Man in a critical condition after east Cork caravan fire

One man is in a critical condition in hospital while another is stable following a fire that destroyed a caravan in east Cork in the early hours of yesterday morning.

The blaze broke out in the caravan on land at Knockgriffin, outside Midleton, at about 4am and was spotted by a brother of the man who was seriously injured in the fire.

The man, who is in his early 20s, braved flames to rescue both his brother and the other man who was staying in the caravan at the time and he managed to drag them both to safety.

Both local man, who suffered burns and smoke inhalation, were taken by ambulance to Cork University Hospital (CUH) where one of them was last night in a critical condition.

The caravan was parked at the family home of one of the two men. It’s understood the man in critical condition suffered serious smoke inhalation from the blaze which completely destroyed the caravan.

The second man, who is originally from the Whitegate area, suffered from less serious smoke inhalation and he was also taken by ambulance to CUH where he received treatment.

Cork County Fire Brigade responded when the alarm was raised and Midleton Fire Brigade attended at the scene and brought the fire under control.

Samples of debris

Gardaí also attended and have begun an investigation into the cause of the fire, with Garda technical experts taking samples of debris for analysis at the State laboratory.

However, according to a Garda source, there is nothing evident to suggest foul play was involved and gardaí are treating the fire as a tragic accident.

Meanwhile, gardaí have also begun taking witness statements from a number of people living locally including the man who rescued his brother and the other man from the burning caravan.