Cork City Fire Brigade Third Officer Edward Buckley, one of the public faces of the city’s fire service, took his final salute at a special stand-down parade at the brigade’s Anglesea St headquarters last night after his last day on duty with Blue Watch.
“It has been wonderful helping people through working with the emergency services, and I’ve been blessed to have such great colleagues,” he said.
“Although some situations I’ve had to deal with have been very sad and difficult, overall working with the fire service has been a huge honour and a privilege.”
He was joined at the ceremony by his wife, Catherine, their children, Alan and wife, Marion, Aine and her husband, Dave, Louise and her husband, Trevor, and their children, Katie and Sam, two of Mr Buckley’s six grandchildren.
Chief Fire Officer John Ryan, lead the tributes, and described Mr Buckley as a great ambassador for city’s fire brigade.
“He is great believer in community safety and has been involved in a number of fire safety and road safety initiatives with other agencies” he said. “He has also been to the forefront in the fire brigade’s contribution to charitable causes and has given willingly of his time and effort to many events.”
Mr Buckley, who was also the brigade’s fleet manager, helped tackle some of the most daunting and complex fires in the city, including the Sunbeam blaze in 2003 and the Hixons chemical plant fire in Ringaskiddy. He has also helped lead the emergency response to river tragedies and to the city’s serious flooding incidents.
However, it was his attendance at fatal house fires and road traffic accidents, some of which resulted in the deaths of children, inspired him to champion the brigade’s community fire and road safety programmes.