‘Fire alarms do save lives’ says Chief Fire Officer in Laois Anthony Tynan following a fire at a well known Laois pub.
The fire at Caoch O’Leary’s in Ballacolla took place in the early hours of Saturday morning.
Fire crews from Durrow, Abbeyleix, Rathdowney and Portlaoise all arrived at the scene at 5am and extinguished the fire at about 11am.
Speaking to Midlands 103, Anthony Tynan said it was a large fire with a lot of damage upstairs.
The occupant of the building was woken by the fire alarm and escaped the blaze safely. ‘The fire alarm did its job,’ said Tynan on the fire. ‘They do save lives. It’s essential for people to check they’re working in their own house. Every house should have them. Every week you should do a quick press of a button to make sure it’s still working. It’s a lifesaver.’
Anthony recommends having one fire alarm in every room, particularly in corridors, staircases and sitting rooms, or at least one per story. He also advises families with young children to have an escape plan so everyone knows where to go in the event of a fire. ‘It’s not the time when something happens to be making up as you go.’
According to Anthony, fire extinguishers are only for very small fires and the priority is to get out safely.
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