LIMERICK gardai said last night they were keeping an open mind about the motive for a petrol bomb attack on a house from which three children were rescued early on Sunday morning.
Another petrol bomb was thrown through the window of the house next door to Quins Cottage, Rosbrien, but did not ignite.
The children, aged 14, seven and five, have left hospital and, been reunited with their mother, Ms Doreen Foran, at the home of relatives.
A Garda spokesman said. "It was a miracle that there was no loss of life. The gardai involved took their lives in their hands on entering the house."
The outbreak was seen at 2.40 a.m. by gardai on patrol duty.
Gardai Pat O'Callaghan and Padraig Molloy of Roxboro station broke down the front door. They crawled under the smoke level and rescued the two children who were asleep in ground floor rooms. When the Fire Brigade arrived, a fireman, Mr Tony Cronin, used breathing apparatus to find Tanya (5) who was sleeping upstairs.
He said. "The smoke was so thick I could not see my way around the house." He said the gardai "were absolutely brilliant and kept everyone calm".
There have been a number of similar incidents in Limerick.