Members of Dublin Fire Brigade from Tallaght attending the house fire in Clondalkin
Jason’s actions saved his neighbour from house fire
A HARROWING house fire in Clondalkin almost cost the life of one person after they were narrowly saved by a neighbour who heard the smoke alarm going off.
The fire occurred on the evening of Sunday, September 19 at a house in Clondalkin. The resident of the house is understood to have fallen asleep and was not woken by the sound of the smoke alarm going off.
A neighbour, Jason Kearns, said that he ran over to the house when he heard the smoke alarm.
“I was sitting out the back and the smoke alarm was going off for around half an hour to forty minutes,” Jason told The Echo.
“I started knocking on the door and shouting up, but I couldn’t get an answer and in the meantime, smoke started coming out of the window so then everything went into panic mode.
“I started trying to kick the door in and rang the fire brigade and eventually we got the person out before they came.”
The day after the fire, Dublin Fire Brigade said on their Twitter account: “This weekend, firefighters from Tallaght fire station responded to a house fire after numerous 999 calls. One person got to safety before the arrival of crews.
“A working smoke alarm gives you the time to get out.
“Have an escape plan and practice it.”
According to Jason, who is a full-time carer for his father-in-law, the house is in an area where there are many elderly residents, some of which are living alone, and he says it is important to raise awareness about smoke alarms and look out for your neighbours.
“Most people on the road are living by themselves and there has been three or four fires in the area. Nobody was really taking notice of the smoke alarm going off, but I just happened to notice.”
According to Dublin Fire Brigade, it is vital that each home has a rehearsed plan that every family is familiar with as this saves time in the event of an emergency.
There should be more than one escape route which everyone in the home is familiar with and a smoke alarm should be installed on every floor of the house.
