Carlow County Fire & Rescue Service has developed further green initiatives following the design and build of Ireland’s first ECO Class Fire Appliance stationed at Carlow Town which is fuelled by HVO. It also has solar panels and a battery to power the vehicle while at incidents in addition to vehicle intelligence systems including digital alerts of other road users. New initiatives which contributed to achieving ISO 14001 include electrification and transition to HVO of fleet, battery powered RTC equipment and PPV fans, in addition to thermal imaging drones.
All fire stations completed environmental impact assessments leading to improved bunded chemical storage, spill kits, spill kit training, signage and other building improvements such as fire station biodiversity gardens. Carlow Town Fire Station also has solar panels and has been insulated and transitioned from a fossil fuel burning heating system to air to water.
A refurbishment of Muine Bheag Fire Station, currently progressing through the planning stage, will reduce carbon emissions from 11 tonnes per annum for this building to net zero with two other fire stations also under review.
Carlow’s Assistant Chief Fire Officer Ben Woodhouse acknowledged the “fantastic team effort” from senior management through to operational crews and the administration team to attain this significant achievement. “We now have an Integrated Management System (IMS) combining ISO 9001, ISO 14001, and ISO 45001 providing Carlow County Fire & Rescue Service with a single, cohesive framework for managing quality, safety, and environmental performance. This enables clearer strategic leadership and governance, aligning operational delivery with organisational objectives and regulatory compliance.
“By integrating the three systems we have reduced duplication across audits, procedures, and training, resulting in greater efficiency and better use of our resources. The IMS ensures we have consistent processes and evidence demonstrating compliance and continuous improvement while also enhancing performance monitoring, providing meaningful data across quality of service to our customers and key stakeholders, safety of our staff and in parallel reducing environmental impacts through our activities. Culturally I believe it also promotes a consistent focus on safety, accountability, and professionalism across all staff while increasing public trust, political confidence, and organisational resilience.”
