Ballydehob man gets €6k bill for 999 gorse fire call

A BALLYDEHOB restaurant owner is the latest person to have received a bill from Cork County Council after calling 999 for assistance during the recent gorse fires that threatened large areas 

Leo Bolger, of Bally Bia, was invoiced for €6,116 for his call to emergency services on March 4th. 

‘We might as well join the club. We didn’t ring them and it didn’t end up on our land, however my dad and brother helped fight it till all hours,’ he posted on the Ballybia Instagram page. Mr Bolger was charged €3,278 for Schull Fire Brigade’s help, and €2,838 because the Bantry Fire Brigade had assisted Schull. 

The Southern Star has already highlighted how David Roche, who lives at Kealties on the Sheep’s Head, was charged €2,024 after the caretaker at his property rang emergency services on February 28th, to say gorse fires were threatening several homes in the area. 

Goleen resident Birgit Eder also received a bill of €2,464, after she rang for help the previous day, and a crew battled for hours to save hear home, and others nearby. 

The day after The Southern Star published her story, she was contacted by the Cork County Council to say that ‘after reviewing the file’ it was decided that no charges should be levied.

Cork County Council Fire Service responded to 71 fires, primarily in Bantry, Mizen peninsula, Sheep’s Head peninsula, the Beara peninsula and Tragumna during a week which saw as gorse and vegetation set alight just days before the Department of Agriculture’s ‘no burning’ deadline was imposed.