Once that bell sounds, there's no time to waste...they get up mid-dinner & head to the truck

EACH night, around 180 firefighters report for duty at one of 14 stations across the capital.

- BY DANNY DE VAAL

ON JOB Stopping to treat injured man

The night shift begins at 6pm, and they will respond to blazes and medical emergencies anywhere in Dublin until 9am the following morning.

In the busy run-up to Halloween, we joined Dublin Fire Brigade Station Officer Trevor Hunt and Firefighter/Paramedic Stephen Cleary to get a glimpse of what it’s like to battle blazes.

Shortly after our arrival, we were taken to new heights after going 42 metres up in the air on one of Dublin Fire Brigade’s turntable ladders. The capital's fire service has two of these, which are becoming increasingly instrumental as high-rise buildings start to crowd the Dublin skyline.

Later on, as the sun began to set and the downpours began to ease, there was a scattering of activity on the radio.

The control room had received a report about a derelict wooden cabin that had caught fire in Brittas in south Co Dublin.

Mr Cleary activated his blue lights and meticulously zigzagged through the gridlocked Dublin traffic.