Published: Thursday, 18th March, 2010 6:00pm

Local fire brigade attending 20 brush fires each week

by Karen Downey

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Athlone Fire and Rescue is attending approximately 20 brush fires a week, the Westmeath Independent has learned.

While the weather of late has wreaked havoc on Athlone, with the floods in November with the big freeze that followed in December and January, it appears the unseasonably dry weather we've had in recent weeks is bringing trouble of a different kind in the form of brush fires.

Assistant Chief Fire Office Colm McDaid told the Westmeath Independent yesterday (Tuesday) that the fire service has received a lot of calls about brush fires in recent weeks and is dealing with about 20 callouts a week.

"We didn't have it last summer. This is unseasonably early for us, but it has been very dry in recent weeks," he said of the brush fires. "We have had no significant rain in weeks."

During the early hours of last Saturday morning the fire service attended a brush fire between Moate and Moyvoughley.

Mr McDaid said the brigade attended the fire, but was only out for a short time.

He added that there was nothing endangered in the area from the fire, but there were two electricity poles in the area and the fire fighters kept the fire away from these.

Mr McDaid explained that because of the dry weather we have had all it takes is some sun and a piece of glass to start a brush fire, or even a cigarette butt being carelessly thrown away.

It is regarded as highly unusual for such scrub fires to break out in such volumes in early Spring.