'We could be dead': Man charged after 16 gardens destroyed in fire in Carlow

A man has been charged after 16 gardens were destroyed in a fire at the Willow Park estate in Carlow Town last month.

Gardaí charged the man in his 30s with criminal damage, which happened on August 24th.

“If this had happened at night, we could be dead,” a resident who wished to remain anonymous told the Carlow Nationalist.

She had been in her garden with her nine-year-old son that morning when she heard “crackling” sounds, which were coming from a tree that was up in flames two doors away from her.

The fire had spread through the dry grass in the field behind the houses and set their fence on fire by the time they had got outside the front of their house.

They called the fire brigade, but it took the teams from Tullow and Bagenalstown 30 minutes to arrive, so two men living in the area started using hoses to prevent the fire coming close to their timber-framed houses.

One had to be treated in hospital after suffering from smoke inhalation.

The families, many of which had young children, could not go home until 7pm, and when they did, they were met with “devastating” scenes.

One family, who have a son with Down syndrome, had built a “sanctuary” garden for him returned to burnt metal frames of a trampoline and the blue plastic from what used to be a paddling pool.

Over €20,000 was spent creating the garden over the past five years, with the husband of the home creating a bar in the shed using engraved whiskey barrels as stools.

There was also a custom-made countertop made from 200-year-old wood and a bike worth €1,400 that were destroyed.

“We can’t just go down to Homesavers to replace the stuff. We had one-off custom furniture in the garden. We put so much time, money and effort into making it. I know this all can be replaced, and I’m thankful we’re all still here, but the damage caused by the reckless, mindless behaviour of one individual,” one woman said.

Windows smashed because of the heat, wooden fences surrounding each garden were burnt down, doors became cracked and warped, vents completely melted, allowing smoke into homes, and the trees were blackened.

The lack of fences means neighbours can now walk into each other's back gardens.

One neighbour has said she is a “bag of nerves” since the incident and added that she cannot sleep as she is worried the fire will start again due to the lack of security from the burnt-down fences.

Local councillor, Paul Doogue, was invited to see the homes at Willow Park and has said the community must now “rally behind” them.

“All I can say is total shock and horror, must have gone through the minds of the residents, after a fire totally destroyed all their back gardens and broke all windows at the back of their homes. No words could explain the trauma those families went through as they watched everything go up in smoke and hoping their homes would be safe,” he wrote on Facebook.

“If ever families needed community support, these families do,” he added.

The families had to wait for inspections from insurance companies before starting the clean-up and re-creating process.

“My heart went out to all the residents who were just trying to build a home. All the memories that were there for years have gone up in smoke,” Cllr Doogue said.

The man in his 30s who was arrested and charged appeared before Wexford District Court and was remanded in custody.