Court extends time for probe at Mallow fire site

Gardaí obtained a court order last night allowing them to carry out forensic examinations for a further 24 hours at an apartment block where a fire killed two men in their 30s.

Supt Pat McCarthy, who is leading the investigation into the deaths at the apartment in Mallow, Co Cork, got the order at the local district court and said gardaí were “still keeping an open mind” on how the fire was started.

Other Garda sources revealed they received preliminary autopsy and forensic reports following the fire at Granary Court on St Joseph’s Road, which broke out yesterday shortly after midnight on Wednesday. They said they wouldn’t release these details as the investigation was “ongoing”.