On patrol with the Dublin Fire Brigade at Halloween as crews battle blazes across the city

A flurry of activity was heard over the radio as scant details of an incident slowly started to emerge.

Firefighter Stephen Cleary responded: “Roger, control - we’re mobile.” It didn’t take long before we were whizzing through the streets of Dublin in rush-hour traffic with blue lights and sirens.

Dublin Fire Brigade sub-officer Trevor Hunt, who joined the organisation in 2005, was behind the wheel. He meticulously navigated through the grid-locked city centre with precision.

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We were heading southbound. A van was engulfed in flames on the N11 in Stillorgan. It was just after 5pm - so crews responding knew the area would be thronged with commuters trying to get home. Two fire trucks raced to the scene while we followed closely behind in a Dublin Fire Brigade SUV.

One truck was used in a “fend off” position, which meant it parked across a lane - creating a safe area for fire crews to work. It didn’t take long for the fire to be brought under control. The driver had smelt what they believed to be something burning. They pulled over to investigate and it wasn’t long before the whole van was on fire.

Fire crews revealed it can take up to 1,000 litres of water to extinguish a vehicle blaze.

This was the first of many calls The Irish Mirror was dispatched to during a night out with the Dublin Fire Brigade on Wednesday, October 30 ahead of Halloween. After the van fire, it didn’t take long before we were on the road again.

This time, there were multiple reports of a bonfire in the Liffey Valley area. Children had been spotted throwing wood and other objects on a burning heap. The loud siren of the fire truck and the flashing luminous blue light saw them scarper before the crew arrived.

The fire, while only small, was precariously close to several houses. Thick black plumes of smoke billowed into the sky. While dangerous for anybody to breathe, it is particularly harmful to elderly people, especially those with respiratory illnesses such as Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Fire crews made light work of the inferno and in no time at all, the pallets were reduced to smouldering ashes. Not long after, another call came in. A bonfire was burning in Clondalkin. Again, this was close to several houses. Officers dampened down the flames as fireworks squealed off in the background. Fire crews also noticed several pallets stacked up on a green area close by and decided to spray them with water to prevent them from being set alight later in the night.

Throughout the evening, we also responded to a blazing fire in a forested area near the Killininny Road in Knocklyon and a shed on fire in the grounds of an apartment block in Kimmage. Firefighters suspect the shed fire could have simply been somebody who threw out burning ashes from a cigarette into the bin without checking they were fully extinguished.

The Irish Mirror also spent time in stations in Tallaght and Finglas during our shift. Due to the nature of the job, we were told members can’t eat out for their break. Instead, one member of the crew becomes the dedicated chef who cooks a meal for everybody else.

Between jobs, fire crews will try and tuck into some food. Once they're needed, a bell will sound around the station. Once it rings, officers race to the lobby area to put their protective clothing and boots on before they’re out responding to whatever incident has been called in, the details of which print out on a type of fax machine at the door. Many use the fire pole if they’re upstairs to make it down quicker.

During the day, they must be on the road within 60 seconds of the bell sounding - at night, it’s 90 seconds. There are no exceptions. One member will usually stay behind during each call out who will clean up or wrap up half-eaten dinners for the members of the crew who didn't get to finish before the bell sounded. The crew joked that firefighters have all become "fast eaters" as a result.

Sub-officer Trevor Hunt explained: “Every fire station has a watch. It’s like a home from home. We have somebody who cooks for us because obviously, we can’t leave the station. We have our food in the station. We’re a close-knit team. We depend on each other. We get to know a lot about each other, we talk about our lives, our families and they become like our second family.”

After a short pit stop in Finglas Station, we were back on the road responding to our last incident of the night, which was a crash in Lucan. Speaking afterward, Mr Hunt said: “It was a busy night.”

When asked about what he likes about being a firefighter, he said: “It’s the variety of the job. Because we have a fire service and an ambulance service, there is a huge variety. The main mission for Dublin Fire Brigade is to help people, so generally when we arrive at an incident - people are happy to see us and we get to help people.”

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