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A POPULAR BAR and restaurant in Co. Kildare has been badly damaged in a fire overnight.
The Village Inn on Main St. in Celbridge employs about 20 people and the site is reputed as the place where Arthur Guinness brewed his first beer.
The fire damaged a number of parts of the premises but a section of the bar is said to be worst affected.
Kildare Fire Service units from Leixlip and Maynooth were alerted to the blaze at about 3.30am and the fire was extinguished.
A garda investigation is now underway to establish the cause of the fire and the scene is currently preserved pending a technical examination.
At present there is nothing to suggest any suspicious circumstances surrounding the cause of the fire.
The pub is closed for the time being and it is expected to reopen but a timeline on this has not yet been established.
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Would it not have been Kildare county fire brigade?
Correct me if I’m wrong
@Yorkie1892: some border towns and areas will have cross boarder agreements where DFB would have a faster response time rather than waiting for a retained unit from the closest Kildare station.
@Yorkie1892: Is there still part time fire fighters like those who died tragically in Bray. There are many towns which are main regional station for large catchment area and the fire fighters don’t stay there for a shift instead they rock up only when something happens. Wouldn’t it be best if they had to stay at station for full shifts like in Dublin and probably all first world countries?
@abcyz: yeh but leixlip station is 10 minutes away. Dublin station is 20 minutes away. Weird IF DFB responded first, no?
@Eugene Tyson: Weird¡ Could have been for a variety of reasons – procedural, engaged elsewhere, type/size of fire etc.
@abcyz: many towns still have part time fire fighters. Even just volunteers!
@Eugene Tyson: And Maynooth is nearer, slightly!
@Eugene Tyson: Leixlip is manned by volunteers who drop what they are doing when beeped and run to the station to get kitted out. DFB are based in stations, on standby – can be quicker to respond.
@Davey Lawlor: Actually Davey, there are no Dublin stations that can get to Celbridge or the north of Kildare quicker than either Leixlip or Maynooth, the nearest being Tallaght & Blanchardstown. Quite the opposite, we(Leixlip) have a quicker response time to most of Lucan than either of the afore mentioned DFB stations. You are right that the DFB provide some level of cover to surrounding counties(1st turnout to parts of the motorway towards Naas & 2nd or third turn out to other areas in Kildare). This is the same arrangement in place around most of the country as most counties agree that the nearest station should go to the call regardless of county borders, which is what the public would expect. One notable exception to this agreement is Dublin Fire Brigade!
@Matt Connolly: we’re not volunteers Matt, we just work off an alerter system. As a rule, it generally takes a retained station around 5 or 6 mins to go mobile to the call. There are no volunteer fire services in Ireland btw, they are all paid. There is the civil defence but they don’t respond to 999 calls
@Conor Moynihan: thanks for clearing that up Conor! Was just broadly referencing our protocol for Yorkie’s question in relation to some of our turnouts in Kildare. Wasn’t even sure if we did actually turn out to it, or if in fact No. 7 would get to Celbridge before yourselves!
@Paul Foot: sry Paul but no its not, Leixlip is. It was also the first attending station at the incident
@Conor Moynihan: thanks Conor for clearing it up.
@Conor Moynihan: thought it would have been and it was
@abcyz: In Mullingar its a part time service with this working on call. Mullingar fire station covers a huge area, but is still predominantly only part time, unfortunately.
Crazy! Haven’t been in Celbridge in ten years and I was outside that pub yesterday.
@Tommy Browne: ¬_¬
@Tommy Browne: suspect no.1
@Niall Moran:
Might be another decade before I go back Niall.
@Tommy Browne: nah be sooner than that, you would only get a suspended sentence for arson with our justice system.
There were no units of Dublin Fire Brigade there. The incident was attended by units from Leixlip & Maynooth(both Kildare Fire Service)
In my early years as an accountant we had a lot of pub clients. After a fire, we would be called in to take inventory for insurance purposes. Surrealism at it best. Everything burnt, water everywhere, horrible acrid smells, broken glass, spilled beer and liquor. Off duty firemen enjoyed the rewards of a hard nights work. Only top shelf liquor. Nothing better than a micro early morning session with firemen after a hard nights work.
That was the eighties, I’m sure it’s all changed now.
There were no units from Dublin Fire Brigade there. The incident was attended by appliances from Leixlip station & Maynooth(both Kildare Fire Service)
There was a fire in there recently enough too , small one in kitchen . Customers had to leave while eating there food
@Axl: try that one … walking plate in hand fork and knife and trying to cut a fillet steak … can be done.
My friends father was a fire fighter in a small village back in early 90s when he was on call you couldn’t ring/use his landline they would ring him and he would be called to the station.
You’re not wrong yorkie, there were no units from Dublin Fire Brigade there. The incident was attended by Leixlip Station & Maynooth, both Kildare Fire Service!
Alright Conor we get the message no DFB where in attendance..well done to the ones who where!!!
That’s me in the clear then .
Where was the Village Idiot,when the fire occurred.?
@Brian O Reilly: Sligo
Maynooth and Leixlip are both towns in County Kildare.The Kildare fire service in those towns responded.
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