Trainee medics working in two South Dublin shops rushed to the aid of an injured worker after a fire broke out in a garage on Tuesday morning.
Emergency services were alerted to the blaze at the Moto Pitstop premises on Orwell Road in Rathgar just after 10am.
Staff at the nearby Rathgar Pharmacy initially felt the heat of the fire at the back of their premises despite the freezing conditions outside and later heard a series of small explosions.
An employee at the nearby garage, who was understood to have been wearing protective clothing, managed to escape from the premises with injuries below the waist. He was immediately attended to by a trainee nurse working at the pharmacy as well as a student doctor working at another shop.
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Emergency services scrambled to the scene and began battling the blaze which had sent thick black smoke in the direction of nearby shops and homes. Video footage captured large red flames and plumes of smoke rising above the rooftops.
The injured employee was initially moved to the street and then to two business premises where he was given medical attention before being quickly taken to St James’s Hospital for treatment. He was understood to be recovering on Tuesday night.
A number of businesses were closed following the fire, although some were later able to reopen.
Kate O’Connell, the former Fine Gael TD and owner of Rathgar Pharmacy, was alerted to the blaze by staff just after 10am.
“I met a sealed-off village [on arrival] and my shop was in darkness because the electricity had been cut off and we had no access. And we had to leave quickly so we could make no provision [initially] to sort out patients,” she said.
“The amount of smoke was huge. The wind was very steady. So instead of the village becoming caught in smoke, the wind moved [it] toward St Luke’s Hospital and actually it was blown away from the village. The village probably would have had to have been evacuated such was the thickness of the smoke.”
A bad smell loitered in the area and businesses lost power. Gas inspectors and officials from the Health and Safety Authority (HSA) attended the scene.
A garda spokeswoman said they and emergency services were dispatched to the business premises on Orwell Road at approximately 10.30am.
“Orwell Road remains closed and local diversions are in place. Motorists are asked to take alternative routes,” she said.
Dublin Fire Brigade posted live updates and images of two units and turntable ladder which had been scrambled to get the blaze under control.
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