Second brother dies from injuries sustained in weekend house fire

A SECOND boy has died in a Cork family home fire which killed his little brother last weekend.

Both Calvin and Cian have died since the fire, while Stacey is slowly improving.

Four-year-old Calvin Ellard-Punch, who only began junior infants at Togher national school in September, lost his life yesterday afternoon due to injuries suffered during Sunday’s fire.

The incident, which is being treated as a tragic accident, earlier claimed the life of his brother Cian, aged 2.

Stacey Ellard, a 26-year-old former childcare worker, and her two sons were found by fire fighters in an upstairs bedroom in their smoke-filled rented house in Wilton, Cork, in the early hours of Sunday morning.

While Cian died in Cork University Hospital a short time after they were taken from the burning building, Stacey and Calvin remained alive — although both were described as being in a serious condition due to smoke inhalation.

In recent days, as their family maintained a bedside vigil, Stacey’s condition had begun to improve.

It is understood that, yesterday morning, her family were able to tell her the tragic news about Cian.

However, in the days since the blaze there had been significant concerns about Calvin’s health and he passed away at 2pm yesterday.

The boys’ father, Ricky Punch, has been temporarily released from Cork prison on compassionate grounds to be with his family.

Gardaí are satisfied that the fire was not started maliciously but rather was a tragic accident.

They believe the blaze started in the kitchen, possibly emanating from a cooker grill.