One man dead and another injured after house fire in Louth

Gardaí said a technical examination of the scene would be conducted once it was made safe by fire services.

An 89 year old man died and his son, who is in his late fifties, was left with serious injuries, after a fire broke out at their home in Co Louth in the early hours of Monday morning.

The cause of the blaze at the two storey detached home in the village of Termonfeckin is still being investigated.

The alarm was raised around 2am and Gardai assisted the Fire Fighters in the removal of the older man from the first floor of the house.

The man was taken to Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda, where he was pronounced dead a short time later.

His son was taken also to Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital to be treated for serious injuries.

Louth County Council confirmed that it’s Fire and Rescue service received, “multiple calls to a large fire in the vicinity of Seapoint, Termonfeckin, County Louth.” 

Appliances from a number of stations across the county responded including two from Drogheda, two from Ardee and one from Dunleer.

An aerial appliance and fire appliance from Dundalk, along with a Senior Fire Officer were also on scene.

The fire had taken hold and when they arrived crews were told that people were believed to be trapped inside.

Due to the intensity of the fire, four firefighters wearing breathing apparatus accessed the property using ladders through a first floor window.

The council confirmed that ‘after a search of the property was conducted, one person was discovered in an upstairs room and was rescued by Louth County Council Fire and Rescue. 

Fire-fighters commenced CPR on the man rescued. He was then removed to hospital by the ambulance service. Sadly, he passed away on arrival at hospital.

"Another man was treated at the scene by firefighters and was subsequently taken to hospital by the ambulance service."

Crews battled the blaze and it was brought under control after four hours with crews remaining on scene until 8am.

A local woman said that families who were woken by the activity, offered to help with several people going to the scene.

Parish priest Fr Paul Byrne said, “I was with the family this morning. It is a shock for everybody and a terrible tragedy. Our thoughts and prayers are with the whole family. It is a tragedy for the community as well.” 

“I want to pay tribute to those who assisted in the rescue efforts.” Another woman said the deceased was well known in the community and kept busy. He was often seen driving and is believed to have cut the grass in his garden over the weekend," Fr Byrne added.

As a result of the blaze the roof of the house partially caved in and the remainder suffered significant damage.

Mayor of Drogheda, Cllr Michelle Hall, who lives in the area, said, “I am extremely distressed to hear of this happening. They are a well known family. My thoughts and prayers are with them at this very sad time.”

Gardaí said a technical examination of the scene would be conducted once it was made safe by fire services.