There are currently seven members of the Kilmacthomas Fire Service in the village but five are required to be on call at all times, meaning members having little to no time off and the service has not operated for some time as a result.
An accident in Kilmacthomas recently saw the Portlaw and Dungarvan fire crews being required, a situation Fine Gael councillor in the area Liam Brazil described as unacceptable.
"There was a lady left sitting a car for a half hour, I don't think it's good enough - to leave a place like Kilmac with no-one in the fire station," he said at a recent plenary meeting. "This could have been a fatality."
Waterford Council's Director of Emergency Services, Ivan Grimes, said he couldn't comment on the specific incident, and added that he felt it would be "preferable to wait until the outcome of the conciliation procedure has been concluded before commenting further."
