Patrick Kutek, who owns Maxton Design Ireland in Co Laois, arrived in Rhodes last Tuesday night.
He and his family were having the holiday of a lifetime until Saturday afternoon.
"We had a feeling on Friday night that something was wrong, all the smoke and ash was coming to the hotel and we knew that the fire was close. We were visiting Rhodes for the first time and we were thinking that fire is under control. We were told that wildfires at this time of the year is normal," Patrick said.
Patrick said everything changed on Saturday afternoon
"At around 12pm on Saturday we saw smoke just behind our hotel and all the people were a bit confused that the staff were not reacting. The smell of smoke was getting worse, and a lot of people began to go back to the hotel. Some of them were packing up, some were still just relaxing.
"We went back to the room and at the balcony, I realised at that point that my family were at risk. We were in a bit of panic then but I was trying to stay focused on the packing. We moved to the hotel lobby where people had gathered. There were no instructions from the staff but maybe they did not want to cause a panic."
Patrick decided to take matters into his own hands
"People got nervous, but not all of them. The fire was closer. I decided to get our bigger luggage back to the room as I know that we might run soon. Elevators were shut down but our room was on the first floor. The nightmare had just begun.
"Hotel staff told all people to get back to the lobby but it was really overcrowded there. Children were crying. We were close to the entrance, and I told my partner that we should leave. There were no instructions from the hotel to go out because of all the dust, smoke and ash was outside. It was dark and then through the window I saw a few people running on the other side of the road."
Patrick and his family decided to get out of the hotel and run
"We started to run, we had masks in the bag from the time of Covid. We had just small luggage with us. Some of the people were running with big suitcases, which they were just leaving on the roads as they became unmanageable. There was another small gate on the road to the beach and long tunnel under the road to reach the beach which we thought was a safe place at the time."
Patrick and his family ran to the nearest beach
"When we arrived at the beach the smoke and fire were getting closer, we realised that we not were safe at the beach either. Everyone just went to walk to the south, some people just tried to get whatever was available like small boats and other items, as we thought that we may have to go into the water to save our life. Bigger boats tried to get people on board but when we saw that everyone was panicking, we decided to stop and wait."
They eventually found a cave to hide in
"The panic was getting bigger and bigger, some of the older people couldn't breathe and started to get tired. We kept walking until we reached a small island with a rock shore. We spent a few hours there helping each other and talked about what to do. My family and I walked around and found a cave and we stayed there. We were tired but optimistic now."
Patrick commended the local people of Rhodes for their efforts
"After a few hours we walked to a beach restaurant where another group of people gathered. We were lucky as my family and another group of tourists got a lift for free in a pickup truck. The local people were amazing. The truck driver brought our full group to a village called Gennadi, around a 15 minute drive when we could eat and drink in the restaurant. We all felt safe then."
Patrick said he and his family are so happy to be safe and alive
"We were three hours driving to the airport by a city bus, with children sitting down on the floor. The driver was amazing, even started to sing to relax people. We found a small hotel in Rhodes town. We are so happy to be safe and alive."
