Firefighters from Swords and Finglas in Co. Dublin, along with paramedics, responded to an incident this week which occurred on top of a stack of straw bales on a flatbed trailer.
It is understood that a man, aged in his 40s, had been on top of the bales tying them down with straps when he suffered a medical emergency.
The incident took place at the premises of potato producers Paud Flynn and Sons in Swords.
It is understood that the man, thought to be from Northern Ireland, had travelled to the premises with a colleague to collect straw bales for bedding purposes.
His colleague called the ambulance, with local units of Dublin Fire Brigade also attending the scene.
On X (formally known as Twitter), Dublin Fire Brigade posted about the incident, saying: “Swords and Finglas firefighter/paramedics were called to an incident today which presented access difficulties.
“Crews will always look to adapt to any situation, so thanks to Flynn Potatoes who offered assistance at the scene,” the post added.
A teleporter belonging to the potato producer business was used to assist paramedics in getting to the man who became unwell.
It is understood that the man was taken to Beaumont Hospital for treatment.
Firefighters respond to bale fire
Last month, firefighters in Co. Tipperary were also called to a scene at which straw bales were present. In this case, however, is was due to an alleged incident of criminal damage in which it is believed the bales were set on fire.
Gardaí launched an investigation into the incident, after a substantial number of straw bales were allegedly set on fire in the Boherlahan area of Cashel on August 9.
Farmer and contractor Sean O’Reilly told Agriland that his wife initially “got such a fright” that she thought perhaps a car was on fire outside their family home; it turned out to be straw bales that had been allegedly set alight just 250 yards away.
“The fire brigade, who came and were just great, told us that they could see the blaze from Cashel, they didn’t even need an Eircode because they could follow it right into the field, that’s what kind of blaze it was,” O’Reilly said.