Blaze destroys playground equipment in Corkagh Park
A BLAZE last night in a recently opened state-of-the-art playground in Corkagh Park has destroyed some of the playground’s equipment.
One unit from Dublin Fire Brigade in Tallaght attended the scene of the fire which occurred at around 9pm at the ‘Viking Slide’ in the playground.
The fire put out at the slide by Dublin Fire Brigade. (Image: Dublin Fire Brigade)
The Echo understands that the fire started when a bin liner was taken from a nearby bin and set alight. The fire, which started at the base of the slide, then raged through the slide, damaging the underbelly of the slide and the ‘tower’ it is attached to.
Dublin Fire Brigade tweeted about the incident last night, saying “Firefighters were called to playground equipment alight in Clondalkin tonight.
Council officials cleaning up fire debris in Corkagh Park this morning. (Image: William O’Connor)
“Unfortunately, community amenities can be damaged by fires like this.”
It is expected that the slide will be out of use for the coming days as council officials attended the scene this morning and the rest of the park is expected to stay open.
The €400k playground was first opened in December 2020 after undergoing renovations and upgrades of new equipment, a variety of swings, slides, ziplines, sand and water play areas, willow huts and plenty of accessible equipment.
The Mayor of South Dublin County Council, Peter Kavanagh, officially opened the state-of-the art playground in July this year, which is based on Clondalkin’s rich heritage and pays homage to the Vikings and round tower.
South Dublin County Council addressed the incident in a statement online this morning saying: “Absolutely disgraceful that this much-loved children’s playground in Corkagh Park has been targeted overnight like this. We’re devastated but we’ll work to get it fixed as soon as possible and we’re also in contact with An Garda Síochána on this matter.
“If you know of anything about this, please contact the Clondalkin Garda Station on 016667600. Our thanks to Dublin Fire Brigade for attending the incident last night as well.”
