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EARLY ON 10 October 2015, I received a call from a journalist who told me that 10 people had lost their lives in a halting site fire in South Dublin.
I was shocked and, of course, the first thought that raced through my mind was – did I know the people involved?
An emergency response committee formed, made up of local Traveller support groups and cross-service representatives, which worked to address the immediate physical and emotional needs of the family.
I was asked by that committee to deal with all the media queries in relation to the tragedy. The phone rang from early morning until late at night, in the days after the Carrickmines fire tragedy in which members of the Connors, Gilbert and Lynch families died.
No crisis media plan could have predicted either the magnitude of the loss or shockingly, the diversion two days later from tragedy to turmoil – when local residents objected to the council’s proposals to provide a temporary site for the survivors.
Among my most visceral memories of that time was seeing, in the hours and days after the fire, the 14 members of the extended Connors family, parents, aunts, uncles and children, deeply traumatised and raw with shock as they gathered in a business park (where the Southside Traveller Action Group, which had taken them in, is located) – homeless.
I will never forget witnessing their loss and vulnerability.
Reporting
At first, the media response was engaged with the tragedy; and journalists sought updates on the hospitalised children, naming and personalising the deceased, the community response, the funeral scheduling and the vigils to the site.
But then came the subsequent chaos when local residents’ opposed the families being rehomed, which detracted from that initial outpouring.
The power imbalance of this extraordinary, unprecedented tragedy was reinforced over the coming weeks and years, culminating in the Carrickmines inquest this week.
There were days during the inquest that the alcohol levels of the deceased adults, who were said to have had between four and six drinks each, were subject to media reporting, often without sensitivity.
I can’t recall another fire tragedy, the Stardust among them, where the media reports focused on the alcohol levels of the victims.
A chip pan was identified as the cause of the fire and some media outlets also reported on which adult had eaten chips that night. That was repeated on the broadcast news bulletins throughout that night and it must have been difficult for the family to hear it again and again.
I thought the reporting was insensitive and inappropriate.
I’ve studied lots of other inquests and when non-Travellers die in a fire, there doesn’t seem to be the same impetus to apportion blame to the victims.
The critical finding of the inquest – which should have been emphasised by the media – was that emergency accommodation for Travellers is exempt from fire and safety regulations.
Lessons learned
In the aftermath of Carrickmines, we all heard the predictable rhetoric of ‘lessons to be learned’ but more than three years on, little has really changed.
While the Government reacted swiftly after the event, by commissioning a national fire safety audit of Traveller accommodation, there has been no subsequent national monitoring to ensure that local authorities have fulfilled the requirements of that audit.
In the year after Carrickmines three other fires occurred in halting sites, in Ballyfermot, Limerick and Wicklow, thankfully there was no loss of life. But safety remains a major concern especially in overcrowded sites and it has not been adequately addressed.
Seven months after the Carrickmines fire, the European Committee of Social Rights found that Ireland has violated five grounds of the European Social Charter related to Traveller accommodation.
They pointed to insufficient provision, and inadequate quality, of Traveller accommodation and to legislation (and practice) where Travellers were threatened with evictions without the necessary safeguards.
Just last week, the Committee of Social Rights in its monitoring report said that the Irish government has failed to redress those violations and is still out of conformity with the Charter.
That finding indicates that the government has not learned lessons from the Carrickmines tragedy.
From the point of view of the Traveller community, they have learned two things – that extreme tragedy is not a safeguard from racism and that European directives have little authority in redressing basic human rights entitlements.
Increased overcrowding
The numbers living in unauthorised sites and in situations of overcrowding is increasing, the latest figures available are for 2017 when there were 585 families living in unauthorised sites and 1,115 families sharing accommodation.
Since the year 2000, the number of Traveller families in need of accommodation has more than doubled. There are five times more families sharing facilities now and approximately 5,000 people are now inadequately accommodated.
Not surprisingly there is a direct correlation between local authorities who have underspent Traveller accommodation budgets and those who have the highest number of Traveller families who are living in shared accommodation, or on unauthorised sites, or sometimes both.
Review
In June 2017, the Government’s report Review of Funding for Traveller-Specific Accommodation and the Implementation of Traveller Accommodation Programmes (2000-2016) confirmed consistent failings at local authority level.
That report found that there was substantial under delivery, consistent underspending throughout the period (€55 million unspent) and it identified a lack of accountability and transparency.
It is indisputable that non-Travellers’ interests have dominated the decisions about whether new Traveller accommodation sites go ahead.
