Mags GarganElderly members of the Salesian community had to be evacuated in their pyjamas in the early hours last week, when the chapel at the community’s residence in the Dublin suburb of Crumlin was engulfed in flames.
The Salesian Provincial Secretary, Fr Pat Egan said the fire alarm went off at around 5.45am on Thursday and all 11 residents were safely evacuated to the Red Cow Moran hotel.
“The police and fire brigade were excellent and the hotel staff really looked after us,” he said.
“We are thankful to God that nobody was hurt in the event and grateful to all those who showed such concern for our confreres and that the fire had not spread to the rest of the building.”
The chapel was an old British Army hut of corrugated iron which the late Fr Patrick Breen SDB brought down from the North and erected in Crumlin in the 1950s. As a carpenter, he added the wooden exterior and interior to the chapel, where many Salesians worldwide would have made their profession.
Gardaí are investigating the cause of the fire.