The construction of a new Fire Station in Drogheda has heralded a new era for the Louth town as the continued economic growth has seen many changes in the area. Work commenced on the new station on the 26th June 2006, after Minister Batt O'Keefe approved the project. The main contractor is Brendan J Duffy Construction of Ardee Rd, Dundalk, Co Louth and Grafton Architects drew up the plans. Following a selective tender process, the Ardee based company won the contract and with many years experience in the building trade, it was no surprise that Drogheda Borough Council chose the firm. Brendan J Duffy Construction worked alongside Grafton Architects, Structural Engineering firm OCSC and Quantity Surveyors KSN to complete the project. The development phase consisted of the construction of a new six/seven bay Fire and Emergency facility, comprising of an appliance bay, ablutions, office, and workshop area, a training tower together with associated site works, drainage site services and site enclosures. Over fifty people were employed full time on the project and they were involved in such specialised areas as piling, structural steelwork, aluminum windows and doors, while specialised finishes were sub letted to a group of sub contractors that have proven their worth to Brendan J Duffy Construction over the years. Contracts Manager on the project was Jarlath Cunningham, who has many years experience in the industry and has worked on similar projects in the past. Jarlath has been employed with the company for the past 12 years. Some of the bigger contracts completed by Brendan J Duffy Construction recently include the McArdle Moore Brewery, which was a ?17 million project consisted of a bottling hall, storage and administration buildings and service area. The Four Seasons Hotel in Carlingford. A ?15 million project comprising of a new 50 bedroom Hotel with leisure centre, swimming pool and function room. A ?10.99 million development for Harp Lager and Ballymascanion House Hotel, which included 86 bedroom block extension, leisure centre and pool in two phases worth ?10.76 million. Other miscellaneous projects completed by the company included St Louis College in Dundalk. This consisted of a new residential college, separate church and the conversion of Turret House into dormitories at a cost of ?21 million as well as a new secondary school, St Mary's in Drogheda and Millmount Tower also in the town. The construction of the new Fire Station is a welcome sight for the local community and the Drogheda Borough Council has admitted that the new facility is a much needed and welcome facility to the town. The Fire Services in Ireland are managed at local authority level, with the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government playing an advisory, legislative and policy-making role. The Fire Services are operated by 37 Fire Authorities, which are managed by City Councils, County Councils, Borough Councils and Town Councils around the state. The staff of the Fire Services runs 222 fire stations around the country and is made up of full-time professional fire fighters and retained part-time staff. Retained staff, who make up about two-thirds of the national total, are recruited in rural areas, and are available for emergencies at all times via a paging system. Cities and larger urban areas are serviced by full-time fire fighters, who work in shifts to provide a 24-hour on call service. Most local authorities levy charges for Fire Service inspections. These charges can vary depending on your local authority, and may also vary depending on the nature of your premises. For example, if you are the holder of a Fire Certificate for a club, public dance hall, public house or restaurant, inspection charges can vary because of the different nature of inspections for each category of premises. The Drogheda Development plan has been designed to promote, develop and regulate the resources of the Borough in order to maximise the benefit whilst minimizing the cost for all the citizens concerned. The Fire Station is one such development that will be a benefit to the people and they will lay safer in their beds with the knowledge that a modern facility has been constructed and highly trained staff is on hand for any emergencies. Sport in the county is an important part of its structure and there are many amenities in place through the county and in particular Dundalk and Drogheda. For GAA followers, this is a time of high anticipation as following on from this year's exploits in the championship, Louth supporters are looking for the county team to take the next step in their quest for major honours. Louth have made massive strides in the last few years and are now a match for the majority of sides in the country, but success has eluded them on a national stage in the bigger competitions. However, Eamon McEneaney has the players at his disposal to bring the county forward even further. The Monaghan native has worked wonders with a small pool of players. Louth face Dublin in next year's Leinster opener and many believe that the Wee County can cause an upset against the defending provincial champions. The current crop of players is capable of winning a Leinster championship and certainly the people of Louth deserve to see some success back in the county. Many within the county feel that it is only a matter of time before this can be achieved and who could argue with them. Tweet

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