Retained firefighters on call for twice as many hours as full-timers

Retained firefighters are not "yellow pack" fire officers. They are not any less trained or equipped than their full-time colleagues and both are paid reasonably well. But the retained fire officers tend to have more experience of attending incidents.

The "part-time" issue rankles with the retained fire service, including those in Bray and Greystones.

A feasibility study for a full-time fire service for Bray compiled by Wicklow County Council in March found retained firefighters were generally available for about 84 hours per week, while a full-time firefighter was available for 39 hours per week.

In Bray and Greystones there are 24 fire officers, one of whom is a full-time station officer. Most are self-employed.

Although positions are advertised and filled by open competition, officers traditionally follow relatives into the service. Good health is a requirement and retirement is set at 55 years.

Fire officers said the prospect of going for a pint while "on call" is out of the question. Time "off-call" for a holiday or a wedding is by arrangement.

Fire officers often attend grisly crash scenes where people have to be cut from the wreckage. Forest fires can require teams to work for days at a time and, says National Fire Fighters' Association chairman Billy O'Connor, employers no longer see it as an honour to have a fire officer on the payroll.

Retained firefighters: remuneration

Since a national agreement in 1999, the remuneration package is as follows: the retainer pay starts at €8,417 for fire officers rising to €15,466 for station officers.

After 10 years the figures are €10,402 and €19,114 respectively. In addition personnel are paid "drill" fees of €20.06 per hour; and incident fees of €40.12 for the first hour, falling to €20.06 for subsequent hours.

At night or the weekend rates rise to €80.24 for the first hour, and €40.12 for subsequent hours. In 2006 fire officers in Bray and Greystones earned an average of €22,000 each.

The council report concluded a full-time fire service in Bray would cost €1.84 million a year at 2007 prices, about €1.33 million more than the retained costs.