A 43-year-old man died yesterday after suffering severe burns in a house fire on the outskirts of Cork city. Gardaí have ruled out foul play.
Thomas Carmody, Connolly Road, Ballyphehane, suffered serious burns to 75 per cent of his body in the fire, which broke out in a derelict house at The Elms, Ballycurreen, Frankfield, on Wednesday night.
Noel Rawley of the Cork City Fire Brigade confirmed the receipt of an emergency call about the blaze at 9.27pm from a passing motorist, and three units were dispatched.
Two firefighting teams using breathing apparatus entered the two-storey building to help control the blaze, which was primarily downstairs.
The firefighters found Mr Carmody lying badly burned in the hallway and rushed him by ambulance to Cork University Hospital.
He died at around 1.30am.
According to a Garda spokesman, the house was cordoned off for forensic examination by Garda technical experts to establish the fire's origin.
The investigation found no evidence of any accelerants or foul play.
Gardaí believe that Mr Carmody - who was single and unemployed - was trying to get out of the house when he collapsed in the hall.
A postmortem examination was due to be carried out at Cork University Hospital yesterday.