After the fire on the Eleventh Night gutted her family home, Ashleigh said: “I owe my life to that man, he saved my daughter”
A mum from Co Antrim has praised her “hero” neighbour for saving her daughter after a fire on the Eleventh Night gutted their family home.
A row of terraced houses in the Knockleigh Walk area of Greenisland caught fire on the Eleventh Night as a result of the embers from a bonfire lit nearby.
At the height of the operation, the Northern Ireland Fire & Rescue Service had 45 personnel in attendance at the scene, including six pumping appliances, a command support unit, and an aerial ladder. Five firefighting jets were also in use alongside an aerial water tower.
Ashleigh McCleanaghan, 40, was on holiday in Blackpool at the time, while her eldest daughter and son were at home. As embers from the bonfire started moving into their back garden, a refurbished shed her 17-year-old daughter uses as her bedroom caught fire.
Their back garden was completely destroyed, with their oil tank also catching fire, while their kitchen, a bedroom, and their bathroom also suffered damage.
Speaking to Belfast Live, Ashleigh said: “The bonfire was lit on the Eleventh Night. My daughter Alex was in the house watching the bonfire and the embers were covering over above the house. You could clearly see the size of them; she was at the front of the house.
“Our neighbour, Davy, battered the door to say the back garden was on fire and when the both of them went out, Alex turned on the hose and Davy went to soak the place.
“The embers were coming down that quickly, the fire began to spread, and before we knew it the shed was completely up. The two fences either side and the oil tank also went.
“I got the first boat back from Blackpool and came up home. The back of our house was destroyed, everything outside in the garden including Alex’s room, and everything in it completely gone. The kitchen was damaged, the boys’ bedroom damaged and the bathroom.”
Ashleigh has praised the quick efforts of her neighbour, David (Davy) Haighton, who rushed to her home to help her children.
“All I was worried about was my daughter. The fact that if it hadn’t had been for Davy next door, it could have been so different. Alex may not be here. I owe my life to that man, he saved my daughter,” she said.
“I told him he was my hero, that man got burnt and there was blood all down his arms from him and Alex trying to put out the fire. He took the hose, he wouldn’t let her do it. He’s lived beside us all for a long time, my children all love him and his wife Esther.”
Amid the blaze, where two houses were gutted and two others were damaged in the terrace, Davy’s house was destroyed, leaving him and his wife with nothing.
Ashleigh said: “We got off lightly with the fire – Davy’s house is completely gutted. All his memories of 50 years living in that house, all his medals from when he was in the Territorial Army (TA).
“I will always be in awe of that man and everytime I see him I tell him he will never know how much it means to us. He keeps playing it down but the other day he said to me if there was anything we needed to let him know.
“He has nothing, we’re going to be able to get back into our house they’re hoping. He has absolutely nothing, but he’s more worried about us and the kids.
“It’s very hard to take in that things could have been a lot worse, and if it wasn’t for him, Alex could be gone. That’s what gets me through what has happened. You’re walking around talking to people at the minute like you’re just numb from everything.”
The Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service said the most probable cause of the fire is thought to be accidental and investigations remain ongoing.
You can donate to a fundraiser set up by Ashleigh’s friend to help the family get back on their feet by clicking here.
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