Gardaí praised for fire rescue attempt

A CORONER has praised the actions of two off-duty gardaí who attempted to rescue a neighbour after a fire broke out in her house. They were driven back by flames and heavy smoke.

Kathleen Palles, 54, of Cherry Avenue, River Valley, Swords, Co Dublin, died from complications of severe burns at St James’s Hospital on July 3, 2010, a month after the fire.

Ms Palles was a heavy smoker and may have dropped a cigarette, a match or an ashtray on the floor, causing a fire to take hold in the front room of her home in the early hours of June 3.

Dublin City Coroner’s Court heard two of Ms Palles’s next-door neighbours, Garda Dean Keogh and Garda Gareth Fogarty, raised the alarm and called the emergency services after they heard “loud popping sounds” and smelled smoke at about 1am.

The gardaí kicked in the front door of the house but were unable to proceed any further due to intense heat and smoke.

Using breathing apparatus, Dublin Fire Brigade quenched the fire and removed Ms Palles from the house.

She was taken to Beaumont Hospital and was later transferred to the burns unit at St James’s Hospital, where she died of multi-organ failure.

Coroner Dr Brian Farrell said he wanted to commend the actions of the two gardaí for what they did in going to Ms Palles’s assistance.

An investigation found the seat of the fire was near a couch and there were empty cigarette boxes, cigarette butts and empty bottles of alcohol in the same location.

The coroner said there were a number of risk factors, including the fact that Ms Palles was a smoker and had consumed alcohol.

He recorded a verdict of accidental death due to a fire and expressed his condolences to the deceased woman’s family.