Some local representatives have played a role too by opposing plans and overriding their statutory functions without sanction or legal implication.
Very often, council plans for Traveller accommodation fail at the first hurdle – the public consultation process often stops them abruptly.
Temporary sites and overcrowded sites will continue to exist as long as locals and their representatives are allowed to block the development of adequate, safe accommodation for Travellers, whether that be in halting sites or group housing developments.
Minister Damien English has shown a commitment to righting the inadequate supply of accommodation with a review of the Traveller Accommodation Act currently underway.
That review must be brave and robust in its proposals if it seeks to accelerate homes for Travellers and thereby ensure that all those sites are fire safe.
Jacinta Brack, is the Communications and Advocacy Coordinator of the Irish Traveller Movement.
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The primary causes of “the fire” , when there are fatalities resulting from a fire, will always be reported by the media in subsequent reporting on the inquest.
The sad reality is that the tragic loss of life would have been likely in many residential settings, a typical three bed social home, a caravan, mobile home, given the intensity and devastating effect of the root source.
Carrickmines was heart breaking, the tragic event and now the reporting on the inquest would again be highly emotive.
If there were smoke detectors in place and a fire blanket and/or extinguisher available, there is no doubt that some lives may have been saved if even one person was alerted by a smoke detector.
The EU report you reference, seemed to rely on a contribution from the ihrec, no other input was sought, no questions were asked as to why perfectly presented halting sites, complete with running water and electricity supply and sanitation, are within a short time heavily vandalised from within. Pipes pulled out, toiled facilities damaged and electricity cut off due to being repeatedly made unsafe by vandalism or the non payment of the bills.
I’m my opinion the report simply sites that halting sites are in terrible condition, but no attempt was made to question why sites are wrecked by the travellers themselves. Responsibilities in the provision of such sites, must work both ways, if the taxpayer provides, then the travellers must not abuse that facility.
Tragic accident yes. However, the facts presented clearly illustrated the source of the fire itself.
An inquest seeks to determine a cause of death not to apportion blame.As part of the investigation,all relevant facts are included which in the case of the Carrickmines fire indicated that all the adults who died in this tragedy had consumed alcohol and asked by the coroner if alcohol had played a part in this tragedy,Dr Margaret Bolster replied it did
“Unfortunately I have worked on many cases in the setting of acute alcohol intoxication and it certainly does affect reaction times,” Dr Bolster said.
The victims were ‘deeply unconscious’ due to carbon monoxide poisoning before their bodies were damaged in the flames, Dr Bolster said. “Carbon monoxide saturation levels of over 50% are considered fatal in adults. These are facts assessed by the coroner as part of an inquest but equally as the comment above by Angelo Salvini indicates , there is responsibility by travellers for their own accomodation and maintaining safety. All of the units on the Carrickmines site were provided by the residents but the inquest heard
The inquest heard details of electrics that were “tampered with so badly” they were deemed unsafe. Electrical contractor Karl Fortune gave evidence of cables taped together, exposed wires, signs of burning and overload and an extension lead lying on a wet tiled floor.
Electrical upgrade works were carried out in May 2015. Fire safety equipment including fire extinguishers, fire blankets and smoke alarms were provided at the site.
The Carrickmines fire was a tragedy but to dismiss evidence of the inquest simply because it may be unpalatable is not acceptable. The critical finding that emergency accommodation is exempt from fire and safety legislation is shocking and unacceptable, this should be the focus of the article and ensuring that going forward,no such exemption is legal or permitted.My condolences to all the families .
Miss Brack you cannot compare people out enjoying themselves at a licenced premises under the supervision of management to people drinking and using a deep fat Fryer while responsible for children at the same time!
When travellers park up clusters of caravans in laybys or on other people’s land, fire regulations don’t apply either.
The main reason this disaster happened was alcohol. The scale of the disaster was magnified by the way the cabins were positioned, but even if all regulations applied in this case, there would have been some deaths.
It’s not always someone else’s fault when bad things happen.
I followed the media coverage of the inquest closely. This article is the first I’ve seen that referenced the alcohol levels of the deceased adults.
@Colm Doherty: yes same here, I think the driver for the message mind you is to close a hole where blame was being pushed onto the government for not providing good enough facilities or adequately providing care.
Fact of the matter is, and to close it off, is that it truly was an avoidable tragic accident.
When the fire broke out there was no shortage of do-gooders wailing about neoliberal FG, uncaring society blah blah blah (take a bow Kitty Holland). The sad truth is that a foolish, drunk person was primarily responsible for this tragedy.
