At 11.20 am on the 10th October 1982 a call was received at Kilkenny Fire Station stating that the roof of the Friary was on fire. Within minutes 3 units of the Kilkenny City Fire Service were in attendance. This fire was difficult to fight because it was so high and the snorkel could not get to it because it was beside a narrow laneway. The fire was under control within 45 minutes. Extensive damage was caused to the roof and attic of the building.

A general view of the damage caused by the fire

Fire damage to the roof

Other News from 1982 - 1983

In 1983 Mr.P.Lyons died. He was replaced by Mr,B.Lonergan (son of the late A.F.C.O Mr J. Lonergan) as phone-duty officer.

In 1982 Kilkenny's Fire Chief became one of the founder members of the Fire Service Council of Ireland. This was set up to train officers and men in fire-fighting techniques.

Kilkenny City has one of the best training centres in the country. It has a 70 foot training tower which is used for Breathing Apparatus work. Temperatures of 110 degrees F can be stoked up and extracted in minutes. Smoke filled rooms with mazed partitions can be erected. During certain parts of training the firemen will have to crawl through two foot high pens while wearing Breathing Apparatus. Hundreds of firemen from all around the country have been trained in Kilkenny.

A Fireman in Breathing Apparatus

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