From the archives: Three house fires on Castlebar’s Main Street
By Tom Gillespie
EARLY on the morning of Tuesday, February 23, 1903, a major fire broke out in the drapery premises of Mr. John Walsh, Bridge Street, Castlebar.
The premises was situated between the residential and extensive business premises of Mrs. A. Lavelle (bakers) and those of Mr. Michael Dunleavy, an important licensed premises known as The Bungalow - still retaining the name today under the proprietorship of John and Orna Scott.
The presence of smoke in the adjoining premises aroused both families, and Mrs. Lavelle immediately awakened her son, Mr. T.A. Lavelle, Chairman of Castlebar Urban District Council, and the members of the staff. Mr. Lavelle and two of his assistants immediately raised the alarm, and Misses Mary and Julia O’Donnell rushed for the guards and also the the waterworks manager, Mr. Peter Horkan, who was promptly on the scene with the fire extinguishing appliances.
In the burning house were Mr. John Walsh, the proprietor; his brother, Edward, and Mrs. M. Horan, an elderly lady.
The first thought was to rescue the occupants, and Mr. Lavelle immediately secured a ladder, but before it was placed in position, Mr. Walsh’s brother, Edward, jumped from the window and escaped with slight injuries.
Mr. Lavelle then entered the building and at great risk to himself carried Mrs. Horan down the ladder to safety. He next gave his attention to the rescue of Mr. John Walsh, who was still on the premises, and succeeded with difficulty in getting him down the ladder to safety.
Meanwhile the fire was gaining force, and the timely arrival of the gardaí and the fire apparatus gave hope that the fire would be checked.
Two lines of hose were immediately employed, but notwithstanding the heavy pressure of the water, the flames spread and attention had to be directed to the saving of the adjoining houses, and this was done most successfully.
Much credit is due to those who assisted on the occasion, particularly to Mr. T.A. Lavelle, Mr. Michael Dunleavy, Mr. J. Armstrong, Mr. J. Hynes, Mr. T. Kelly, Sergeant Taylor and Gardaí O’Rourke, Gillespie, Delaney, Murtagh and Ferriter.
The great consoling feature of the sad occurrences was the fact that the entire street was not totally destroyed. On the other hand, only slight damage was done to the adjoining houses, and for this satisfaction, credit and thanks was extended to not alone those who sounded the alarm, but Messers. Peter and John Horkan, Mr. Thomas Kelly, and each individual guard for the assistance they gave in quelling the flames.
Messers. Peter and John Horkan were responsible for directing the operations of the town hose and escape team, while others also willingly joined in giving help.
From the moment the alarm was first sounded close on 6 a.m. there was a continuous flow of smoke from the building, and, despite the fact that the flames had been extinguished at that time, a second outbreak occurred and once more the hoses had to be played on the building. This time the fire-fighters were more successful and all possibility of a recurrence of the five prevented and the hose thoroughly trained on the smoking embers.
The damage was estimated at £1,000, and the only item of importance which was retrieved from the building was a set of account books, and these were rescued by Guard O’Rourke, who underwent a great risk in doing so.
Mrs. Lavelle and Mr. and Mrs. Dunleavy dispensed refreshments to the firefighters in a generous fashion.
This was not the last house fire on Castlebar’s Main Street. Thirty-four laters later, on December 14, 1937, an outbreak of fire in the premises of Mr. Michael Moran, Commission Agent, Main Street, Castlebar, caused extensive damage, roughly estimated at £2,000.
The fire, according to a report in The Connaught Telegraph, of December 18, 1937, is said to have originated in a second storey room of the building, occupied by one person only, Miss Timlin.
At about 2.30 p.m. the fact that flames were issuing from a portion of the building was noticed by some passers-by, and immediately a number of civilians entered the house and made every attempt to control the flames.
By 3 p.m. the outbreak had secured such a grip that the guards had to be notified and, as well, a band of local volunteers were summoned.
With remarkable bravery, a large number of civilians, aided by a number of guards, forced their way to the top and inner portions of the house, and to a small degree succeeded in quelling the flames with the aid of fire extinguishers. But more of that in a later column.
Then 21 years later - May 1958 - The Connaught Telegraph carried a report of the heroic rescue of a family who were trapped in the upper floor of their house on Main Street.
The report read: Women wept and prayed, while men clinched with fear as the quiet and peaceful atmosphere of a Saturday night in Castlebar was suddenly transformed into a terrifying scene when members of a very popular local family, who had just retired to bed for the night, found themselves, in a matter of minutes, struggling for their lives in their home, which was ablaze with all the fury that can be associated with the worst of fires.
Shortly after the alarm was raised one of the most daring and heroic rescue efforts that ever took place in the county was effected, when the family, who were trapped on the top floor of their three-storey home, were brought to safety before hundreds of spectators when death almost seemed inevitable.
The terrifying drama followed an outbreak of fire that took place in the chemist shop and home of Mr. Patrick Quinn, just after his wife, Mrs. Rita Quinn, MPSI, had retired for the night - their two children Catherine, aged two, and Aileen, aged one year, having gone to bed some time prior to that.