@Goban Saor: Kitty wasn’t the only one. Some of us worked tirelessly on this since the fire.
Comments should be closed, the death has occured it’s absolutely devastating that this happened… So let’s respect the People who passed away. And let them Rest in Peace….
@Martin Mc Donagh: If we don’t talk about the causes of any fatal tradegy, how are we to learn the lessons from them to stop similar occurrences in the future?
@Martin Mc Donagh: But Martin, do u want the article taken down. The author has detailed some of the evidence, and in my opinion has attempted to link it to neglect by the authorities.
There is also a disturbing link by the author to a two line finding from a EU committee report, that traveller advocacy groups have been busy promoting as some sort of profound findings. Grand if they included the reports noting that progress continues. As heart breaking as the carrickmines tragedy has been, it should not be used by traveller advocacy groups to beat the authorities and not expect to generate debate.
There’s more to this than meets the eye.
1. I understand there were no smoke detectors.
2. Heat detectors were in use.
3. The victims perished because of smoke inhalation
4. In the inquest, there were no reports of any alarms sounding.
5. The Fire Services reported that the nearest hydrant was “unavailable”
6. Before the fire, why was the hydrant head cut and shore sealed using Oxy Acetylene Welding
7. I attended the inquest for two days, on the days I was there some fire extinguishers were not included in the presentation – why?
A fire can take place in anyone’s home, whether drink is involved or not. We rely on our fire safety equipment to keep us safe and reduce risk.
Was risk reduced?
@Chris Curran: hi, I found the info I was looking for so just to answer some of your concerns.
I explained the heat v smoke detector.
My read of the rules and recommendations in relation to any mobile or portable is that none of the 3 items detector, blanket and extinguisher , inside each structure are the responsibility of the authorities.
There was evidence that the 3 extinguishers recovered from the site were in working order but unused. There are instructions for use, printed on each unit and include visual imagery.
Domestic Smoke/Heat Detectors, if provided, are only designed to help provide an early warning to the occupants, it’s highly unlikely anybody would hear the warning from any other structure especially when everyone is sleeping.
There was evidence that 10 Fire Extinguishers were provided and serviced. ( 1 for each bay ) . If any were missing from the site or relocated, the answers can only come from the site occupants.
The local authorities, in my opinion, were actually acting above requirements, when providing fire kits to each individual family.
In the event, a working Fire hydrant would have been of little use, as it would not have been activated or used on the night.
The Fire Brigade quickly extinguished the blaze after arriving, they would not have needed a Hydrant connection.
EVERYBODY, traveller, settled or visitor should ensure they have some safety equipment, the types of devices and equipment mentioned can be bought easily and are not expensive. Cars, caravans, mobile homes, vans , trucks, try have one in each vehicle.
@Chris Curran: Dun Laoghaire Rathdown council stated that they had provided smoke detectors to the residents on the site. Later it emerged that they had not been fitted.
I think I said that smoke detectors activated may have saved lives IF only one person was alerted by it.
The use of Heat Detectors is not uncommon in situations where the methods of cooking ie Frying , boiling, oven cooking may constantly cause false alarms. The reasoning being, if a smoke detector is used and leads to constant false alarms, home owners/residents will disconnect them , instead so, heat detectors are used, they are not as fast to detect but much better than nothing. This is not only the accepted practice in the industry, it is the reasoning used in the current Irish Standard on Fire Alarms. But sadly the responsibility lies solely with the owner of the residence as is the case for all private individuals , and it’s only in recent years that rental properties are required to have a small Fire Extinguisher, Smoke Detector in A hallway and/or Landing, and a Fire Blanket ( with presence of mind, a Fire Blanket would have been most effective on that night). If you purchase new or construct a house privately, there is a requirement for a smoke detector on each floor, interlinked.
A smoke detector in the sleeping area on that dreadfully night, may also have had an effect, but the responsibility lies solely with the owner of the residence.
Similarly, it’s a good idea to have a Fire Extinguisher and Blanket in a home or any semi mobile, portable, motorised living space, but again that decision is for the owner of such structures.
If there was a built kitchen or a community room on that site, it’s likely that’s the only responsibilities authorities would have. I have no idea about the Hydrant.
What do you mean by some Fire Extinguishers, not included in the presentation, its interesting , I only ask out of curiosity and/or maybe I can answer your question. Anything that may clarify things may b a future help to people.
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