A popular photographer from Donegal says he has suffered a serious hand injury following a freak accident at his home earlier this week.
Falcarragh man James O’Donnell has risen to international prominence online for his striking photography featuring his dogs, Frida and Iggy.
However, he has revealed that he suffered severe burns after his log fire in his dining room exploded.
“On Wednesday, myself and Frida had just settled in for the night and I had a nice log fire going,” James said as he bravely told his story via social media.
“I went to the kitchen to get water and walking back through the dining room (my office/studio), I saw that my small paper basket needed emptying so I brought it with me and tipped it into the fire. It just had the strips from peel & seal envelopes which make the bin look full. On to the fire they went and I sat back on the sofa with a to-do list on social media.”
“As I began working, I noticed a strip on the hearth so I went over to put it in with the tongs. As I picked up the paper the fireplace *blew up* showering me and the carpet with hot coals.”
Luckily his beloved dog Frida escaped without injury – but James himself was worse for wear after being struck by flaming-hot projectiles from his fire.
Frida visiting the iconic Mont Saint-Michel landmark. Image credit James O’Donnell.
James O’Donnell Photography
“I escaped lightly with a serious hand injury, as the projectile could have gone straight to my face or caught an artery,” James said.
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“It was a horrific freak accident with a bang, a roar and blood pouring and flaming coals on the carpet, but I immediately got into action. Frida was okay, I rang my brother to come immediately and I tried to sort the hot coals with my hand bandaged up in paper towels.”
“Joe arrived with Siobhán and he worked on the coals while Siobhán helped me and rang for an ambulance. I started going into shock as Siobhán was talking to 999 but I still managed to instruct Joe that I needed a few days of clothing.”
As the adrenaline wore off though, James’ condition worsened.
After being seen to by the ambulance service and taken to Letterkenny University Hospital for initial treatment, it was decided that he needed specialist surgery in Galway.
Remarkably, thanks to his sister Catherine he was in Galway just five and a half hours after the initial incident at around 11pm.
“I started losing my voice, vision, consciousness and felt sick, but I kept talking to get through it. The ambulance was quick, Letterkenny involved x-ray/orthopedics, but I had to get to Galway ASAP for surgery (thank you, Catherine.)”
James believes that the culprit may have been a small closed plastic container, which was mistakenly placed in the fire along with the rest of the paper pile.
“Fatigue is an issue with me and I believe that after drinking the contents of a small clear plastic turmeric shot bottle, I resealed it and mistakenly dropped it into the paper basket,” he said.
“In the fire the bottle must have settled in behind the contents of the glowing fire and eventually exploded, pushing everything out.”
Luckily despite suffering a serious burn injury, there is hope that James may have escaped lasting serious damage to his nerves and ligaments.
“I meet Prof Kelly, who will hopefully give good news this Thursday, and we believe that I escaped serious damage (nerve/ligaments, etc).”