A man in his 60s died in a house fire in Co Galway early yesterday morning.The man has been named as Mr Tommy Dowd, of Tonegurrane, Corrandulla, Co Galway.
Garda technical experts and members of Galway fire brigade were examining the scene yesterday, but it is understood that Mr Dowd had lit a fire in an upstairs bedroom which got out of control and spread to other areas of the dwelling.
The alarm was raised at about 8 a.m., and two units of Galway fire brigade were despatched to the two-storey house. It is believed that Mr Dowd left the room to get help and to alert other members of the family, but then returned to the bedroom and was overcome by smoke. His brother, his sister-in-law and family made their escape, and the house was substantially damaged in the blaze.
A single man, Mr Dowd was a farmer by occupation and had lived with his brother, sister-in-law and nephews at the farmhouse in Tonegurrane, about half a mile from the main Galway-Headford Road, for some time. Mr Dowd's body was taken to University College Hospital, Galway, yesterday where a post mortem and autopsy was due to be carried out.
Last week, nine people, including a three-year-old child, had a narrow escape when a fire broke out in an apartment building in Galway city. Two carpenters evacuated the building at Gleann na Rí, which is part of the Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology student campus on the east side of the city. Initial investigations suggested that a television or video recorder may have caused the blaze.
The National Safety Council has warned that all electrical appliances should be turned off at source at night.