Firefighters tackled a blaze at a derelict former hotel in Cork city last night - one of over 50 callouts for the fire brigade during a busy bonfire night.
As the Irish Examiner reports, two units of the Cork City Fire Brigade and a water tanker responded to the incident at the former Sunset Ridge Hotel in Killeens near Blarney just after 10pm.
The hotel has been closed and boarded up for several years.
When they arrived, firefighters found a small fire inside the premises and managed to bring it under control quickly.
While investigations are underway to establish the cause of the blaze, there are suspicions it was started deliberately.
A spokesman for the fire brigade said fire crews have been called to that address on several occasions in recent years.
It is understood that the site was sold for potential development about two years ago. However development has yet to take place on the site.
Crews from Anglesea St, Ballyvolane and Ballincollig experienced a busy night with over 50 incidents attended on #StJohnsEve 🔥
All incidents dealt with safely by crews working throughout the night, thanks to @GardaTraffic, @corkcitycouncil and the public for their assistance. pic.twitter.com/biDK8YsETs— Cork City Fire Brigade (@CorkCityFire) June 24, 2021
Accident waiting to happen
Local Independent Cllr Ken O’Flynn said the time has now for the local authority to take action.
“The site has been derelict now for a number of years, and it is not secure. It and is an accident waiting to happen.
“Cork City council now needs to take responsibility and use the powers it has under the Derelict Sites Act in relation to this site because it not being used.”
Last night the Cork City Fire Brigade said crews around the city were very busy responding to bonfires.
The fire brigade had extra resources on standby to respond to incidents during Cork City’s traditional bonfire celebrations.
By midnight, they had responded to over 50 incidents - mostly illegal fires in open spaces across the city - up slightly on the numbers last year.
Fire crews worked in close cooperation with gardaí on the callouts throughout the evening and no major incidents were reported.
Cork City Council encouraged the public to celebrate Bonfire Night in an alternative way yesterday due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
