Medical device giant Stryker insists it is committed to a safe and healthy work environment after fire broke out at one of its facilities in East Cork.
The alarm was raised at around 1pm on Wednesday at the firm’s plant in Tullagreen in the IDA Business Park in Carrigtwohill.
Emergency services, including several units of Cork County Fire Brigade, gardaí and the National Ambulance Service, rushed to the scene.
The plant was evacuated and staff assembled in zones in the car park as fire crews investigated. There were no injuries.
Initial reports suggested that a machine inside the facility caught fire.
In a statement to the Irish Examiner, a spokesperson for Stryker described the incident as “minor”.
“All employees were safely evacuated as per our safety procedures, and our local emergency services were notified and attended the facility as a precaution,” she said.
“Our operations will resume shortly once a safety assessment is completed.
“We’re committed to a safe and healthy work environment at all of our facilities.”
Emergency services evacuated staff as they investigated the Stryker blaze. Photo: Damian Coleman
It emerged in 2021 that six workers from across the company’s three East Cork sites – Tullagreen, Springhill and Anngrove – had been raising health and safety concerns with the Health and Safety Authority for the previous three years.
The staff made a protected disclosure to the HSA in 2020 which included references to gas leaks, argon leaks, solvents escaping, several hospitalisations, plant evacuations, broken fire alarms and faulty equipment.
Tragedy struck in 2023 when one of two contract staff, who were injured in an explosion while working on the roof of the company’s Anngrove facility, died two months later from his injuries.