Tenants gathered at the Falcon’s View apartment block in west Dublin on Monday uncertain as to when their homes would be habitable again following a fire that ripped through several balconies.
About 30 apartments were without power as garda forensic teams examined the building.
A representative of the building owner was on site to guide those who could access their homes, with several apartments either unaffected or with only superficial water damage.
The cause of the blaze, which took hold after 4pm on Sunday afternoon, remains unclear.
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With an investigation underway, several tenants, many with young children, came and went from the Blanchardstown building throughout Monday morning.
Carla Kenna (26), who is due to give birth on Tuesday, explained how she had to get her three children down five flights of stairs when the alarm went off.
“I don’t feel comfortable moving back in here after this,” she said. “I [will] have nowhere to go with my baby.”
Ms Kenna, who has been attempting to secure permanent housing from Fingal County Council, said the incident had brought back memories of two fires she had experienced in the past.
“It was just really upsetting. I had two house fires as a kid so it’s a bit of PTSD; all the smells, it just comes back to you,” she said.
“I will be in hospital till Thursday or Friday and I can’t see anything being fixed by then. We can’t move back in.”
Oxana Grijuc and Marius Tutunaru, a couple in their early 30s who have been living in the block for about six years, did not know how badly the fire had damaged their apartment just a couple of floors below the burnt out balconies.
Ms Grijuc described how a neighbour had spotted the flames and hit the alarm. “He was kind of shouting to everyone ‘go down!’, ‘go down! There is a fire’. We just took our stuff and went down. We were waiting for about five minutes until the fire crews came.”
Standing outside the cordoned off entrance way on Monday, they, like so many others, were unsure of what to expect.
“We are okay. It could be worse but it could be better as well. We just don’t know when we will be able to go back and live,” Ms Grijuc said.
Dublin Fire Brigade were alerted at 4.15pm and because of the high-rise residential description of the location, immediately dispatched a seven unit strong response team, including a turntable ladder.
Fire fighters gained access to the building in breathing apparatuses, climbed the stairwell and began to fight back the flames from within the building and from adjacent balconies. The ladder unit was then established as an external water source, all of which brought the fire under control by 5.30pm.
Third Officer Keith Markey said an evacuation was already underway when they arrived and the building’s fire safety systems worked effectively.
“The fire damage was really confined to the external of the building, the balconies,” he said. “The damage to the apartments themselves was generally confined to smoke damage.”
A number of politicians attended the scene on Monday morning but the accommodation needs of all those affected appeared to have been secured by the building owners.
Fingal County Council said its housing department had been in touch with the management company to ensure needs were met, with dozens of hotel rooms secured in a nearby hotel.
“Staff were also on site this morning and will continue to engage with those affected,” a spokesman said.
“We have been assured that all of the residents whose apartments are temporarily uninhabitable because of fire damage have been provided with alternative accommodation and we will work with residents and the management company as progress is made with works to repair damaged apartments over the coming weeks.”
The Comer Group management company did not immediately comment.
A team of gardai huddled outside the building on Monday morning, and forensic investigators could be seen on the blackened balconies.
Hrvoje Lasic described how his home was relatively unscathed despite the apartment next door, separated by a parting wall, being completely gutted by the fire.
“I came here [to the car park] and I saw people crying and they couldn’t do anything,” he said.
“People were panicking because the gas networks [workers] were here. They thought if the fire gets the pipes there could be a massive explosion.”
A spokesman for ESB Networks said its network technicians were on site on Sunday working with Dublin Fire Brigade to make the area safe.
“[They were] disconnecting and reconnected electricity as appropriate while the extent of the damage was being assessed,” he said.
“We understand there are up to 30 apartments still without power today. This is due to the scale of the damage as a result of the fire, as well as potential water damage which could have compromised the integrity of electrical installations within the complex.”
ESB Networks can only reconnect supply once the appropriate electrical work within the complex is completed and certified by a registered electrician, he added.
Interior damage, particularly water damage, will only be fully assessed over the coming days. Cllr John-Kingsley Onwumereh, who was at the hotel on Monday to assist tenants, said he feared “the cost will be monumental in terms of property”.
Sinn Fein TD Paul Donnelly was also liasing on the ground but said emergency accommodation need had been addressed and that many tenants, to the left of the worst hit area, should be back in their homes faster than initially expected.
“There is no indication of what caused the fire at the moment,” he said, following conversations with officials. “How it spread so quickly needs to be investigated.”
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Earlier, local TD Jack Chambers has said he understood the fire “began on a balcony and spread externally”, with smoke damage to be assessed on Monday.
Mr Chambers, a Minister for State, told RTÉ radio’s Morning Ireland that he understood support and accommodation would be provided for families affected. Praising the “really quick and comprehensive response” of the emergency services, he said: “I was in contact with senior management at Fingal County Council yesterday who informed me that they were coordinating the response with Dublin Fire Brigade and the management company and were able to provide support and accommodation for families that were directly affected.”
The fire broke out on Sunday afternoon at the Falcon’s View apartment complex next to the Crowne Plaza hotel, on the outskirts of Blanchardstown Shopping Centre. It was quickly contained by emergency services with no reported injuries.
“Some of the other residents that were evacuated were able to return to their properties last evening. My understanding is that the fire began on a balcony and spread externally, and obviously there is some smoke damage to their properties and that will have to be assessed through the day,” Mr Chambers said.
Fingal County Council will work with the management company on ensuring that those that have been directly affected are accommodated over the coming weeks, he added. Mr Chambers said he would work with Fingal Council to provide any support and assistance he can.
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“It’s such a difficult situation for all the families that have been affected. I’m relieved that nobody has been injured,” he said.
Earlier, resident Kiowa Daly said he believed it could be a few weeks before he and his girlfriend could move back into their apartment because of the smoke damage. Late last night his girlfriend, accompanied by his mother, went back to the apartment when given the go-ahead by Dublin Fire Brigade.
“The damage was extensive inside the apartment,” he said. The kitchen was completely destroyed.” Fortunately the bedroom was at the rear of the building and there was minimal damage other than smoke so they were able to retrieve clothes, laptops and other items.
Mr Daly said it had been difficult to process what happened. He and his girlfriend were fortunate that they could stay with his family until their apartment became available again.
People Before Profit TD Paul Murphy meanwhile said the blaze was a reminder of the need for action on potential building defects.
“The fire in Blanchardstown underscores the need for urgency by the government in addressing fire defects in apartments and defects,” he said in a statement. “It is now almost a year since [Housing Minister Darragh] O’Brien received the report from the Working Group to examine defects in housing. But we still have no scheme in place to provide emergency funding for work that is urgently needed to protect safety.”
Meanwhile, Minister for Housing Darragh O’Brien thanked the Dublin Fire Brigade crews who got the fire under control on Sunday evening.
“Thankfully no-one was injured and there were no fatalities. Those who have to move out of their homes at Falcon View, or out of their apartments, are being accommodated elsewhere through the management company,” he told reporters on Monday.
“Fingal County Council were on the ground yesterday and are on the ground today providing support to anyone who needs it. An investigation will take place as to the cause of the fire, and that will be done by our chief fire officer at Dublin Fire Brigade.”
