Investigators are probing the circumstances of a terrifying fire that broke out at a Dublin apartment block but miraculously resulted in no serious injuries or fatalities.
Fire services were alerted to the emergency at the Falcon’s View complex near Blanchardstown Shopping Centre around 4.30pm on Sunday. A source said: “It appears to have begun on a balcony before spreading.
“With these things, the first thing is the preservation of life and putting out the fire. So the investigation is really only getting underway, but it shouldn’t take too long to establish the cause.”
Read more: Seven families lose homes after 'terrifying' fire at apartments complex in Blanchardstown
Local TD and government minister Jack Chambers told Morning Ireland on RTE that it was understood that the “fire began on a balcony and spread externally”, which would be assessed by the fire service and gardai as part of separate investigations. The apartment building and a nearby hotel were evacuated and several families could not return home overnight.
As many as 35 apartments are feared to have been affected by the fire. A number of the residents revealed their terror, including a pregnant woman, who told RTE that she led her three-year-old twins and a one-year-old toddler to safety and then moved to a hotel overnight.
The resident, who was yesterday preparing to have a C-section delivery, said: “I’m due to have my baby, but I can’t get into my apartment to get anything. It’s very stressful.” Another resident, Kiowa Daly, claimed that he heard cracking sounds and saw burned ash before a fire alarm went off.
He told Newstalk: “I was sitting in the sitting room, and I could hear some sort of crackling. My first thought was, ‘It’s a nice Sunday so someone must be out [on their] balcony with a barbeque’.
“I went in and just said to be my girlfriend Rebecca, ‘I think there might be a fire going’. I went back out to double-check and I could see some ashes. At that point the fire alarm started going. I grabbed my phone and keys and left.”
He fled down a staircase and added: “We [saw] four apartments, their balconies, were on fire.” After fleeing his apartment, Mr Daly watched from the ground as flames leapt from some apartments and seemed to spread quickly to other floors.
Read more: Gardai arrest pair after major car chase over three Dublin motorways
He was later allowed to return home to retrieve some personal belongings. The man said: “The sitting room and kitchen is right behind the glass windows that was completely destroyed. Clothes and devices are all covered in smoke and soot.”
He added: “I don’t expect that we will be able to return for a number of weeks.” Mr Daly praised a neighbour for activating the alarm after spotting the fire. He said: “If he hadn’t have done that, who knows what could have happened.”
Apartment resident, Hrvoje Lasic, said: “I was in fear that my apartment was gone. It was terrifying.”
Dublin Fire Brigade officer Keith Markey revealed emergency services received multiple 999 calls and early investigations focused on a balcony on the eighth floor of the 11-storey tower. He said there were no reports of injuries.
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