Ballinamore man on board burning ferry
A routine ferry trip from Wales to Ireland turned out to be anything but ordinary for Ballinamore haulier Gearoid Gilheany last week as he and over 200 other passengers and crew were told to prepare to evacuate their ship, Irish Ferry's Isle of Inishmore, after a fire broke out in one of the engine rooms.
The alarm was raised at around 2.30am on Tuesday, July 28 last while the ship was still docked at Pembroke Dock, West Wales.
Gearoid had only bedded down in his cabin for the routine four-hour crossing, something he'd done numerous times before, when the general alarm sounded on board.
"I knew there must be something serious happening because the captain made an announcement telling the crew this alarm wasn't an exercise," Gearoid told the Leitrim Observer following the blaze.
"The crew then got us to go to the muster stations and we were told to wait there.
"Everything was quite calm. I think that was because of the fact we were still in dock. The captain was very good and he kept us well informed about what was happening."
From their vantage point on the higher decks the passengers could see the arrival of at least seven fire engines and watch as the firemen entered the ship to extinguish the blaze.
"We weren't actually able to see any fire," admitted Gearoid. "The captain just told us there was a fire on board and we could see the firemen with their breathing apparatus. Everyone was very calm. Of course if the ship had been out at sea when this happened it would have been a lot more frightening for everyone. As it was we were just kept at the muster stations for two and half hours and then we were told we could go back to our cabins."
Despite the damage to one of the engine rooms, the ship eventually left port at 2.45pm for the four-hour crossing to Ireland.
"This is certainly nothing I've experienced before in all my 30 years. Thankfully it wasn't any more serious," acknowledged Gearoid.
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Weather for Carrick-on-Shannon, Ireland
Tuesday 22 May 2012
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: 11 C to 20 C
Wind Speed: 14 mph
Wind direction: South
Tomorrow
Sunny spells
Temperature: 9 C to 21 C
Wind Speed: 13 mph
Wind direction: South
