Fire chiefs are planning to introduce regular fitness tests for their officers, it was announced today.
Speaking at a two-day conference of fire chiefs from both sides of the border in Northern Ireland, Mr Ciaran Dunne, the Executive Manager of Dublin Fire Brigade said they were planning to introduce regular fitness tests for their officers.
He added that this was a controversial subject among trade unions.
"There is a fear factor that people's jobs could be in jeopardy if they don't fit the bill," he said. "But the acid test is that we have to ensure that people who are 20 years in the job are as capable of doing the job as they were when they came in."
Mr Peter Craig, Assistant Chief Fire Officer of the Northern Ireland Fire Brigade said the current system of testing was no longer sustainable.
"You test someone at point of entry and again when they are 40 there could be a gap of 22 years," said Mr Craig. He said voluntary tests are already being planned and the eventual aim was to introduce compulsory testing.
But he denied that this could lead to unfit officers being forced out of the service. "It isn't a draconian measure to get people out of the organisation. I think it will be a genuine bid by management to look at the physical and mental well-being of our personnel and spot problems at an early stage.
"What we are trying to do is introduce a voluntary three year fitness test and we are now looking to work with the representative bodies to introduce occupational health schemes to work in parallel with physical fitness testing," he added.
Mr Jim Barbour of the Fire Brigades Union for Northern Ireland said he was surprised that senior management had gone public with such a sensitive issue without consulting his members.
The two day conference, being held for the first time in Northern Ireland, is looking at the major issues facing brigades across the UK and Ireland in keeping firefighters fit for duty. This year, the topics under discussion include a focus on major disasters, the physiological demands of search and rescue, and working in gas-tight suits.