Woman killed in Dublin fire

A woman was killed today during an early morning blaze in a family home.

Several children and an another adult escaped the fire, which engulfed the south Co Dublin property.

Dublin Fire Brigade said the fire broke out in the detached rural home in Brownstown, near Newcastle, at around 2.30am.

The dead woman was aged in her 40s.

“There were a number of other people in the house, children and an adult,” said a spokesman.

“They had self-evacuated by the time we arrived.”

Up to 25 firefighters in four fire engines fought the blaze, which was described as intense.

It is not yet known what sparked the fire at the house, which is near the rear of Peamount Hospital.

The scene has been preserved by gardaí who will carry out a technical examination in a bid to ascertain the cause of the fire

Elsewhere, fire crews rescued a man from an apartment fire in Balbriggan, north Co Dublin.

The blaze, on Georges Hill, broke out at about 6.20am.