River rescue open evening

By FIONA MAGENNIS Mid Louth Independent - Friday May 2nd 2003

THE Boyne Fishermen Rescue and Recovery Service (BFRRS) are holding an open evening on Friday, May 9th at 7.3Opm in the Daycare Centre, Ardee.

The open evening is part of a drive by the service and the Families who have Lost Loved Ones in Drowning Tragedies (FLLODT) to establish a rescue service in the town.

'We are trying to get new recruits in Ardee to establish as service for Ardee,' explained Mary Johnson of the FLLODT who added that the BFRRS have agreed to locate a boat in the town once people have been adequately trained.

PRO for the BFRRS Mary Power said that everyone from the Ardee area is invited along and people don't need to have any experience in this area they just need to be aware that it is a voluntary organisation.

'Those who volunteer will have to do a bit of training, which will initially be in Drogheda because we don't have an access point to the River Dee at the moment but once the training is carried out we will be leaving a boat there to have the same coverage as Drogheda,' she explained.

Mary went on to say that this would be an excellent opportunity for people in Ardee to learn rescue and water safety skills.

Men and women aged from 18 upwards are invited to come along: 'There will be no onus on people to commit to anything, they can come along and just have a chat with us and get to know us better,' she said.

The service will have a number of representatives present and they hope. to continue attending schools in the area following the Easter holidays as the feedback they have received so far has been excellent.

'Hopefully this will go some way to preventing tragedies in the future, especially as the summer months are coming up and there are so many dangers at this time of year.'

© Mid Louth Independent