Laois victims of apartment block fire ‘left stranded’ as temporary stay at hotel ends

Victims of last week’s tragic fire in Portarlington have been “left stranded” according to one resident.

The blaze broke out at an apartment complex in Kilnacourt in the early hours of Thursday morning, February 20.

Emergency services and fire crews from multiple districts eventually quelled the fire, with two people taken to hospital.

A significant number of apartments have been completely destroyed, with significant damage done to nearby apartments.

A resident on the ground floor of the building, Abdad Khalid, says the residents have been ‘left stranded’ by the building’s management company, Independent Property Services.

“18 households have effectively been made homeless,” Mr Khalid said.

Laois County Council provided temporary accommodation for all the residents of the building at the Maldron Hotel in Portlaoise.

But Mr Khalid says that “as of 11am this morning (Monday, February 24) we’re sitting in the lobby of the hotel and we don’t know what to do next.”

Mr Khalid remembers jumping out of bed at approximately 5.45am with the fire alarm ringing.

He made his way up the stairs to the top floor where he says he and another resident were met with “toxic smoke lingering in the air.”

Mr Khalid said he and a number of other residents tried to battle the blaze with fire extinguishers, but said “the fire extinguishers were all foam, there was no carbon dioxide extinguishers.”

Mr Khalid praised the speed and efficiency with which the emergency services arrived on the scene, evacuated the building and brought the fire under control.

But four days on from the fire, the residents have been left “in limbo,” with confusion abound regarding insurance and responsibility.

“There are a lot of people here with basically the clothes they had on their backs when they got out of the building,” Mr Khalid said.

“We were allowed back in to pick up some belongings, but they’re absolutely destroyed by smoke.

“We’re in a situation where Laois County Council are telling us to speak to our landlords, and the landlords are telling us that the management company’s insurance cover does not extend to tenants.

“So we’re in limbo now; there’s people sat here in the hotel – kids, families, couples – and we just have nowhere to go.

“The management company are completely washing their hands of this.”

Management company Independent Property Services were contacted for a response but said they are “unable to comment at present.”

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