THE FIRE Service in New Ross has praised the quick thinking of management and staff in the Apex Swimming Pool and Leisure complex in the wake of Wednesday’s horrific storm which wreaked havoc on the town.

A large section of roof from the facility was blown to the ground during the height of the storm, however, according to Chief Fire Station Officer in New Ross, Cyril McGarr, the situation could have been far worse but for the actions of staff and in particular, Duty Manager, Martin Kirby.

Speaking to The Echo Mr. McGarr said one unit of the service attended the scene.

“We salvaged electronic equipment and did a safety assessment of the building with Mr. Kirby,” he said.

“We decided it was safe for us to work and salvaged electronic equipment such as computers electronic components from threadmills and items like that,” he added.

The equipment was moved to a safe part of the building.

Mr. McGarr praised Mr. Kirby who he said did a fantastic job in securing the building and ensuring the safety of everyone inside before they arrived.

“He knew how many people were in the building, he knew where the staff were and he had also secured the gas connections and turned off the electricity supply,” said Mr. McGarr.

“He really did a fantastic job and that should be acknowledged.”

Mr. McGarr also said that Mr. Kirby carried out his role as Fire Marshall in the Apex in exemplary fashion.

“When we went up there he knew where everyone was but also allocated staff members to show us where priority equipment was that needed to be salvaged and we moved it to a safe place,” he said.

“He really had a lot of work done when we got there and that really helped us in making the building safe and secure,” he added.

Mr. McGarr also praised the Gardai for their role in ensuring the safety of pupils in the Good Counsel College where debris from the Apex landed after being blown away.

While one unit of the Fire Service was tending to the scene at the pool another unit was in attendance at the scene of chimney fire in Tinnakilly, however, that fire was brought under control with minimal damage to the house.

The Fire Service were also called to assist with a tree that had fallen in Rosbercon on Wednesday.

While the bulk of the debris from the Apex landed to the rear of the building and in the grounds of the Good Counsel College some pieces of sheeting landed in the main car park. One person’s car was damaged when debris landed on top of it after being blown down into the car park from the roof.

It’s expected the Apex will be closed for at least six months due to the damage.