One resident, whose apartment was damaged by a fire in west Dublin, has thanked a neighbour who alerted him to the blaze.
Kiowa Daly lives on the seventh floor of the Falcon's View apartment block in Blanchardstown.
The building was damaged by a fire on Sunday afternoon, with seven units of Dublin Fire Brigade battling the blaze.
Mr Daly told Newstalk he was in his sitting room when he heard "some sort of crackling".
"My first thought was, 'It's a nice Sunday so someone must be out [on their] balcony with a barbeque' or something like that," he said.
"I went in and just said to be my girlfriend Rebecca, 'I think there might be a fire going'.
"I went back out to double-check and I could see some ashes falling down from the apartment above me.
"At that point the fire alarm started going, and I just grabbed my phone and keys and left".
'Completely destroyed'
Mr Daly said they did not realise the extent of the damage until they got outside.
"When we were going down the fire exit, down the stairs, I don't think anyone had actually realised that it was a real serious fire," he said.
"Sometimes we have a fire alarm that goes off just from someone in their kitchen or something.
"We were all going down the stairs pretty calmly, but then once we got out and turned around and looked at the building, we seen four apartments - the balconies - were on fire".
Emergency services at the scene of a fire in the Falcon's View apartment block in Blanchardstown, Dublin. Picture by: PA Images / Alamy Stock PhotoMr Daly said they were allowed back into their apartment to get some essentials.
"From the balcony side, the sitting room and kitchen is right behind the glass windows, that was completely destroyed.
"Luckily the bedrooms are on the back side of the apartments, so we were able to at least get some clothes.
"The clothes and devices are all covered in smoke and soot; but at least we can wash them and we have something.
"But everything inside the living room - TVs, consoles, even our treadmill - was completely burnt".
The fire in #Blanchardstown has been brought under control and we have started to release fire engines from the scene.
A turntable ladder was used as a water tower to help extinguish the fire. pic.twitter.com/ihClVglFBA— Dublin Fire Brigade (@DubFireBrigade) May 28, 2023
Mr Daly said a neighbour was the one who activated the alarm.
"From talking to other residents it seems like the actual hero was one of the residents on the upper floors.
"He had spotted the fire and he's the one who actually pressed the fire alarm.
"If he hadn't have done that, who knows what could have happened - it was quick thinking on his part.
"I think he was on his balcony and he could see the flames below him, then he obviously went in and pressed the alarm".
Mr Daly said they hope to be allowed back in again soon.
"We're hoping to get an update today that we can go back and get a few more things," he said.
"We've got lots of screens and clothes - because we work from home - we'd like to at least get something so we can keep our income," he added.
Reporting by: Stephanie Rohan
