A Waterford councillor has branded whoever started a fire at the Williamstown complex last night as 'insanely stupid'.
Several units from Waterford, Dunmore East and Tramore attended the gorse fire near the Williamstown Sports Complex from around 9pm until almost midnight.
Local Fianna Fáil councillor Adam Wyse said it was not the first time there have been fires in the area. He said
said it was a dangerous situation:
"There's electricity lines running across one of the pitches, at the back of the club house there's gas cylinders...so the gorse fire was at most 20-25 feet from the clubhouse and the flames were lying underneath the electrical lines - those electrical lines power the whole area out here Kilcohan, St John's Park, Birchwood, it's insanely dangerous."
Adam Wyse alleged that the fire was not accidental:
'I don't think this was an act of God or was by any chance because of the heat...this was in my opinion and in the opinion of members of the clubs up here an intentional attack on this area and an attack on the people who use these services.
A woman living nearby also told WLR News it was not the first time fires have hit the area and she was very concerned about the fire spreading.
The Fire Service in Waterford was forced to deal with several fires overnight and this morning around the city and county.
This morning a unit in Dunmore has been dealing with a small fire in the woods to the rear of the Haven Hotel.
Yesterday evening there were separate fires in the city and one in Tramore.
