SIPTU members in Dublin Fire Brigade (DFB) are calling upon members of the public and elected representatives to support protests against the break up of the DFB Emergency Medical Service outside fire stations across the city on Saturday, 4th March, between 1.00 p.m. and 2.00 p.m. SIPTU Organiser, Brendan O’Brien said: “These protests were initially called by Dublin City Councillor Christy Burke. Our members would like to thank him for this initiative which has their full support and the backing of most city councillors. “These protests, which are being held at all 12 fire stations across the city, will highlight the opposition of firefighters and their supporters to an attempt by senior management in Dublin City Council to break up the DFB Emergency Medical Service by removing its ambulance call and dispatch function. Removal of this function breaks a key link in the DFB Emergency Medical Service chain and reduces its effectiveness and will result in response time delays.” SIPTU DFB Firefighters voted by 93% to 7% in favour of strike action and 97% to 3% in favour of industrial action, in a ballot counted on Friday, 17th February. The SIPTU DFB Strike Committee has considered the options available to it and will announce its next steps in the campaign to retain the DFB Emergency Medical Service as a fully functioning operation in the coming days. SIPTU DFB Firefighters will hold a further rally outside City Hall, Dublin 2, on Monday (6th March) between 5.45 p.m. and 6.45 p.m.
SIPTU Firefighters support protests outside Dublin fire stations on Saturday
