Father tells of terror as family escape Dublin hotel blaze from eighth floor with young baby
A FATHER has revealed how he and his wife had to carry their two-week-old baby down from the eighth floor of a burning hotel in Dublin as fire crews rushed up to try to contain the blaze.
The fire tore through the Metro hotel and apartment building in Ballymun on Wednesday night.
Around 150 people had to be evacuated from the complex as 60 firefighters battled the flames.
The Roa family were among those who escaped the blaze.
“There was one floor between us and the fire,” Geronimo Roa said.
“I live there with my wife, my three-year-old daughter and our baby daughter, who is just two weeks old.” Mr Roa spent Wednes- day night sleeping on a couch in the lobby of the Carlton Hotel in Santry, while the rest of his family stayed with friends.
He told how initially when the alarm went off, he thought there was no need for concern.
“We heard an alarm but sometimes they can be very sensitive so I was looking around to see if there was anything wrong, but everything seemed OK,” he said.
“My wife went down to reception and saw people running so she realised something was wrong. We left the apartment we are renting and started to go down the stairs and at around the sixth floor we met 10 firemen coming up towards us. “They were there really quickly.
“When we got out I looked back up and I could see the fire.
“It was scary to see how close it was to our apartment,” he added.
Mr Roa added the family are unsure if any of their personal possessions have survived the blaze.
He said: “The only thing I have is my phone.
“I’m in my pyjamas because that is what I was wearing at the time.”