'Waking up in hell': Over €30,000 raised for Dublin family after firebomb attack claims pet dog and home

The Journal

29-05-2025

A FUNDRAISER HAS been launched for a Dublin family after a firebomb was mistakenly thrown into their home, resulting in a 'devastating' fire that claimed the life of their pet dog.
The fire broke out shortly after 2am on 21 May after a petrol bomb was thrown into the house in Ballyfermot, resulting in the destruction of the Curran family home and the death of their dog Zach.
Gardaí have said that they believe the petrol bomb attack was a case of mistaken identity, and that the wrong home was attacked.
Pat Curran was asleep on a couch in the front room of the house when the petrol bomb came through the window.
After waking his wife Breda and son Luke, the three were able to flee the house before it was engulfed in flames.
The fire engulfed the front room in minutes.
GoFundMe
GoFundMe
'If he hadn't been there to wake up and raise the alarm, my mother Breda and my brother Luke would likely have died in the fire. That thought haunts us,' John Curran wrote in a fundraiser set up for the family.
Speaking to RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Pat Curran described the incident as 'waking up in hell'.
I had a blanket on me and I threw it on the fire and tried to stamp it out. I don't know how I didn't go on fire,' he said.
'All I did was start screaming for Breda. The thought came into my head – what did I do? Did I do something to cause this? This is an evil that came to our house.'
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Breda described how the family tried to ave the dog before they fled the house, but were unable to reach Zach on time.
'I tried to go back into the sitting room, and Luke was helping me to try and get our dog, because we knew he hadn't come out, so we were calling his name, but the heat wouldn't let us back in,' Breda said.
'When I went as far as the hallway to the sitting room door, the fire was everywhere.'
An emotional Breda told RTÉ's Morning Ireland: 'I said, we can't go in there – we'll die. We tried to call the dog, but it was too late. Then we just heard him whimpering, and we didn't hear anything else after that.
'Then everything just went silent, except for the fire.'
The fire spread to the entire house, destroying the bedrooms.
She later said that the house has no insurance, meaning the family have been left dealing with the cost of the attack.
Speaking on the mental toll of the fire, she said: 'I don't even know whether I can come back here, I don't know if I'd feel safe here.'
Pat added that the family's neighbours and local community have rallied to support the Currans since the fire.
'Strangers on the street come up to us offered help,' he explained.
I have to say, the community spirit in Ballyfermot is never talked about, but the respect, compassion and goodwill that's that are coming from this community, it's something to be admired and it keeps me going.'
A GoFundMe for the family has now raised over €30,000. You can
find the fundraiser here
.
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