Tag Archives: safety

Members of Killaloe Coast Guard Unit responded to two call outs on Saturday night – one to a man who suffered a suspected heart attack and the second to a cruiser which ran aground on Lough Derg. The man was airlifted to hospital after he suffered cardiac arrest on board a boat at Banagher. The Killaloe unit was alerted and responded as did the Shannon based search and rescue helicopter, Rescue 115. Ambulance paramedics and gardaí also went to the scene where the boat had moored at Banagher. The man was removed by the helicopter crew and flown to Galway University Hospital. While returning to their base at Killaloe, the unit was directed to a second emergency call. A 40-foot cruise boat with five people on board had run aground south of the Silly Island on Lough Derg. Conditions were bad with darkness setting in. Shore teams were also sent to the area by road and a stricken cruiser was …

While out on exercise last Thursday night, Lough Derg RNLI Lifeboat came to the assistance of five people whose boat had suffered engine failure, at the south western end of Lough Derg. At 8.30pm the lifeboat observed a boat, close to shore at Two Mile Gate, flash a distress signal with a torch. Upon investigation the lifeboat found five people, four adults and one child, on board a 20ft boat that had suffered engine failure. They had contacted two friends for assistance, but having attempted to tow them, the battery on their jet ski failed. The lifeboat crew, with helm Eleanor Hooker, Robbie Garland and Owen Cavanagh on board, secured the jet ski and took the boat with her passengers and an RNLI crew member on board, under tow to their mooring at Killaloe. Once the boat was safely tied alongside, the lifeboat took the two jet skiers plus their vessel upriver and under the bridge at Killaloe to their …

COMPANIES in Clare should “step up and provide corporate support” to West Africa, as it fights to contain the outbreak of Ebola, an Inagh man leading one NGO’s response to the disease in the region has said. Damien Queally of Plan Ireland has just returned to his base in Senegal from a visit to the charity’s projects in the three worst-affected countries. “We are looking for medical personnel, good solid project managers who are able to keep multiple activities moving at the same time, logisticians. It would be great if some companies would step up and provide corporate support with some of the supplies that are needed. Personal protective equipment for one person is about €50, a water hygiene kit is about €25,” he said. “After visiting the three countries, while I was a bit apprehensive going in, once I saw the hand-washing checks everywhere, the temperature checks everywhere…there is a lot more in place, my fear went. Having gone …

A FAMILY of swans going on a Sunday afternoon ramble in Clarecastle held up traffic this afternoon before Angela Kelleher managed to divert them into her front garden. The family, two adult swans and seven cygnets, are currently resting there while local authority staff are expected to arrive later and take them away. “They were all walking along the Ennis-Clarecastle road and all the cars were stopped behind them, it was unreal to see it. We managed to veer them off the road, got them into the driveway and closed the gate after them,” said Angela. Her father and some neighbours assisted her and she says the swans seem very tired after their afternoon walk.

By Dan Danaher Identifying workplace hazards and assessing and controlling fire hazard risk has helped Clare firemen scoop a major national award. Clare Fire and Rescue Service  joined 31 private and public sector organisations from across Ireland to receive service quality awards – OHSAS 18001:2007 certification, from the Minister of State for Small Business, Deputy John Perry recently. Mayor of Clare, Councillor Joe Arkins, Adrian Kelly, Clare Chief Fire Officer and Ger Hartnett, senior executive Health and Safety Officer, Clare County Council attended the awards’ ceremony in Dublin. The “Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems’ standard was first published by the National Standards Authority of Ireland (NSAI) in 2007. The standard, which is the only auditable international standard for health and safety, sets out a preventative and proactive approach to identifying workplace hazards and assessing and controlling risk. Councillor Arkins said that maintaining health and safety standards to the highest level is “critically important for both fire service personnel and …

FOLLOWING on from the dog bite prevention article a few weeks ago, here are some tips for parents and dog owners to help keep children safe: THE three most important things to teach your children Some dogs don’t like hugs and kisses. Teach your children not to hug or kiss a dog on the face. Hugging the family dog or face-to-face contact are common causes of bites to the face. Instead, teach kids to scratch the dog on the chest or the side of the neck. Be a tree if a strange dog approaches. Tach children to stand still, like a tree. If children flap around, run or make squealing noises this can excite a dog even more. Trees are boring and the dog will eventually go away. This works for strange dogs and anytime the family dog gets too frisky or becomes aggressive. Never tease a dog and never disturb a dog that’s sleeping, eating or protecting something like …