THE brain drain from the county’s fire services could lead to a situation where “inexperienced” fire personnel are attending fires, it has been claimed. The assertion was made by Councillor Ian Lynch after it emerged that 22 personnel have left the fire brigade in the county over the past three years. Chief Fire Officer, Adrian Kelly described the loss of staff as “a larger than normal turnover in personnel” and something that creates challenges for Clare County Council. The information was disclosed on foot of a motion raised by Councillors Johnny Flynn, Gerry Flynn, Christy Curtin, Michael Begley, PJ Kelly and Ian Lynch at Monday’s local authority meeting. They had looked for a report into the sustainability of the retained mfirefighter model. In his response, Adrian Kelly outlined that of those that had left the service, six retired on medical grounds, four retired having reached retirement age, two took up promotional posts with other fire authorities, four took up other …
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