Woman dies after nursing home fire

A GARDA was treated in hospital for smoke inhalation after he kicked down the door of a patient’s room at a nursing home in Co Clare where a fire alarm had been activated in the early hours of yesterday morning.

An elderly patient is believed to have died of natural causes while staff at the HSE-registered Lakes Nursing Home in Killaloe were moving residents from one part of the building to another. It is understood the 95-year-old, who had been gravely ill during the day, passed away about 20 minutes after the facility’s fire alarm was activated. The woman is believed to have died of natural causes and her death is not thought to be connected with the fire at the premises.

On arrival at the scene, a garda was forced to kick down the door of the room where the fire was reported. The garda removed a 21-year-old partially disabled man from the room and both men were later treated at the Mid Western Regional Hospital in Limerick for smoke inhalation. The garda was later discharged while the HSE has confirmed that the nursing home resident is in a “stable” condition in hospital.