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COUPLE ESCAPE BLAZE AT HOUSE

Wednesday, 1 February 2012

The quick thinking of Derrytresk couple Eugene McStravog and Tracy McLernon who extinguished a fire in their kitchen with buckets of water and a fire extinguisher probably saved their home.

THE quick-thinking actions of a Coalisland couple who bravely tackled a blaze at their Derrytresk Road home on Sunday night have helped avert a near disaster.
Tracy McLernon and her partner Eugene McStravog had only been in bed around 10 minutes on Sunday night past when they heard a loud bang coming from their kitchen, caused by a picture falling off the wall.

This was quickly followed by the sound of smoke alarms in their home activating.

The couple sprang to action and ran to the kitchen where they were met with a thick blanket of black smoke.
Despite the obvious dangers, Eugene quickly filled a bucket with water in a bid to douse the flames before locating a fire extinguisher while Tracy went to the aid of the couple's two pet dogs.
While both Eugene and Tracy were taken to hospital to be checked over, fortunately no-one was seriously injured in the fire which the couple believe may have been caused by a clothes horse which was standing close to a closed stove prior to the incident.
Speaking to the Courier after their ordeal, Tracy said her first thought was to panic when first confronted with the fire.
She explained: "After hearing the bang in the kitchen we got up to have a look and that's when the smoke alarms went off. As soon as we opened the hall door we were met with all this black smoke and I just froze. I could think of everything I should be doing but I just panicked and couldn't move.
“Luckily Eugene was able to do something and he just started filling up the bucket with water and pouring it on the flames and then he found the fire extinguisher. I knew that the two dogs were in the house so I ran to get them and put them out through a window to safety.
“I also called the fire brigade but Eugene already had the fire out by the time they came so they just checked over everything to make sure it was out completely."
Now the couple are faced with the cost of cleaning up the damage caused.
“There's been a lot of smoke damage caused to the kitchen," continued Tracy, "to the walls and furniture and there's an awful stench of smoke in the house that we're trying to get rid of. But we're just grateful that no-one was hurt, that's the main thing".
A spokesperson for the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service said: "At 10.23pm on Sunday local firefighters treated two occupants of a detached bungalow who had suffered smoke inhalation as a result of a fire in the kitchen of the property.
“The man and woman aged 34 and 23 years were taken to hospital for further treatment. An actuating smoke alarm had alerted the occupiers to the danger in the house at Derrytresk Road."

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