Dad tells of escape with baby from hotel inferno
A FATHER has told how he and his wife had to carry their two-week-old baby down from the eighth floor of the burning Metro building as fire crews rushed up to try to contain the blaze.
The fire tore through the hotel and apartment building in Ballymun on Wednesday shortly after 8pm. A total of 150 people had to be evacuated from the building as 60 firefighters battled the f lames.
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 Wednesday night sleeping on a couch in the lobby of the Carlton Hotel in Santry, while the rest of his family stayed with friends.
Initially when the alarm was sounded, 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.”
Mr Roa and his family are now left unsure if any of their personal possessions have survived the fire.
“The only thing I have is my phone. I’m in my pyjamas because that is what I was wearing at the time.
“I don’t know when I will get back into the building, or what belongings will have survived.”
Asked what he would do about accommodation, Mr Roa said he did not know.
“We want to see what plans are put in place for us but that could take time,” he added.
“Being two floors under the fire, I imagine our home is destroyed, but even if it is not we don’t think we want to live there any more now.”
A spokeswoman for the Metro said all hotel and apartment residents affected would be offered accommodation in other hotels for the foreseeable future.
Flight
An American couple visiting Ireland for the St Patrick’s Day festival were left stranded after the fire caused them to miss their flight home.
“We were actually eating in the restaurant when the alarm was raised,” said Diana Colunga, from Texas.
“Our bags were packed on the first floor but there was no time to get them because we were evacuated so quickly.
“The fire was up high and we could see it spread to the other side of the building, but the firefighters’ ladders couldn’t reach it so they had to go inside.
“The police let us sit in their car for a while because we only had T-shirts on and were cold, and then we were brought here to the Carlton Hotel by bus.”
Diana’s husband James said: “We can’t believe it. We arrived in Ireland in blizzards and we will be leaving following a fire”.
Other witnesses described the horror unfold as burning debris fell from the building.
“The fire spread three floors below to the 10th floor because the burning debris was getting funnelled into rooms on that level because of the way the windows trapped it,” one witness said.
Thankfully, none of the people who were evacuated sustained any injuries.
Local TD Noel Rock thanked the emergency services for their work during the incident.