'I saved Bertie"s car!'

An local restaurateur has thrown down the gauntlet to former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern to come to Tullamore to officially open his business after he played a heroic role when Ahern"s State car was involved in a fire drama last week. Okan Kiraz, who co-owns the Aquarium Restaurant in Main Street, was thrust into the spotlight last week while out walking close to St Stephen"s Green in Dublin with a friend, when he noticed smoke coming from a car on the street. 'I didn"t pass any remarks at first, I walked by about 30 metres and looked back. I could see the flames getting bigger and it looked like they were going up towards the windows. Nobody was doing anything. Everybody was just standing there watching it,' Okan told the Offaly Independent this week. Quick-thinking Okan ran into a nearby newsagents and secured a fire extinguisher to quell the fire fearing that it would explode within minutes with the petrol on board, if action wasn"t taken. 'There were about 100 people around watching and I couldn"t understand why they weren"t doing anything. I wasn"t being brave, I was just being smart. I just had to stop to put out the fire. It did cross my mind that it could explode of course,' he said. However, within 30 seconds the blaze was out and Okan gave back the extinguisher and returned on his way, never to think of the sequence that was later to unfold. 'Three hours later I came back to the shop to see if the person ahd come back to the car and they told me that it was Bertie Ahern"s car. I was surprised I thought he would have a 08 Mercedes but this was a 06,' he quipped. A week later Okan received a letter from the former Taoiseach himself personally thanking him for his role in putting out the fire in his State car. Mr Ahern thanked him for his 'brave act and quick thinking' on the night, saying that he was glad that no one was hurt in the incident. 'Not too many people get a thank you letter from Bertie Ahern,' a chuffed Okan reflected this week, adding that now is the time for Mr Ahern to return the good deed. 'I did him a favour. I stopped his car from burning so I hope now he"ll return the favour and come to Tullamore to officially open my restaurant,' Mr Kiraz, who has been living in Tullamore for over ten years and is well known in his guise as DJ Cherry, concluded.