Chief Fire Officer for Monaghan, Dermot Brannigan, said the blaze has been brought under control and they are in the cleaning up stage of their operation.

According to Cllr Carthy, 10 additional firefighters will give current members more flexibility to book time off.

A number of dates for open nights in both Cavan and Monaghan will take place over the coming weeks.

Deputy Smyth believes the new pay deal is a very important move in terms of retention and recruitment.

Retained firefighters earn approximately €700 per month which equates to 99c per hour.

The current retirement age is 55, with an option to extend that to 58 if they pass a medical.