Four generations of a Donegal family cheated death in a house fire – after their fridge exploded!
Carol Herron got the fright of her life when she returned from a quick trip to the shops with her daughter, Kerri, to find two fire appliances outside her home at Ard na Ri, Letterkenny.
Carol Herron, her mum Philomena, daughter Kerri and grandchildren Sophie and Shay in the fire damaged kitchen of their Letterkenny home. (North West Newspix)
Her partner, Patrick McNulty, was in the house at the time with her mother, Philomena, and her two grandchildren, Shay (19 months) and Sophia (6 months).
“The gas canister in the fridge just exploded,” Carol said.
“There’s a great big hole in the fridge.
“If that had happened at night, God knows what could have happened. There were four generations of the family in the house that day.
“Or if it had happened when there was no-one there, the house could have been gutted. It’s rare to say, but it was almost the perfect time for it to happen.”
Patrick was in the sitting room when he heard a ‘buzzing’ noise coming from the kitchen.
Assuming that Shay had accidentally turned on the dishwasher, he went to turn it off – only to be greeted by the fighting sight of a wall of flames.
Carol said: “The flames were just getting bigger all the time. He let a roar at mum and the kids to get out. She grabbed the kids and ran out.
“It started to spread quite quickly. We keep the doors all closed when the kids are in the house. If the doors weren’t closed it would have spread to the stairs.
“The whole ceiling and the units were just black with smoke. The paint and plaster is off the walls. There was a stereo sitting on top and it’s actually melted to the fridge now.”
Letterkenny woman Carol Herron with the fridge which exploded at her home. (North West Newspix)
Once the other occupants were safely outside, Patrick, an accomplished triathlete with Letterkenny 24/7 Triathlon Club, went back inside and attempted to bring the blaze under control.
Carol said: “He actually had to crawl in on the floor the smoke was so thick. He probably shouldn’t have gone back in, but he said he just couldn’t watch the house go up.
“There’s a hose connected to the outside tap and he dragged it around. That managed to put the fire out.
“The fire brigade only took 15 minutes to get there, but there wouldn’t have been much left if he’d waited that 15 minutes.”
Carol, who works in Dunnes Stores, says she was counting her lucky stars after the incident.
She said: “I got more emotional when I saw that everyone was ok. My knees went and I couldn’t speak. It was just a massive relief to see that everyone was ok.”
Letterkenny woman Carol Herron with the firdge which exploded at her home. (North West Newspix)
