SIXTEEN people, the majority of them elderly, have died in house fires in the Republic so far this year.
Two sisters in their 70s died on March 24th in a fire believed to have started in one of the bedrooms of their cottage in Multyfarnham, Co Westmeath. Mary Mahoney (76) and Ellen Glynn (79) were believed to have been asleep when the fire broke out. The fire may have been started by a lighted candle or a cigarette.
Frank Nestor (66) died after a fire at his house in Ballyglunnan, near Tuam, Co Galway, on March 23rd. An 80 year old woman died in a fire at her home in Dublin on March 19th. Maire Horgan, of Terenure Road North, was killed in the fire which is believed to have started accidentally at 5 a.m.
A Dublin man in his 70s died in hospital on March 15th after a fire at his home in Sandymount.
The fire was believed to have started in a downstairs livingroom.
A Galway woman died in a fire at her house in Oranmore, Co Galway, on March 7th. Peggy Quinn (78), who lived next door to her son, may have been overcome by fumes as she was confined to an armchair. She was badly burnt after her clothing caught fire.
A Co Tipperary man, Thomas Horan (47), was found dead in his bedroom when the fire service from Tipperary was called to a fire at a cottage at Attassel Abbey, Golden, Co Tipperary, on March 6th.
An electrical fault was believed to have been the cause of the fire which killed Evelyn Carey (75), of Mourne Road, Drimnagh, at her home on February 18th.
Two 83 year old bachelors died in separate fires at their Co Tipperary homes early on February 4th. They were John O'Donnell, of Killock, New Inn, and Willie Morrissey, of Clashganny West Newcastle, Clonmel.
In Cork, a man died in a housefire on the same date. Sean Keane (68) was at home alone at Lower Oliver Plunkett Street. The fire is believed to have been started by a heater.
A widow, Mary O'Donnell (94), was found in the upstairs bedroom of her house at Propogue, Araglen, near Fermoy, Co Cork, on January 29th.
A Co Donegal pensioner died after a fire broke out at her home at Drumcroil, Ballintra, on January 23rd. Cathleen Crawford (74), who lived alone, died in the fire which started about 8.30.
A woman and her son were killed in a blaze that was caused by a wire connection under a downstairs carpet which had become frayed in Ballymun, Dublin, on January 18th.
Margaret Morgan (38) and her son, Lee, were on the upper floor of the house. Ms Morgan's other son, aged nine, and her 18 year old nephew escaped.
A woman with Down's Syndrome died in a fire at her family home in Finglas, Dublin, on January 1st. Her parents, both in their 60s suffered smoke inhalation in the blaze. Shirley Russell (24) was dead on arrival at the Mater Hospital. The fire broke out in the main upstairs bedroom at around 11 p.m.
Last night the vice chairman of the Chief Fire Officers Association, Mr Michael Fitzsimons, said that every home should have one fire alarm, if not two. He said people are particularly vulnerable when asleep and an alarm gives an early warning of a fire.
What happened in Portarlington is a terrible tragedy. When people are asleep, it is a very dangerous time."
Mr Fitzsimons, the chief fire officer for Kildare, said the best way to prevent fires in the home was by "good housekeeping".
"It's best to keep things neat and tidy around the house and to switch off electrical appliances when you are finished with them. The major cause of house fires is cigarettes, or else it is people cooking late at night and forgetting to turn off the cooker," he said.