Attentive motorist prevents major blaze

AN ALERT motorist who spotted smoke pouring from a house in Cork city centre yesterday helped firefighters prevent a major blaze.

Mark O’Donohoe was driving along the South Link Road just before 4pm when he spotted the smoke coming from the roof of a house on Railway Terrace, a quiet stretch of 12 three-storey houses off Anglesea St.

He alerted the emergency services and three units of Cork City Fire Brigade rushed from their Anglesea St headquarters nearby.

They were on the scene within minutes and found the roof of number 10 ablaze, and flames spreading to the roof of number nine.

Both houses were unoccupied at the time and firefighters used an axe to smash down the front door of number 10.

They had the blaze under control within 30 minutes and managed to prevent it from spreading to the other houses on the terrace.

The fire caused substantial damage to number 10’s roof and relatively minor damage to the neighbouring roof. There were no injuries.

Third officer, Adrian Spillett, said he believes the fire started in number 10’s attic.

Fire crews remained on the scene for several hours as garda forensic experts examined the scene to establish the exact cause of the blaze.

A St Vincent de Paul-run hostel, which backs on the terrace, escaped damage. It is one of the largest men’s hostels in the country.