REACTION: 'Miracle' no one killed in Clonmel apartment fire as 25 evacuated
'People were waving and shouting onto the street,' witness account of Clonmel fire
The Mayor of Clonmel Cllr Cllr Pat English said everybody was indebted to all of the emergency services that responded to the call last Thursday evening after a Clonmel apartment fire led to 25 people being evacuated.
“It was fantastic to get everyone out safely and I want to thank each and every one of the people that responded so quickly and professionally,” said Cllr English.
Cllr Richie Molloy paid tribute to the gardai, the fire service and the ambulance service who attended the scene of the fire.
A major disaster and serious loss of life was averted in Clonmel on Thursday night last due to the heroic response of gardaí, fire service personnel, and the ambulance service after a fire at a residential complex.
25 people were evacuated from the building at Manor House at Bridge Street in Clonmel on Thursday evening after a fire broke out at the apartment complex.
Residents were standing on their balconies appealing for help to the gardaí and the fire service personnel as they could not safely exit the building themselves because of the levels of smoke filling the hallways in the apartment block.
Cllr Molloy said: “All of the emergency services were on the scene very quickly.
“There were no fatalities, thank God, but it is a stark reminder of the tough situations that our fire service comes across.
“We only had a tragedy in Clonmel, where a local man lost his life in a fire in the last week. We are so lucky that a major, major disaster was averted thanks to the response of the emergency services,” said Cllr Richie Molloy.
Jason Crotty, who lives nearby, said he could hear a lot going on outside where he lives.
“There was a lot of panic. I could see people on their balconies waving and shouting down onto the street.
“The emergency services arrived very quickly.
"The people inside the building continued to wave from their balconies to let the emergency services see where they were.
"The fire brigade people started to rescue people and bring them out through the smoke and out the front door. It was a huge operation.”
Jason said they knew one of the residents who decided to go and stay with friends once they were out of the building.