Gardaí seal off Cork street after partial roof collapse

Cork’s famous Shandon St was reopened last night after building inspectors gave the all-clear following a partial roof collapse.

A section of the street was sealed off just after 4pm when concerns were raised about the potential collapse of an “unstable roof” on a building on the left side of the street, northbound.

Gardaí sealed off a section of the street from its junction with Blarney St to its junction with Cattle Market Lane.

Two units of the city fire service responded and a building inspector from City Hall was called in.

He examined the site and found that just a small section of the roof to the rear of the building had fallen in, and there was no risk to the public, and the road was reopened.

Around the same time, the fire service tackled a blazing car on the second floor of a multi-storey car park in the Blackpool Retail Park.

The car, which was believed to have been a vintage VW, was completed destroyed.

There was extensive smoke logging on the second floor and heavy duty fans were used to clear the smoke. There were no reports of any injuries.

Earlier, part of the Tramore Rd was shut down after a bus caught fire. There were no passengers on board.

The Bus Éireann vehicle was stopped at a bus stop near Coláiste Stiofáin Naofa when the driver spotted smoke coming from the back of the bus.

Four units of the city fire service responded but the vehicle’s fire suppression kicked in and the flames were extinguished quickly.

The 10-year-old bus was due to begin service on the Pouladuff route to the city centre.

Yesterday’s incident on Shandon St followed a building collapse in June 2008 on the opposite side of the road during construction works.

A phone box prevented three storeys of scaffolding and sections of a roof and wall from crashing onto the street.