Gardaí wait to speak with two blaze survivors

Gardaí are still waiting to speak to a man and woman who remain in hospital following a fire which claimed the lives of two men in a Co Cork apartment.

Garda forensic experts continued yesterday to comb through the wreckage of the apartment at Granary Court, Mallow, in an attempt find out what started the fire.

It led to the deaths of John Palmer, 37, originally from Tallaght, Co Dublin, and Greg Lonergan, 36, from north Cork.

John’s twin brother, Chris, and Rachel Crawshaw, 30, were saved from the blaze by Gardaí Liam Phillips and Catriona O’Sullivan.

However, the gardaí were unable to save the two men as they were beaten back by the intense heat and smoke.

Both gardaí received treatment for smoke inhalation at Cork University Hospital before being discharged.

Gardaí have carried out house-to-house inquiries in the area and have spoken to a number of people who passed Granary Court before the fire was spotted in the third floor apartment around 12.20am last Thursday.

They are still awaiting the full results of forensic tests which have already been undertaken and it’s likely these will not become available until early next week.

Supt Pat McCarthy, who is leading the Garda investigation, said, as part of the inquiry, detectives will want to speak to the man and woman who remain in hospital.

He said they would have to wait until doctors say they are well enough to be spoken to.