:quality(70)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/S6TUPYD6FMTDQHJRBK4HS2DBGU.jpg)
An 84-year- old woman living alone has died following a fire at her apartment in the centre of Youghal in Co Cork on Sunday evening.
The alarm was raised at around 4.30pm when the owner of the building on North Main Street noticed smoke coming from an upstairs room while they were attending the St Patrick’s Day parade in the town.
Members of Youghal Fire Brigade along with HSE paramedics attended the scene but despite efforts to resuscitate the woman she was pronounced dead.
The body of the woman was later removed to Cork University Hospital where a postmortem will take place on Monday to establish the exact cause of her death.
:quality(70)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/DT4YBMR5HFRGJSO3IH3DDSBFHM.jpg)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/ZEEYGQKP7UP5JEW7BUA6TZRYAA.jpg)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/Z5RP5AZN5G3KYGTD7RHEESWQSQ.jpg)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/5WERUXP7JMPC4EKT2M4GHAE4PA.jpg)
Gardaí say there is nothing to suggest anything suspicious about the fire but the scene has been preserved overnight to allow Garda technical experts carry out a forensic examination on Monday.
A Garda spokesman said they are hoping the technical examination will establish the exact cause of the fire but early indications suggest it may have started with an electrical fault in a bar heater.
The name of the woman will not be released until all next of kin are notified, said a Garda spokesman but it’s understood the woman was a long-term resident of Youghal.
:quality(70)/s3.amazonaws.com/arc-authors/irishtimes/e5466e3f-853d-49f3-89ae-da9e5d5fe247.png)