He was taken to hospital for treatment
10:03, 15 Feb 2026Updated 10:05, 15 Feb 2026
The hydraulic platform in action(Image: Cork City Fire Brigade)
Firefighters made use of a massive hydraulic lift to rescue a walker who had fallen and broken his leg in Cork city last night. The operation is a testament to Leeside’s hard-working emergency services, who navigated a tricky situation to ensure the casualty received the treatment he needed.
The Cork City Fire Brigade were called out to Sunday’s Well yesterday evening following reports that a walker had fallen near the old Distillery House. It’s understood that the man had fallen over a low-lying wall and plummeted down a steep hillside, breaking his leg.
The road above was far too narrow to accommodate fire appliances or any other emergency vehicles, so the firefighters called in the big guns. The crews used a huge hydraulic platform to lift a paramedic and a firefighter up the almost sheer hillside to reach the casualty, and they managed to secure him on a stretcher.
Once secure, the man was carefully lifted down to ground level and was assessed at the scene before being handed over to the care of National Ambulance Service personnel. The man is now receiving hospital treatment for a fractured leg.
Cork City Fire Brigade Second Officer Victor Shine told CorkBeo: “Firefighters and emergency services were called out to assist a man who had broken his leg in a fall near the old distillery in Sunday’s Well.
“Ambulances and fire appliances attended the scene, and the casualty was in an area with restricted access, some distance up from the ground and was unreachable by foot. Crews used a hydraulic platform to reach the casualty, and they were lifted to safety before being handed over to the National Ambulance Service.”
This situation is just one of the many kinds of complex problems that Cork’s firefighters face on a regular basis.
Shortly before Christmas, fire crews rescued a man from a burning building along Lover’s Walk in Montenotte despite the access issues posed by the location. Second Officer Shine told CorkBeo that the “complex structure” of the old building presented crews with “access difficulties.”
However, with all their expertise, crews from Ballyvolane and Cork City Fire Brigade Headquarters extinguished the fire after three hours, and the man was discharged at the scene after being treated for smoke inhalation. Mr Shine added that once the complex access difficulties were overcome, crews were able to put out the fire swiftly.
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