Owner believed to have died instantly in launderette blast
The body of James Gleeson, 59, was removed from the ruins of his launderette at Brewery Lane, in the heart of the town, before noon yesterday.
He is believed to have died instantly in the blast, which was heard more than 1km away.
He had gone to work earlier than usual on Saturday as he had planned to join his wife Grace and son Eoin, aged 18, at Grace’s family home in Kilkenny later.
The building, in a large block that includes a Spar supermarket fronting The Square, and run by Mr Gleeson’s brother Donagh, was reduced to a heap of blocks and timber, while several surrounding premises had windows blown in by the force of the blast.
Three people who had been asleep in upstairs apartments alongside, but not over the launderette, were brought to safety by gardaí and firemen.
One woman, who was distressed and screaming from a top window, sustained minor injuries and was taken by ambulance to Kerry General Hospital, Tralee, but later discharged.
The front windows of the Spar supermarket were blown out and emergency services personnel entered the launderette through the supermarket.
Hundreds of guests were evacuated immediately afterwards from nearby hotels and alternative accommodation found for them, with some sent to Kenmare.
The tourist season is reaching its peak in Killarney, with the annual four-day holiday race meeting this week, and it was fortuitous that nobody was walking past the launderette at the time. Brewery Lane is close to a taxi rank and there are hotels, pubs, nightclubs, and shops within 100m of the launderette.
“There’s no good time for a tragedy like this to happen, but it could have been much worse if the explosion was late at night or a bit later in the morning when large numbers of people would be on the streets,’’ said retired Killarney fire officer Donal Grady.
After hearing the blast, stunned local people came out onto a street littered with broken glass. Alarms were activated in many premises; gardaí were at the scene within minutes and an emergency plan was put into operation.
There were gas cylinders in the launderette, but it is thought the explosion may have been caused by a gas leak. It is believed to have occurred as Mr Gleeson entered the premises.
An emergency services meeting was called to co-ordinate the work of gardaí, fire brigade, ambulance, ESB, Civil Defence, and Killarney Town Council.
Four fire tenders attended the scene.
Health and Safety Authority personnel arrived at 2pm to carry out an examination. A crane, and rubble-removing machinery were also moved in and a painstaking search continued until 10pm on Saturday. It resumed at 7.30am yesterday.
Garda Sgt Dermot O’Connell thanked the business community and townspeople for their “tremendous assistance’’ over two days.
The square and Plunkett St were cordoned off and closed to traffic and Sgt O’Connell said Plunkett St would not be reopened until precautionary safety inspections had been carried out. Brewery Lane will also remain closed until the HSA investigation is complete.
The International Hotel, just metres from the scene, was full, with 170 guests staying. Three cooks were working in the kitchen at the time of the blast and six dining room staff were due on duty in 15 minutes. The first group of guests was due to have breakfast at 6.45am.
After the blast, the hotel’s staff responded quickly to ensure emergency procedures were followed and everyone was accounted for as the hotel was evacuated.
Hotel general manager Terence Mulcahy said there was wonderful co-operation and practically every business in Killarney had contacted him during the day, offering any assistance they could give.
“That’s one of the great things about Killarney — everyone rallies round when there’s an emergency and that really helped us handle everything so smoothly and with as little inconvenience to guests as possible,’’ said Mr Mulcahy, adding that he expected to be closed for business for up to a fortnight.
The neighbouring Killarney Towers and Ross Hotels were also evacuated.
Local people were awakened by the blast, which one man said was like “heavy thunder’’.
Two American visitors, reportedly seen standing outside the Killarney Towers Hotel having a smoke when the explosion happened, were seen to run across the street for cover, with glass flying around them.
