A pensioner from Co Sligo was saved from a fire that tore through his home near Gurteen, all thanks to his Collie dog Riley.
Living about a mile outside the village on Ballaghdereen Road, 68-year-old Des Hannon explained to us how Riley kept tugging on his jeans while he slept in his kitchen, completely unaware a fire was ripping through his home.
A very grateful Des said: “He’s a lifesaver, he saved me,” as he walked through the burnt-out remains of his two-story home which was destroyed by fire on St Patrick’s Day.
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Des added that he hopes he can now get a mobile home for his land as the home is now beyond repair.
“I’m effectively homeless now, I spend most of my time in the van, I find the days long and time goes very slowly, but I’m grateful to be alive and I have Riley to thank for that,” Des said.
© Michael Daly Des outside his home in Gurteen, Co Slgo
However, local councilor Paul Taylor told the Irish Daily Mirror that currently, multiple agencies are working with Des to help find him accommodation.
“I’m confident we can secure a place for him, work on that continues,” Taylor said.
Des recalled the events of March 17 as he surveyed the scene of the remains of his home this week.
On the evening of St Patrick’s Day, Des had just returned from feeding the cattle and pulled up his chair in front of his Stanley 8 Range, getting a nice turf fire burning in no time at all on what was a cool evening.
Des didn’t deviate from his usual routine as he timed his trips around the farm to make sure everything was tidied up just in time for his favorite show, Last of the Summer Wine.
“It was around eight in the evening, and I had all the jobs done so I was taking it easy in the chair, a familiar spot, that’s what I normally do. I like to take a rest in the chair and I was watching The Last of the Summer Wine on the telly, I was grand,” he recalled.
© Michael Daly The fire destroyed Des’ home
However, tiredness quickly overtook Des and within a short space of time, he was fast asleep, with his 11-year-old black and white Collie Riley keeping him company.
But as he slept, unaware to him, a fire was slowly taking hold in his home. Riley quickly kicked into action though, instinctively barking loudly.
Des explains it vividly: “I was sound asleep, and I felt something tugging at the leg of my trousers, tearing at it. It was Riley.
“He was barking, going mad with the barking, and trying to get me to wake up. He was determined to wake me and actually tore the bottom of my jeans. He kept pulling at the trouser leg and fair play to him, he woke me up.
“When I woke up I couldn’t believe what I saw, there was smoke and flames coming out from the range and above it.
“I went for the door and opened it, but I may as well have poured a five-gallon drum of petrol on the fire by doing that. The draught from opening the door fed the fire and the place was full of flames and smoke almost immediately,” he said.
He couldn’t believe how quickly the fire grew in intensity. “It was almost instant from that moment I opened the door, it was frightening and it frightened Riley.
“He went in behind the couch and with the smoke and flames I wasn’t sure I would get him.”
Des went back into the house and got to Riley, taking him out to safety.
“He saved me, sure I couldn’t leave him, I had to save him and get him out from behind that couch where he had gone to protect himself,” he said.
© Michael Daly Des and his dog Riley
Now with both Des and Riley safely out of the two-story house, there was nothing they could do other than watch his home burn in the flames.
“The fire ripped through the place in no time,” Des recalled.
With the house now destroyed Des has been put up in a B&B for five nights but now needs a place to live, ideally a mobile on the farm.
“I’m hoping I can get sorted but I know I’m lucky to be here at all, Riley was a lifesaver for me, if he wasn’t there to wake me, I don’t think I’d be here now,” he said.
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