A man in his 50s was seriously ill and his elderly mother was stable in hospital last night after they were burned in an explosion and fire at their home in Thurles, Co Tipperary.
The mother and son, named locally as Bridie and Noel Baron, were rescued from the burning bungalow by refuse workers whose actions local gardai have described as 'heroic'.
The refuse workers were emptying bins in the 17-house cul-de-sac, Beechwood Grove, when the explosion occurred in the front bedroom.
Gardai said last night it was too early to say whether the blast, which blew the chimney and most of the roof slates off the house, was caused by a gas cylinder.
Neighbours said the central heating systems in the development are run on electricity.
The house is in a development for elderly people off the Dublin Road and is owned by the Urban District Council.
Mr Baron suffered extensive burns and was in the intensive care unit of Our Lady's Hospital in Cashel last night. Mrs Baron, who is in her 70s, was less seriously injured.
Garda technical officers will today examine the house to determine the cause of the explosion, which happened at about 2.30 pm
Several windows in the house were blown out by the blast, and the house was extensively smoke-damaged in the fire.
The kitchen ceiling and part of the roof of a neighbouring house were also damaged. The residents of that house, Mrs Kitty Ryan and her husband, John, stayed with relatives last night.
Mrs Ryan said she 'heard a big bang and then the windows came out and the slates started falling off the roof. We were lucky because the council workers were collecting our bins at the time and they brought Bridie and Noel out of the house.'
Gardai then evacuated residents from nearby houses while two units of Thurles fire brigade attended the blaze.
Sgt Sean Sherlock from Thurles Garda station said last night that it was too early to say how the blast had occurred, but there was nothing suspicious about it.
He said the other elderly residents had been very upset by the incident and that members of the local social services were called to comfort them.
He also paid tribute to the 'heroic' action of the refuse workers. Neighbours said Mrs Baron had lived in the house for about six years and that Noel had been visiting her from England.