Councillor's wife breaks both feet in fall

Meath County Councillor Alan Lawes has spoken of the bravery of his wife Dee for her quick actions when she jumped out the bedroom window of their Johnstown home to escape a fire in the early hours of Monday morning.

Brave Dee broke both her feet in the fall when she jumped from the first floor window of their Boyne View home to the concrete driveway below and remains in hospital. Alan told how one of the breaks is not too bad but the other foot is badly broken and that medics are waiting for the swelling to go down before they can operate on it.

He spoke of how proud he is of his wife for her quick thinking and bravery, which had saved her life.

"Myself and my daughters are so proud of Dee for her quick thinking and bravery and for doing so quickly and without hesitating, it was not hesitating that saved her life."

"Even though our home is destroyed, as a family we feel very lucky as we wouldn't have a home without my wife Dee."

While the cause of the fire hasn't been established yet, Alan said it broke out in the hotpress at around 3.30am on Monday morning.

"I work nights. Dee was in bed and she has a habit of always closing the door whereas I would usually leave it open. It is one of those habits that saved her life.

"It started at about 3.30am and was concentrated around the hot press on the landing which is right beside our bedroom. She woke up coughing and was really overcome with smoke and knew straight away there was a fire."

When Dee opened the bedroom door, Alan told how she was met with a wall of flames and thick smoke and slammed it shut again. With no other way out of the house, quick thinking Dee, was left with no option but to jump out the window, breaking both feet in the fall.

Their neighbour Kerrie Shannon heard the alarm going on and off and thought it might have been the dogs or cats that set it off but when she looked out the window, she saw Dee lying on the ground.

"She didn't know what was going on and didn't know if she had slipped and fell, but then went over to Dee and she told her there was a fire in the house. There was no visible signs outside of what was going on inside."

Kerrie's husband Stephen phoned 999 to alert the emergency services and they helped lift Dee to safety. They had previously fed their cats and dogs while away and got the key and opened the front door to let the animals out. Another neighbour got an angle grinder to open the side gate so they could disconnect the gas supply.

Alan got a call at work and quickly rushed home where he was greeted with the sight of blue lights surrounding his home and said there were three fire engines, two ambulances and the gardai, with Dee on a stretcher.

While their home has been extensively damaged, particularly with smoke, heat and water damage, Alan is counting his blessings that it didn't end in tragedy and told how their house had been "full to the rafters" for the previous three weeks.

"We were so so lucky. My daughter had been home from New Zealand for the first time in three years with her partner and grandchild who we hadn't met and the house was full to the rafters for about three weeks. We had my 88-year-old mother with us and a baby in the house.

"If it had happened when they were there.... the four bedrooms lead to the landing so the only way to escape would have been the windows and there is also a bedroom in the attic where my youngest daughter stayed only the night before as she was going to a friend's party in Navan.

"If all those things had added up, it could have led to a terrible tragedy."

"We are so lucky Dee woke up and so lucky the door was closed, and so lucky it didn't happen when the house was full to the rafters.

"The bedroom door gave my wife vital minutes to get out. The heat and smoke would have killed her."

Alan also paid tribute to the fire service, ambulance service and Gardai for their quick response and also to the staff at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital who are looking after Dee.

"While the inside of the house will have to be replaced, it wasn't burnt to the ground and my neighbours weren't put at risk.

"The house is ruined but I am happy. I'm so lucky that Dee survived. It is not a home without her. We can fix the house up.

"I want to thank family, friends, neighbours and total strangers for their lovely messages of support."

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