An Cosantóir

An Cosantóir May 2019 www.dfmagazine.ie 26 | BY PAT POLAND Sixty-five years ago, at the height of the 'Cold War,' the British government commissioned hundreds of emergency fire engines in the event of the international situation escalating into a 'hot war'. Here, beginning in June 1962, a significant number was acquired to equip the Auxiliary Fire Service (AFS) branch of Civil Defence. They were an inspired choice. The Green Goddess: The Cold War fire engine and its link to a famous Irish motor race. "From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic", declared the former British Prime Minister and war leader, Winston Churchill, "an iron curtain has descended across the Continent. Behind that line lie all the capitals of the ancient states of Central and Eastern Europe". Churchill, delivering a speech at Westminster College, Ful- ton, Missouri, on 5 March 1946, knew full well that he was bound to stoke controversy with his lengthy address directed at the Soviet Union. To this day, historians are divided as to his motives. Many accept that he detested communism and thus relished the notion of provoking Josef Stalin, the Soviet leader. Others regard him as still smarting from the result of the 1945 General Election in which he lost out to Labour leader, Clement Attlee, and was anxious to underscore the notion that he remained an international states- man whose views still carried weight. One thing most historians agree on: Churchill's address at Fulton marked the beginning of the so-called 'Cold War'. The Grand Al- liance of the Second World War, when Britain, the USA and the Soviet Union had fought together to defeat the Axis powers of Germany, Italy and Japan, was a memory. Relationships between the former allies was becoming in- creasingly toxic. In Britain, following the end of World War II, the stand-down of the Civil Defence organisation had been short-lived. Perceived threats from the Soviet Bloc resulted in the re-formation of the Civil Defence Corps, the purpose of which was to recruit a large-scale, all-volunteer, civilian organisation to afford some modicum of protection against a hostile attack. In Ireland, in December 1950, the Minister for Defence Dr T. F. O'Higgins, TD, called a meeting of all local authority Managers for briefing on the proposed Civil Defence organisation (called 'Air Raid Precautions', or ARP, during the Emergency). The new Civil Defence Training School at Ratra House, Phoenix Park, Dublin, accepted its first students in June 1951. The British authorities considered that a nuclear attack would quickly overwhelm the regular fire service, so a supplementary force known as the Auxiliary Fire Service (AFS) comprising some 55,000 volunteers would be required. It was envisaged that a large number of mobile fire columns (MFCs) comprising emergency pumps and specialist appliances would be needed to cover the length and breadth of Britain. All AFS vehicles were finished in 'British Racing Green' livery; thus, the pumps were soon singled out for a quirky nickname that A Green Goddess of Dublin AFS. Its main pump is capable of delivering four tons of water per minute. Cork City AFS party receive their Green Goddess at the official handing-over ceremony at Ratra House, Dublin, 28th June 1962. From left: Section Leader Robert O'Brien; Volunteers: Pat Poland, Phil Doherty, Tony Kennedy and John O'Brien.

• Cover