The Auxiliary Fire Service, commonly known as the A.F.S., was initiated under the auspices of the Air Raid Precautions Act, 1939 which stated that " it shall be the duty of each scheme making authority to prepare and submit to the Minister as regards its functional area a scheme in respect of the following, which included:
the extinguishment of fires likely to result from each attack ".
The attack referred to was the attack from the air.
The Fire Brigade Services as we know them today were not developed to the same degree in the 1940's to the 1960's and consequently Civil Defence was asked to equip themselves to extinguish fires in a war - time situation, as laid down in the 1939 Act.
Cross Border Dash
On the 15th April 1941 the Luftwaffe started to bomb further afield and headed for Belfast, Northern Ireland. The city suffered heavy bombing and all brigades were stretched to the limit.The Auxiliary Fire Service and the Dublin fire brigade in defiance of neutrality raced across the border to help their colleagues.
German's Bomb Dublin
Despite the fact that Ireland declared its self neutral at the beginning of the war, several bombs landed in the city in 1941. The bombs hit the northern part of Dublin. 38 people died and 70 homes were destroyed. As a result of these bombings serious fire were started and firefighters worked valiantly amidst the carnage.
At the end of the war the Auxiliary Fire Service was stepped down.
The Auxiliary Fire Service Reformed
With the Cold War looming between America and Russia,people from all over the world were fearful of a Nuclear war. The Civil Defence was initiated as a volunteer force which would be given basic training to help out in the event of war or a major emergency.
In 1957 The Auxiliary Fire Service was reformed in Ireland as part of the Civil Defence.Throughout the country the Chief Officers of fulltime Fire Services were given the responsibility for the training of A.F.S units throughout the country.
The A.F.S. Pumps
The first self propelled pumps were obtained from the military in 1945 and were distributed to 19 Local Authorities. The models were Tangye and sulzer. As only 19 self propelled appliances were made available the other interested Authorities had to accept light trailers ( Beresford or Worthington Simpson) or heavy trailers ( Apex orBeresford Stork).
The areas pumps were located included Leitrim, Meath, Monaghan, Letterkenny, Skibbereen, Limerick, Mallow, Ballinasloe, Enniscorthy, Sligo, Thurles, Cashel, Boyle, Mullingar, Cobh, Killarney, Kildare, Longford, and Waterford City.
In 1965, Green Goddesses were purchased to replace the original models and some of these can be seen at transport museums or at parades.
The Auxiliary Fire Service a section of the Civil Defence
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