Man dies in Belfast house fire

A man was killed after being trapped in a fire at his home in south Belfast today.

His body was discovered by fire crews in a top floor bedroom on a three-storey terraced house on Rugby Avenue.

The victim, believed to be in his late 40s, lived at the address with his sister who escaped the blaze and raised the alarm just after 2am.

Jim Boyd, of the Northern Ireland Fire Service, said it was so ferocious that rescue teams were beaten back by the flames.

“Due to the intensity of the fire we had difficulty getting up to the second floor,” he said.

“Unfortunately by then the male occupant was dead.”

Investigators were today examining the wreckage of the house to find out what caused the fire to start on the first floor of the building.

It is not thought to have been suspicious, but Mr Boyd confirmed no smoke detector was fitted.

“The fire was quite well developed before it was discovered,” he added.

“Flames were coming out all the windows, front and back.

“Our crews tried to get up the stairs, but the whole of the staircase was alight and it took time to knock that back.

“With the occupant being on the upper floor there wasn’t a chance of him getting out.”

:: Meanwhile, the authorities warned smoke alarms should be fitted on all properties after a man escaped a fire in east Belfast.

The blaze is believed to have started when a frying pan was left on in the kitchen of the Tempemore Avenue property.