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by Linda McGrory
FIRE-FIGHTERS who responded to the crash that killed
eight men in Co Donegal are being offered stress
management counselling to cope with the trauma of
the scenes they witnessed that night.
A total of 22 firemen attended the scene of the
carnage only to discover that some of them knew a
number of the victims involved in the head-on
collision.
Donegal chief fire officer, Bobby McMenamin, last
night said his crews were witness to a "very tragic
event".
"It was the single biggest loss of life in one road
accident ever encountered by the emergency services
in Ireland and it was a very tragic scene," he said.
"Thankfully, no relatives of the firefighters were
involved, but a number of the men would have
recognised some of the casualties at the scene."
Mr McMenamin said the personnel who responded to the
accident at Glassmullen, on the main Buncrana to
Clonmany road at 10.40pm on Sunday, were currently
using a peer support system to deal with the
aftermath of the accident. |
Peer support is part of
the fire service's Critical Incident Stress
Management System and includes group discussions to
give officers an opportunity to openly talk about
their experiences of an accident.
The Donegal fire-fighters will also have access to
the services of Staffcare, a Belfast-based provider
of work-related stress management counselling. The
service includes a 24/7 counselling hotline.
Mr McMenamin said his crews were at the scene of the
accident from around 11pm to 3.30am. They were
joined by gardai, clergy, ambulance personnel and
other medical professionals.
In a press briefing earlier this week, assistant
commissioner, Kieran Kenny, said up to six Gardai
from the Buncrana district responded to the horrific
pile-up in the rural glen. He said they were
receiving counselling from the in-house garda
welfare service while the HSE has opened a helpline
for anyone in the locality affected by the tragedy.
The HSE line is 087 2798412. |
