A SENIOR fire officer in Derry has praised the actions of an eight-year-old girl, which he said probably saved the lives of an elderly couple whose house was badly damaged in a fire yesterday morning.
Chloe McCourt raised the alarm when she saw the ground floor of a house at Sutton Gardens in the Waterside area of the city on fire.
Chloe, who was spending the weekend in the Sutton Gardens home of her grandparents Brian and Sandra Aiken, saw the fire when she drew back the curtains in the living room of their home just after 7.20am.
“I ran into my grandparents’ bedroom and shouted to them that the house across the street was on fire. They rang the fire service on 999 before they and other neighbours helped the couple to escape,” said Chloe, who is a pupil at Bunscoil Cholmcille.
“I have no doubt that but for the prompt actions of Chloe and of other neighbours, we could have been dealing with a double fatality this morning,” said station commander Paul Coyle.
“Considerable fire and smoke damage has been caused. A smoke alarm was fitted inside the house but unfortunately it didn’t contain a battery. This couple are very lucky that Chloe was awake and that she had the presence of mind to alert her grandparents. I also want to acknowledge the actions of other neighbours who helped to rescue the couple from their home,” he said.
John McClenaghan, who helped to evacuate his neighbours Dermot and Teresa Kelly from their burning home, said they were both treated in Altnagelvin Hospital for smoke inhalation.
“When Chloe raised the alarm a few of us ran out. I got my garden hose and another neighbour put it through the shattered downstairs living room window and trained it on the fire until the fire brigade arrived. I was kicking and thumping on the front door attempting to waken up Dermot and Teresa. Thank God they woke up . . . because they didn’t know their house was on fire,” he said.