The Coleshill resident shows the damage to the rear of his house after a fire on Sunday night RMG82
IN THE LATEST accidental house fire to hit the county a 54-year-old man escaped injury after flames broke out in a quiet Enniskillen housing estate on Sunday night.
The shocking scenes brought back memories of two tragic house fires in December that claimed the lives of three Enniskillen people.
At 10.36pm on Sunday the Fire Service received a call of a fire in the Coleshill Crescent area of Enniskillen.
The fire which spread from nearby rubbish caused extensive damage to the living room of a residential property in the estate, but thankfully the resident in the house, a 54-year-old man, was unharmed.
The accidental fire is the latest in a number of recent incidents in the county. On December 3, 57 year-old John Brazil lost his life at his home at Drumgay Close in Enniskillen, while a fire on December 27 at a house in Silverhill Park, Enniskillen claimed the life of Daphne Reid, with her husband Franklin passing away from his injuries in hospital on Monday, January 4.
Speaking to the Herald this week the resident in the house damaged by the fire, who did not want to be named, said he had a lucky escape.
“I have no idea how it started. From 4pm to 8pm I was away. Then I came house and was sitting on the computer for a couple of hours then just looked out the window and there were big flames. I ran out and there was a big fire and plenty of smoke.
I could do nothing, I just went to ring the Fire Brigade, but some neighbours said they had already done so. The people in the local area very shocked as the smoke was so big.”
The fire caused extensive damage to the living room of the 54-year-old’s rented house as he explained:
“It’s melted the window and there’s smoke damage inside, with the walls and the ceiling black.”
He continued: “I don’t know how much it will cost to fix, I’m not a builder, but the damage is quite bad.”
In light of recent events the Enniskillen man admitted the outcome could have been very different.
“Most importantly everyone is still living. I’m just thankful no one was injured or killed by it and the fire brigade did a good job.
After 15 minutes I was ready to go to sleep. In this sort of incident it would be very easy to lose your life with the smoke, I’ve been very lucky.”
A spokesman for the Fire Service said: “Two fire appliances from Enniskillen Fire Station and one fire appliance from Irvinestown Fire Station were deployed to the scene.
Firefighters wearing breathing apparatus and using two jets and one hosereel jet dealt with a large quantity of rubbish on fire in the area. The fire spread to a nearby semi-detached house in the area, which caused fire damage to the living room of the house.
“The incident is being treated as accidental,” he added.
To read more.. Subscribe to current edition
Receive quality journalism wherever you are, on any device. Keep up to date from the comfort of your own home with a digital subscription.
Any time | Any place | Anywhere