Firefighters save half building in major blaze

Fire services from Navan, Trim and Kells battled a major blaze in Beechmount Home Park, Navan, for several hours last Thursday afternoon after a fire broke out in a store to the rear of a furniture showrooms. The store at Carpenters" Creative Rooms was completely gutted and extensive smoke damage was caused to both the showrooms and the neighbouring Barry"s Fireplaces premises. The alarm was raised shortly after 11.30am on Thursday after Linda Lenehan from Barry"s Fireplaces smelled smoke and discovered the store was ablaze. She immediately informed the staff in Creative Rooms next door and the emergency services were called to the scene. The call was logged by the fire service at 11.39am and crews began arriving at the scene by 11.48pm. Two pump appliances and a hydraulic platform from Navan Fire Service in addition to units from Trim and Kells rushed to the scene and crews in breathing apparatus entered the retail part of the premises to fight the blaze and prevent it from spreading to the showrooms. The entrance to Beechmount Home Park was closed off to traffic by Gardai for approximately three hours as the emergency services dealt with the blaze. It is understood that the Creative Rooms storeroom is completely destroyed and the showroom have been extensively damaged by smoke. Neighbouring unit, Barry"s Fireplaces, was also extensively damaged. The fire was brought under control within an hour but fire crews remained on the scene until almost 8pm to ensure the fire was completely out and in case any smaller pockets of fire ignited. Meath Chief Fire Officer Michael Stack said: 'There was a fierce fire in the store, so to save more than half the building was not too bad. If it got into Creative Rooms, it would have been hard to bring under control.' He said the store was fully ablaze and there was a lot of black smoke when the fire brigade arrived. As the walls of the store were ready to collapse, safety concerns were paramount and Mr Stack explained that firefighters fought the blaze from the outside in and that firefighters also entered the retail showrooms in breathing apparatus to prevent the fire spreading into the showrooms from the store and they succeeding in keeping it at bay. The store and its contents was completely destroyed as the building"s steel girders collapsed from the intense heat. Speaking at the scene, Barry Lenehan of Barry"s Fireplaces said he was fitting a fireplace in Trim when he got a call from his sister, Linda, telling him he"d better come back quickly because the place was on fire. 'I understood it to be serious. I rang a few minutes later and asked was it definitely in the shop and she said it appeared to have started in the store next door,' said Mr Lenehan. He said he was going to get his sister to bring some things from the office but Gardai had told them to vacate the premises. When asked if there was much damage, he said the 'unit could be gone'. 'It seems quite serious. It"s a terrible thing to happen, things being as tight as they are; it is all we need at the moment,' said Mr Lenehan. Peter Farrelly who owns the nearby Royal Masterpeace premises said one of his workers on the factory floor had alerted him to the fire, saying there was smoke coming out of the building next door. 'I immediately phoned the fire brigade. There were flames coming out of the roof. I told them they"d need a few fire tenders,' he said. 'It is devastating. The furniture industry is is on its knees already. For something like this to happen is devastating,' added Mr Farrelly. He added that Jimmy Carpenter"s father had worked in Bard Walsh"s renowned Navan furniture factory and had his own traditional manufacturing place and that it was a 'real family business'. Brid Guy, who works in Ashleaf Interiors, also in Beechmount Home Park, said there was a 'big puff of black smoke' and that the place had gone up within 20 minutes. She said there were huge flames and black smoke. Graham McGovern said he was in Ashleaf Interiors and the side door was open. He said he could hear a fire alarm going off and he saw the smoke straight away, describing it as 'very black'.