Paramedics administered CPR for 40mins in bid to save Cork woman following house fire

The woman was the sole occupant of the house.

Gardaí and fire services were alerted to the incident shortly before 8pm last night.

A woman who died after a fire in her house in Cork has been named locally.

Desperate efforts were made to save Maureen O’Gorman, who was in her 70s, as she was carried from her home in Silversprings Court, Mayfield on Saturday night.

Fire fighters extinguished the fire before they found the woman during a search of the property.

Fire fighters worked hard to save her, administering CPR for 40 minutes, initially alone and then aided by paramedics.

However, she was pronounced dead at the scene a short time later.

The fire is not thought to be suspicious and Gardaí from Mayfield are investigating the incident.

Workers Party Councillor Ted Tynan lives some 300m from the tragedy and was at the scene. He expressed condolences to the deceased woman’s family.

"It's tragic and it leaves a sort of numbness in the air here. The sadness is there," he said.

“The fire brigade passed by my door at 8.30pm.

“There was a lot of smoke coming from the house.

“It looked like there was more smoke than flames,” Mr Tynan said.

“It was quite dark apart from the flashing lights from the emergency services and it was very stormy and wet.

“It’s a tragedy. It was so sad to see. The poor woman was taken out on a stretcher on wheels with someone from the fire brigade giving her CPR, pressing on her chest as she was wheeled into the ambulance. They tried to save her but she was too far gone.

It was tragic to see the fire brigade trying to get her back breathing in the wind and rain.

“It looks like the smoke did the damage.

“It’s a sad event on a Bank Holiday weekend. But there was a great response from emergency services.” 

Ms O’Gorman was the sole occupant of the house where the fire took hold.

“The neighbours said that she seemed to keep herself to herself. No one I spoke to really knew her. She may not have been living here for that long," Mr Tynan said.

Gardaí and fire services were alerted to the incident shortly before 8pm on Saturday night.

A post-mortem examination is to be carried out at Cork University Hospital.

The Coroner has been notified, and the scene has been preserved for a technical and forensic examination.