Eight units of the Dublin Fire Brigade dealt with a blaze at the Ringsend waste water treatment plant in the early hours of yesterday morning. The alarm was raised at around 2 a.m. when one of the plant's three drying systems overheated and caught fire.
The emergency services arrived on scene shortly after and the blaze was under control just over an hour later. No injuries were reported and damage to the plant was limited, according to Dublin City Council, which operates the facility.
A spokeswoman for the city council said: "An incident occurred at our plant at Ringsend in the early hours of yesterday morning. Thankfully, no one was hurt as a result of the fire and no extensive damage was caused."
The Green Party TD for Dublin South East, Mr John Gormley, said last night: "The Poolbeg peninsula has had many industrial fires over the last number of years and this morning's fire is yet another example. The environmental and health consequences of these fires are of concern to the Green Party and to local residents. There is a real fear for the safety of local residents should a major explosion occur."
Mr Gormley is to seek a meeting with the city council's environmental health officers. The city council insisted there was no environmental fall-out from the blaze. "There was no risk to the environment from the fire and any complaints in recent times from residents have been to do with odour emissions. That situation has been dealt with fully. Our back up plan worked perfectly and our auxiliary systems kicked in as soon as the dryer overheated."