Pensioner due to move in tomorrow and couple with infant among those impacted by major Laois fire

A couple with a seven month old baby and a man who was due to move into his new apartment the following day were among those receiving assistance following a devastating early morning fire in Portarlington.  

The response of emergency services, Laois County Council and the community in Portarlington was praised in the wake of a major fire at an apartment block in the early hours of Thursday morning.  

Two men were taken to hospital as a result of the blaze which destroyed a number of apartments and led to the evacuation of the entire apartment block at The Oaks, Kilnacourt, Portarlington, Co Laois. 

Some time after 5am emergency services responded to the blaze which was already well underway. The fire ripped through(Watch) the apartment block forcing residents to flee, most with just the clothes on their backs. One resident jumped from a third floor apartment and began alerting residents on the lower floors to the fire. 

Shocked apartment block residents gathered at Portarlington GAA Club in McCann Park where they recalled the dramatic events which had occurred only hours earlier. 

Hasnain Ijaz has been living in the apartment block for the past three years. He was at home with his wife and seven-month-old daughter when the fire broke out.

He awoke to hear running in the apartment block at around 5.45am and immediately checked his wife and child. 

“One of my mates who lives in the ground floor Abbad, he just banged the door and I opened the door and he said to me mate, you need to leave the premises,” he recalled.

“I just left the house with my wife and my daughter and my flipflops and a pyjamas,” Hasnaim recalled. 

“I was in shock. I said I need to get the car key at least… so I can put my wife and my daughter inside the car and turn on the heat,” he said. 

“I went back in and I grabbed the house key, car key, her mobile, her jacket and a feeder for my daughter. I came back and I just put them in the car,” Hasnain said.

He didn’t know how badly his apartment had been damaged and was preparing to buy provisions before going to a hotel in Portlaoise. 

“I am a very strong believer of god, it doesn’t really matter the religion, because god always has better plans for us,” said Hasnain. 

“I have to say again the county council people were very nice, very helpful. I have to be very thankful that I am living in this country for a long time. I am an Irish resident, my daughter is Irish, so I am very thankful to this country. The people, the way they deal with this emergency situation is unbelievable, I am very happy,” he said. 

Picture Above: Hasnain Ijaz who fled his apartment with his wife and seven month old daughter. 

Abbad Khalid was woken by the fire alarm. He realised how serious the issue was when he  saw a woman on a phone crying and smoke billowing from an entrance.

He saw one man who “jumped from the third floor” and “hurt his back” in the process. 

“I think the fire engines were there pretty fast,” he recalled. 

He too praised the council and the local community and said Ireland is a great country. He said “the way the community turned this around so fast is phenomenal.”  

Paul Glynn has been living in the apartment block for seven years. He was in shock and said the fire brought back memories of a fire he had survived in the 1990s which had claimed a number of lives. He had been awake when the commotion began and he heard screaming and said a woman had set off the alarm to alert others. 

“By the time the fire brigade entered the house, I would say the fire was going 15 minutes,” he said. However, he believed they arrived at the scene within 10 minutes. 

He too encountered an upstairs neighbour who he said was covered in black soot. “He had jumped from the third floor, the top floor,” Brian said.  Other neighbours were attempting to break down doors, he said. 

Paul was relieved nobody had died and said he was thankful “it is only bricks and mortar” that were lost.  

Pictured above: Paul Glynn

Brian Barlow had just spent the two weeks painting and steam cleaning the apartment he had bought in December. He had just paid €597 for the management company and property tax and was intending to move into his new home on Friday, February 21. 

The retired painter and decorator had spent recent days putting the finishing touches on his new home and moving all of his stuff. He said he now had to cancel a bed that was due to be delivered from Roscommon tomorrow. 

“I was to move in tomorrow. The amount of money I have put in there. I painted every single room, I painted the kitchen, I painted the bathroom, I painted the hall, I painted the bedroom and I painted also my sitting room,” he said. 

“I have everything over there, I mean everything. The only thing I have on me is what is on me now and what’s in the washing machine in a rented room I have,” he explained. 

“I am down to the bone now with money and I am a pensioner. I am only getting a pension,” he said. 

Pictured above: Brian Barlow who had been due to move into his new home on Friday

Brian said his aunt lives in Portarlington and is willing to take him in but he doesn’t want to impose if she isn’t being looked after. He said the council are putting people in a hotel in Portlaoise but he would like to stay in Portarlington where he has family. 

Independent Cllr Aidan Mullins commended Laois County Council, the Civil Defence,  Fire Services, Social Welfare and Gardaí and in particular, Fionnula Daly, the Senior Social Worker with Laois County Council who he said had orchestrated and coordinated the response. He also paid tribute to Michael Costello and Niamh O’Neill from Portarlington GAA. 

Cllr Mullins praised the community in Portarlington who he said had responded to the news with kindness by offering to bring food and blankets to those who were seeking help. 

“The initial response has been great and those that were affected were complimentary of everybody in the community,” he said. 

While the emergency response was rapid and effective, Cllr Mullins is concerned about the longterm situation facing those who have been affected. He said none of the residents were council tenants but some were in receipt of HAP. 

He expressed concern about the ongoing shortage of accommodation in Laois.   

In a statement earlier today, Laois County Council said they would provide temporary accommodation. 

“Laois County Council Housing Dept. officials received a call and attended the site of the fire at Kilnacourt, Portarlington this morning. Temporary emergency measures were put in place with the assistance of Portarlington GAA. Residents have also been temporarily accommodated.

Laois County Council is liaising on-site with An Garda Siochana, Civil Defence, Social Welfare Services and the relevant Apartment Block Management Company with a view to providing assistance in identifying appropriate alternative accommodation,” they stated.