Copyright manchestereveningnews
A dad who tragically lost his teenage son has made a desperate plea to parents to be aware about a recent trend. Daniel Maguire, 14, died after he inhaled fumes from a can of deodorant at their family home on September 27. Daniel, who was sporty, health conscious and 'loved the gym, was a third year student at Hartstown Community School, Dublin. His dad, Dermot, has bravely stepped up to speak to the public, urging them to understand the fatal consequences of a new trend called 'fast gas' which claimed Daniel's life. Speaking about the night of Daniel's death, Dermot said: "It was around 11pm on the night of 26 September and I was going to bed," Dermot told us. "I had shouted up to Daniel as he was in his bedroom if he had the key for the front door so I could lock it. Daniel said yeah he had and I asked him to throw it down and he said ‘No problem.’ Join the Manchester Evening News WhatsApp group HERE "Then I heard nothing," said Dermot. "I went upstairs and found him passed out on his bedroom floor. His brother Adam (23) and I did our best, doing CPR, calling the emergency services. "But I knew deep down that when the emergency services brought him out of our house that he was gone," an emotional Dermot told us. “The emergency services did everything they could to try and save him. They were fantastic." Dermot told the Irish Mirror that earlier that evening Daniel - who is survived by his mum Yvonne, dad Dermot, brothers Adam and Andrew (13) - had been having a kick around with his pals at a local football club, had been to the gym, had his dinner, had a laugh and chats with his family and then went to his bedroom. Dermot stressed that Daniel was not a habitual drug user or a troubled teen. “He wasn’t going around stoned or whatever all the time,” he said. “He was mad about going to the gym. “He just made a mistake," said Dermot. "Whether it was a TikTok challenge or not, we don’t know. We just know Daniel made a mistake. He passed out. He never woke up.” The family said they have since learned of many other young people who have died after inhaling aerosols - tragedies they believe are not being made public enough to highlight the dangers. Dermot, as well as speaking to Irish Mirror, made an emotional but hard-hitting video which he posted to social media warning youngsters of the dangers. In the video he said: “This can’t go on. We’ve heard of so many other children and adults who have died recently because of this, and it’s not public enough. “Teenagers talk to each other. Parents talk to your kids. We have to stop this because what’s left behind is just devastation.” He added that the aftermath of Daniel’s death has shattered their world. “No family should ever have to go through what we went through,” he said. “As I said at Daniel’s funeral it was one can of deodorant, and a thousand lives changed.” Dermot hopes Daniel’s story will serve as a wake-up call to others. “For Daniel’s sake, and for everyone’s sake, fast gas and deodorant inhaling needs to stop,” he said. “Please, talk to your friends. Talk to your children. It has to stop.” Experts have long warned that inhaling aerosol propellants can cause sudden cardiac arrest, oxygen deprivation and, in some cases, instant death. The trend has been linked to social media videos encouraging risky “challenges” involving household sprays or gases.
