Four men injured in house fire

Four men have been injured, one suffering serious burns to his face and upper body, following two house fires in the Athlone area overnight.

Another man sustained shoulder injuries when he jumped out of a upper storey window to escape the flames at a house in Willow Park.

The alarm was raised at 2.30am after the four, all aged in their 20s and 30s returned from work in a local business.

Athlone Fire Brigade responded to the call in relation to what they described as a “sudden fire” quickly getting it under control with the assistance of Ferbane Fire Brigade.

However, all of occupants of the house were taken by ambulance to the Midlands Regional Hospital, Tullamore with a variety of injuries from serious burns to a shoulder issue, breathing issues and shock.

One man was subsequently transferred to St James's Hospital in Dublin, according to the Garda Press Office, with what was described as "serious" injuries.

Sgt Dermot Monaghan from Athlone Garda Station said at lunchtime that the man suffered a "high degree of burns to his face and upper body" in the blaze.

The scene has been examined and they are satisfied that it was caused accidentally by an oil heating system.

As the fire services were dealing with the Willow Park fire, another call came in for a house fire in Manor Valley in Monksland, and Ballinasloe Fire Brigade were mobilised to respond to the second incident.

Luckily, the occupant of the home had left the house when emergency services arrived and was unharmed.

The fire in this case was more serious, according to Athlone Fire Services, with the house suffering substantial damage as the flames breached the roof and gutted the home. There was also water and smoke damage to some neighbouring homes.

Gardaí attended the scene and in a statement this morning described the incident as "criminal damage".

Sgt Dermot Monaghan subsequently confirmed the fire is being treated as arson. The scene has been technically examined after it was sealed off last night.

He appealed for witnesses to come forward if they saw anything in the Manor Valley area in the early hours of this morning.

No arrests have been made and investigations are ongoing.

Ballinasloe Fire Brigade only left the scene of the fire in Monksland earlier this morning.

Pat Hunt, Senior Assistant Chief Fire Officer with Westmeath County Council, described the two incidents as a “worrying trend” during the coldest time of the winter.

Fortunately, there was no loss of life as both incidents could have been a lot worse, he added.