Two carpenters who slept in late were responsible for evacuating nine people from a building in which a fire destroyed an apartment and spread to several adjoining units before being brought under control.
The blaze which broke out in an apartment building at Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology student campus yesterday morning is believed to have been caused when a television went on fire.
Nine people, including a three-year old child, were treated for smoke inhalation. There were no injuries in the blaze, which destroyed most of one apartment and spread to others before being brought under control. Gardaí were still investigating the cause yesterday but the management company for the campus said it believed that it was caused by a television on the premises.
Two carpenters who were delayed leaving for work played a key role in evacuating the building at Gleann na Rí, the Murrough, when the alarm was raised at about 7.30 a.m. Steven Shields (29), originally from England, and Darragh Lynch (22) from Banagher, Co Offaly should have left to go to work at about 7.10am.
"We had slept it out a bit and were just about to leave, when one of our neighbours came down and was banging on the door," Mr Shields said. "She had woken up, discovered the smoke, left the premises and couldn't get back in again as she didn't have her security card with her."
The woman's flat mate was asleep in the second floor premises when Mr Lynch broke down the door with a fire extinguisher.
The two men helped to evacuate all of the residents on that floor and adjoining floors in the complex. No students were among the residents, who were on long-term lets, according to the Murrough Management Company spokeswoman, Ms Susan Clancy.
Mr Shields said that they both returned to the building to evacuate a woman with a three-year-old child, who they had seen at a window.
"Darragh then went in a third time to get the last people out," Mr Shields said. "We couldn't see in front of us with the smoke, it was that thick."
Two units of Galway Fire Brigade arrived on scene to extinguish the blaze, and the residents, including the two carpenters, were taken to hospital. The premises was sealed off by gardaí for technical examination, and the Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology health and safety officer also visited the scene.
The National Safety Council said that while it was not familiar with the details of this particular incident, it strongly advised that all electrical appliances should be plugged out at night-time. Due to their high power consumption, televisions which are left on "stand-by" can pose a fire hazard.
Televisions placed too close to curtains were a particular risk, the council said, and there had also been incidents where faulty wiring had caused units to ignite.