No injuries reported after fire above Athlone shop unit

An apartment above the former Castle Gift Shop premises, on Castle Street in Athlone, suffered extensive damage as a result of a fire this afternoon (Friday).

The fire originated in the bedroom of one of the apartments above the former shop, and the Athlone Fire Service was notified at 1.55pm.

Two units from the fire service in Athlone were accompanied by a unit from Ferbane, while Gardai and the ambulance service were also in attendance.

The firefighters remained working at the scene until 4.30pm today.

Colum McDaid, the Assistant Chief Fire Officer based in Athlone, told the Westmeath Independent there were no injuries as a result of the fire and that it was not clear, at this stage, how it had started.

This video shows the scene at approximately 2.45pm today: