The number of gorse fires in Kerry decreased by almost 60% during the first seven months of this year.
The figures are contained in Kerry County Council’s Water, Environment, Fire and Library Services report.
They were compiled by the Chief Fire Officer for Kerry, Andrew Macilwraith.
Between January and the end of July, the Kerry Fire Service responded to 87 gorse fires; that’s down from 193 for the same period last year, which is a decrease of 55%.
During the first seven months of the year, the Kerry Fire Service was mobilised 770 times; a decrease of 6% when compared to last year when it was mobilised 823 times.
The number of road traffic collisions that were attended by the county’s fire service rose by 56% during that time.
The fire service attended 95 collisions this year, compared to 61 during the first seven months of last year.
Instances of chimney fires are down this year; last year there were 63 such fires during this time period, compared to 53 this year.
