The family of a Falcarragh woman who was seriously injured in a house fire are demanding answers after they were allegedly denied an ambulance in the hours before Storm Éowyn.
Kathleen Barrett, 71, suffered severe smoke inhalation and minor burns in a house fire Thursday night. She managed to escape the blaze but had inhaled toxic fumes and sustained burns while attempting to rescue her beloved dog, Collie, who was thankfully saved by firefighters.
Two fire units quickly attended the scene of the blaze which broke out at around 11.30pm.
Fire personnel administered oxygen to Kathleen in a neighbour’s home. Shortly before midnight, they put in a request for an ambulance to take her to Letterkenny University Hospital. It’s claimed that they were told that the ambulance service could not give an estimated time of arrival.
When the second oxygen tank ran low, concern was escalating for Kathleen and at 12.45am, the fire services called a second time for an ambulance.
The response has raised serious concerns about the availability of ambulances during weather events.
Kevin Barrett, Kathleen’s brother-in-law, told Donegal Daily: “The second time they were called, the dispatcher asked to speak to a family member. My wife Mary was told that they (the family) need to take Kathleen to a hospital themselves because an ambulance could not be dispatched with a red warning coming in. We were told we could have an ambulance by 11am the next day.”
The red alert for Storm Éowyn was due to come into effect at 7am that morning. An orange warning was in place at the time of the fire.
“We all knew there would be difficulty through the red warning but this was near 1am,” said Kevin.
Kathleen’s nieces brought her to Letterkenny in their own car, fearful that she could collapse or stop breathing on the journey to the hospital. Kathleen a widow and cancer survivor, also has limited mobility.
“I am totally disgusted at it and I am not going to let it by,” Kevin said.
“The more I think about it, the more annoyed I am that my daughters had to put their lives at risk by driving. How can one emergency service refuse to respond to another?”
Kathleen was treated quickly on arrival at Letterkenny ED on Friday morning. She spent a number of days in ICU before being moved to medical yesterday. She is due to be released today.
Kathleen lost her home after a fire tore though it on Thursday night the 23rd of January. Her beloved dog (pictured) was rescued by fire services
While Kathleen’s family has commended the fire services for their response, they are waiting for answers from the National Ambulance Service.
An advisor with the National Ambulance Service has acknowledged the family’s complaint and is currently reviewing the call.
“We need answers,” says Cllr. Michael McClafferty, who is assisting the Barretts.
Cllr McClafferty raised the matter at today’s meeting of Donegal County Council, asking the local authority to contact the HSE to find out why the ambulance was not deployed when requested.
“The family needs an official answer. We councillors need answers as well. We need to know before other storms occur,” Cllr McClafferty said.
Kathleen’s home was gutted in the blaze
John McLaughlin, Chief Executive of Donegal County Council commented that the HSE is aware of the incident and is looking into the response.
A fundraiser is underway to support Kathleen after the devastating loss of her home and all her belongings. Temporary accommodation has been arranged for Kathleen in a local hotel this week but she will be in need of a suitable place to stay and recover.
“She is a breast cancer survivor and her health wouldn’t be the best,” says Kathleen’s niece Maeve Barrett in a GoFundMe appeal.
“Kathleen would and has done anything for anyone and it’s just so sad after not long losing her husband to cancer to be left with no home that she shared for most of her life with her husband and little dog Collie.
“So we are reaching out to the public for any small donation that will help to get her back on her feet and hopefully into “her own little corner” in the near future.”
If you wish to donate, please visit: https://www.gofundme.com/f/kathleen-barrett-lost-everything-in-house-fire
