A couple from Manorcunningham have been praised for their quick actions after helping their neighbours escape a house fire early this morning.
Shane Brady and his wife Tamara were asleep when a loud noise outside woke Shane at around 4.30am.
Looking out the window, he saw large flames rising from the back of a house a few doors down in their estate, Abbey Villas.
Shane jumped up, got dressed and ran outside while Tamara rang the fire brigade.
After a couple of minutes banging on his neighbours’ door, Shane managed to wake the couple. They got out safely through the front door. He assured them that the fire brigade was on the way.
Firefighters arrived quickly afterwards and brought the blaze under control.
By then, a small group of neighbours had gathered to support the couple.
The cause of the fire is not yet known, but it is understood to have started at the rear of the property. Most of the property was spared from serious damage and thanks to the Bradys, no one was injured.
Looking back, Shane said he did what any neighbour would do: “If I hadn’t gone to the door, someone else would have. I just happened to see it first,” he said.
“The main thing is that everyone was safe and things can be fixed. It is terrible what happened, but the main thing is that everyone got out.”
Quick-thinking neighbours help prevent Christmas tragedy was last modified: December 11th, 2025 by Staff Writer