South Dublin residents’ fear after potential ‘disaster’ averted just in time

Residents have expressed their concerns after a near-miss incident that could have resulted in a potential tragedy in Tallaght yesterday.

A social house in Cushlawn Park in West Tallaght filled with natural gas due to a cap that was not refitted during refurbishment of the home. Thankfully the new tenants sensed something was off and alerted Gas Networks Ireland before disaster struck.

Sinn Fein TD for Dublin South West Sean Crowe said: “I was contacted by upset residents in Cushlawn Park this morning who informed me of a very serious incident last night involving a recently refurbished house that had been allowed to fill with natural gas after the supply was switched back on.

“A cap had supposedly not been refitted to a gas pipe during the refurbishment, so when the supply had been switched back on, the whole house just started to fill up over the course of hours. The new tenants arrived at their home and immediately knew something was wrong.

“Something as simple as flipping a light switch could have spelled disaster for the new residents and their neighbours on that block of houses.”

He added that a Gas Networks Ireland engineer was on site for five hours until after 1am to source the leak and ensure the house was ventilated and that no drains or shores had become saturated with gas.

Deputy Crowe added: “This raises very serious questions about who signed off on the works after the recent refurbishment of a social house. A gas explosion can be utterly devastating in a residential area and these types of accidents should never be allowed to happen. Today, we could have been waking up to multiple deaths or injuries, but thankfully someone smelt gas and contacted the relevant people.”

Dublin Live has contacted South Dublin County Council and Gas Networks Ireland for comment.

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