Fatal Connemara fire

Field east

rip to the two individuals found in the house. This , sadly, happens a few times every year. The social , environmental and economic cost to the state and friends/ family concerned must be quite significant apart from the emotional cost to the family / friends /community

Could a lot of these be avoided by the following idea :-

Each county council would employ a ‘ Fire Alarm Advisory Officer’ who’ s job would be

(1)to call to each house - say once every two years- to advise the occupants on the use of fire alarms, is/ are the ones they have fitted working, etc, etc, etc. A simple leaflet could be left with the occupants

(2) Put relevant advisory notes into the local papers twice a year

(3) address public meetings

While on the subject two questions come to mind

(1) how many fire alarms are fitted but the batteries have been removed because the alarm went off and they want to ‘ turn it off’ - and they forget to put the batteries back in.
(2) how many householders know that when a fire alarm goes off and there is no smoke or fire it may be because that the battery needs to be changed OR THE ALARM ITSELF MAY HAVE REACHED ITS EXPIARY DATE and needs to be replaced with a new alarm. An expired alarm also ‘goes off’.

I suggest that , on a national scale, the ‘savings made’ would be significant and would reduce a lot of trauma and upset

L1011

That would probably have a noticeable impact, but at an immense, immense cost. I don't think you've factored in the effort involved.

There are 67000 households in Galway County, lets use that as the example as that's where this most specific incident happened.

For one person visiting, say, eight a day it would take 36 years for them to loop back to visit the first one again. That doesn't cover the admin work and meetings you're proposing either.

Eight a day is a realistic number as while the checks might only take a few minutes in a small, sensibly laid out house or flat; most homes aren't; and are also not always neatly beside each other.

You'd probably need 25+ officers to do a two year rotation and 70+ to do daily. All staff needing vehicles and on reasonable salaries.

In more isolated areas, Donegal County Council dumped a fire blanket and extinguisher on the doorstep a few years ago; and last summer arranged recharging/swaps for extinguishers for anyone who wanted to bring theirs in. That itself was far from cheap, but much more practical to actually do than go around every house again.

BrianD3

A lot of house fire fatalities involve the elderly - as was the case here. Hearing problems, cognitive impairments and sleeping tablet use are common in the elderly, Will they hear the smoke alarm, will they know what to do if they do hear it or will they become disoriented. I remember the smoke alarm went off in our house for no reason one night. I jumped out of my skin but neither of the 70 somethings who were also in the house woke up.

Ozmodya

This is just awful. She was

on death row for several years for a crime she didn't commit.

Ozmodya

Can't edit or delete above post.

https://connachttribune.ie/victim-of-connemara-fire-named-as-death-row-survivor-sonia-sunny-jacobs/

Just awful. She was in prison for 16 years (five of those years on Death Row) for a crime she didn't commit, her parents were killed in a plane crash, and this is how her life ends. The unfairness of it is upsetting.

She and her late husband did so much work for those who endured miscarriages of justice. And they had a lovely peaceful haven set up in Connemara for exonerees to visit. They also collaborated with MOJO (the Miscarriages of Justice Organisation) in Scotland, founded by the late Paddy Hill (Birmingham Six).

mikethecop

Bull spit , she was present and very very likely to have been the killer of two policemen , the only independent witness implicates her . (shot came from back seat containing her and two young kids ) then lied till the day she died. There was just a tiny bit too little evidence and less appetite to execute a female as she should have been.

as for pingle . INLA terrorist scumfcuk

some times there simply isn't enough evidence to prove beyond a doubt , particularly when the offenders murder the witnesses ,

That's not the same thing as saying they didn't do the crimes

circadian

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123515100#Comment_123515100

I see the judge and jury have arrived.

mikethecop

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123515132#Comment_123515132

whats wrong with people knowing what sort of people these were.?

pretending they were hero's is just a lie , unless your into murdering terrorists I guess

michael-henry-mcivor

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123515100#Comment_123515100

Wasn't there a man executed by the law for that crime of killing those two cops-

The law found her innocent-

The INLA decommissioned their weapons under the terms / timeline / conditions of the Good Friday agreement-

FrancieBrady

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123512221#Comment_123512221

You could have understood her leading a very bitter life after all that but she dedicated the rest of her life to others.

