A two-year-old boy has died and his mother and brother (4) are in a critical condition in hospital following a house fire in Cork in the early hours of this morning.
The fire broke out at the terraced house at Elm Park in Wilton about 4am and the alarm was raised by neighbours.
Three units of Cork City Fire Brigade attended the scene and firefighters using breathing apparatus managed to rescue the mother and two children, who were unconscious, from an upstairs bedroom.
All three had suffered from smoke inhalation and were taken to Cork University Hospital where the two-year-old boy later died.
His mother – who is in her late 20s and from Cork city - and brother remain in a critical condition in the hospital.
Gardaí cordoned off the scene and Garda technical experts began a forensic examination of the house.
However, preliminary indications suggested that there was no evidence of foul play and gardaí are investigating on whether the fire may have started accidentally in a downstairs room.
Cork City Fire Brigade third fire officer Edward Buckley said fire crews extinguished an intense fire contained in the kitchen before they recovered the three people upstairs.
“They found one child lying in a bed in a front bedroom,” he said. “They rescued the child and he was handed to the ambulance crews at the door. Another child was found with his mother in the same room. All three were unconscious. They were sleeping when the fire broke out.”
Mr Buckley said CPR was administered to the woman and children at the scene. “One child show signs of response very early, possibly the mother did as well,” he said. “Unfortunately, one child was a fatality. The two-year-old died. It’s something we are constantly prepared for but when it happens it’s heartbreaking.
“We are all parents and grandparents so it’s very, very hard. There were a lot of sad men going home this morning.”
The fire officer revealed a neighbour had opened the front door and smashed a window in a bid to reach the family.
Gardaí and ambulance crews were also at the scene when fire crews arrived, six minutes after the first emergency call. Mr Buckley said early indications show the blaze was a “tragic accident” and not suspicious.
“It was downstairs and it appears to have started in the kitchen area,” he said. “From what I’m gathering it’s possible somebody just didn’t turn off the cooker.”
Mr Buckley appealed to householders to be aware of fire safety, particularly during the night.
Parish priest Fr Robert Brophy, who said prayers for all three during masses in Togher, said people in the area are distressed by what happened. “It’s very upsetting for the family, our prayers go out to them,” he said. “Togher is a lovely close-knit, nice, supportive community and they will rally around.”
Additional reporting: PA