical in the event of an emergency and finally after all of those years they were granted their wishes and a new station was set up in Carraroe, which is central to their designated fire ground.

On February 22, the brand new Fire Station in Carraroe started operating in the south Connemara region.

Nine local men spent nearly a year training to be firemen to work in the Station; every one of them lives within five minutes of the station.

Initially it was predicted that the Carraroe Fire Station would get around 60 calls in the first year.

However they have been very busy, completing 90 calls in the first ten months.

They also serve a large geographical area that starts in Lettermullen in the west and heads east to Inverin, Carraroe in the south to Maam in the north – including Rosmuc and Kilkerrin.

And if there is an emergency on Inis Meáin and Inis Óirr, the Carraroe Firemen will be brought by the Coastguard helicopter from the football pitch in Carraroe to Aran.

This documentary – directed by Pat Comer and edited by Mikey Ó Flatharta – will be screened on TG4 on Tuesday, December 27, at 7.45pm.