Remarkable lady whom I knew about before this awful tragedy. RIP

circadian

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123515183#Comment_123515183

Sorry for not taking the word of some random person on the internet as gospel.

FrancieBrady

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123515402#Comment_123515402

Think poor old mikethecop is confused.
She didn’t ‘avoid the death sentence’ because there was ‘little evidence’ the jury recommended a life sentence for both her and her husband. The judge (a retired cop himself who liked to keep a mini electric chair on his desk) wrongly over ruled the jury and ordered the death penalty.
Of the three Jacobs had zero gun residue and Tafero claimed he had some because the shooter handed the gun to him after shooting the two men. Loads of other stuff about a shambles of a case.

mikethecop

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123515224#Comment_123515224

yeap there was. her husband who claimed she did it , as did almost but not quite enough evidence to get justice for the murders.

the law doesn't find people innocent

Ya the aspect of the GFA where horrible scummy people got free passes for their crimes was always been a very high cost to pay.

A lot of those animals should never have seen the light of day again

Ozmodya

On what grounds were they exonerated? You not liking them (based on what evidence?) and wanting to look edgy... doesn't make them actually guilty.

Her husband claimed she did it means she did it? No way her husband could be lying?

kabakuyu

Judge in the trial was M.Daniel Futch Jr,Harry Connick Snr was a DA.

See you edited your mistake.

JayRoc

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123515476#Comment_123515476

Username checks out

FrancieBrady

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123515476#Comment_123515476

More confusion.
Her husband did not testify against her.

FrancieBrady

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123515540#Comment_123515540

Clearly not a very good one given his grasp of the detail.

circadian

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123515614#Comment_123515614

Par for the course.

paul71

No there was not. That was 30 years after the last execution in Ireland.

paul71

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123515224#Comment_123515224

I was attempting to quote this, last execution in Ireland was 1953. Garda Henry Byrne and Garda John Morley were murdered in 1980.

FrancieBrady

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123515697#Comment_123515697

i assumed they were talking about the US cops that Tafero was executed for.

paul71

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123515709#Comment_123515709

I assumed he was talking about Peter Pringle because he mentioned the INLA in his post but I see he said "her" in the first part so it is unclear.

"The INLA decommissioned their weapons under the terms / timeline / conditions of the Good Friday agreement-"

Non the less the 2nd part of the post is certainly untrue. The INLA never accepted the good Friday agreement, nor did they disarm under its terms/timeline/conditions.

Field east

if ever there was a thread high jacked / totally derailed then this thread would be up there with the best of them . Only no 2 and 3 made their considered and very welcome comments on the issue raised ie house fire deaths and how they might be reduced,

My core point is to attempt to keep the issue of fire alarms -and whatever other fire alert means - in the continuous public minds. Even if it is only very short TV programmes/ announcements every so often.
I would broadly agree with the opinions of point two . But the ‘ numbers to be visited’ per year would be drastically reduced if it was confined to old age pensioners and especially those living alone and maybe those with certain disabilities living alone also

baxterooneydoody

Mike, if you really are a cop, you must be a really sh1t 1

paul71

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123515738#Comment_123515738

I don't think it is fair to say hijacked. Your points about fire deaths are well made, but the person involved in the fire and especially her predesceased husband are persons of moderate/minor significance in modern Irish history. I think it is natural the discussion would evolve in that direction.

michael-henry-mcivor

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123515476#Comment_123515476

If the law can find U guilty- then the law can find U innocent-

michael-henry-mcivor

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123515737#Comment_123515737

I was talking about the innocent woman whom the court set free and died in that Galway house fire-

The INLA LVF UFF UVF oppose the Good Friday agreement- never the less they all decommissioned under the terms of the GFA- the LVF UFF actually handed over weapons to the PSNI-

JupiterKid

Mod:-

This thread has gone completely off topic from the original one intended by the OP.

Thread closed.