Dublin Bus donates double decker bus to Dublin Fire Brigade

Today, Dublin Bus has donated a bus to support the vital services provided by Dublin Fire Brigade.  The Volvo B7TL double decker bus will be used in Dublin Fire Brigade’s Training Centre to assist with training firefighters and paramedics and for transporting the large numbers of recruits they plan to train over the next two years. 

Dublin Fire Brigade currently has 50 recruits in training and expect another 50 to start in early 2017. The vehicle has been painted with the traditional “fire engine red” and has also been branded to reflect the close working relationship between Dublin Bus and Dublin Fire Brigade. 

At the handover Chief Executive of Dublin Bus, Ray Coyne said; ‘Dublin Bus is committed to supporting the communities that our services operate in and this is a great opportunity to give back to those communities by supporting Dublin Fire Brigade in its invaluable and crucial work to protect and ensure the safety of the people of The Greater Dublin Area. We wish the new recruits well as they embark on their careers.’ 

Chief Fire Officer of Dublin Fire Brigade, Pat Fleming said; 'Dublin Fire Brigade has always had a close working relationship with Dublin Bus, we have worked together on many community safety initiatives and joint exercises in the past and continue to do so. We are delighted that Dublin Bus has kindly donated a double decker bus to Dublin Fire Brigade.  This will be well utilised for operational training purposes and will contribute to our joint aim of protecting and safeguarding the public.'

Dublin Bus and Dublin Fire Brigade have a long standing working relationship and have co-operated on a number of safety initiatives in recent years. These include the annual Halloween Safety Campaign. A range of family-friendly community events are organised in several areas across Dublin and talks are given by Dublin Bus’ School and Community Co-ordinators and Dublin Fire Brigade to reinforce safety messages among children and young people during Halloween. This has resulted in a significant decrease in anti-social behaviour involving buses during this period.

The bus is a 2000 registered Volvo B7TL vehicle and was taken out of service as part of the Dublin Bus Fleet Replacement Programme. The programme involves replacing older buses in the fleet with new models annually, to ensure Dublin Bus can provide a reliable, comfortable, modern and safe fleet for its customers, keep maintenance costs to a minimum, avail of technological advancements to ensure high accessibility standards and to ensure its fleet becomes more environmentally friendly.