A Dublin mother and her daughter narrowly cheated death after a boiler exploded in their home on Monday evening.
The family - who lost everything in the frightening explosion at the Greek Street Flats in the capital - are now currently homeless as they wait to hear back from Dublin City Council.
Kirsty Walsh whose 47-year-old mother and 22-year-old sister were living in the flat at the time told Dublin Live that the pair managed to cheat death in a blast that was certain to kill anyone in its path.
She told Dublin Live: "This is my home and it's on the very top floor of the flats.
"The neighbours living underneath had complained about a gas leak. This was reported to Dublin City Council and as a result, they got out contractors and an engineer to have a look.
"They were trying to figure out where the leak was coming from and my mam allowed them full access to drill underneath her door and investigate.
"One of the engineers on site said to my mother in passing 'oh by the way, we've sealed your gas leak outside too'. My mother didn't know anything about this and assumed that the contractors had reported the leak to the relevant gas company also."
Kirsty and her family believe that when contractors "rectified the problem" at the window outside her house, they appear to have have caused another one, forcing a build-up of gas pressure leading to the explosion.
She continued: "Firefighters told our family that if anyone was in the house, they would have been killed instantly.
"We have fire alarms and carbon monoxide alarms but nothing went off to alert us about the gas.
"Thankfully, the house had just been vacated by 12:15pm just minutes before the boiler burst."
Kirsty added: "It could have went off at any moment. My sister was gone all morning but my mother had just stepped out the door. Ten minutes later and she would have been a goner."
Despite the lucky escape, the family are now without a house as they approach the festive period.
"They left the house with just the clothes on their back and that’s all they have left now.
"All their personal belongings have been destroyed, I had left Christmas presents in there to hide from the children in my house, they're all destroyed.
"And what's worse of all, my mother and sister are now homeless with less than three weeks to go until Christmas.
"They've always been good tenants, they've always paid their rent on time and complied by the rules. And Dublin City Council haven't even asked them how they are after the horrific incident, never mind the suggestion of giving them alternative accommodation."
Dublin Live has contacted Dublin City Council for a statement regarding the incident.
