Firefighters in Mitchelstown Fire Brigade were awarded for their years of dedicated service last week by Cork County Council, as milestones of ten, twenty and thirty years service were recognised with presentations in the station.

Assistant Chief Fire Officer for Operations in North Cork, Roy Collins presented Maurice Fitzgerald with a watch for 30 years of service, while Michael Curtin, Sean Walsh, Verling Fitzgerald and Micheal Carolan were all presented with ornamental pieces for their 20 years service and Adrian O'Shea, Maurice Kenneally, Bob Dalton and Denis Power received Cross pens for their 10 years of service.

Speaking about the awards, Roy explained that there are two different awards for firefighters, one from the county council and one from the National Directorate for Fire and Emergency Management.

He said that the ornament presented to the firefighters for 20 years of service shows hands, which is symbolic of the idea that the firefighters are holding people's lives in their hands as they go about their daily lives.

"From our point of view, it's a selfless job and they don't get a lot of thanks for what they do most of the time. This is our way of showing appreciation for the lads and the selfless work they do. It's also important for crew morale, that every milestone is recognised, as we have seen that many firefighters would stay firefighters for the rest of their careers," Roy said.

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