A woman made a lucky escape when the car she was driving went on fire at a McDonald’s drive-thru in Newbridge, Co Kildare.
A male van driver sitting in his vehicle at the restaurant in the Moorefield area of the town at about 11.30am noticed smoke coming from the woman’s car and warned her to get out.
Seconds later, the car burst into flames which quickly spread to the building. Staff and customers inside the restaurant were safely evacuated.
A local woman who runs a pharmacy across the road from the restaurant told RTÉ's Liveline: “The woman is shaken but she said she is grateful her grandchildren were not with her. We brought her into an office so she could not see what was happening to the building and gave her tea.”
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She added that many of the McDonald’s employees were being looked after by the pharmacy staff as they were in “shock”.
Kildare County Council said in a statement that while there is extensive damage to the property, there were no reports of injuries.
The fire is now under control, but fire service activities at the scene are likely to be ongoing for the next few hours, it said.
Three units along with a fire service hydraulic platform were deployed by Newbridge Fire Station.
In a statement, gardaí said: “Gardaí and emergency services responded to reports of a fire at a commercial premises on Moorefield Road, Newbridge, Co Kildare earlier today. There are no reported injuries at this time and the road remains closed.
“An Garda Síochána is advising motorists to please use an alternative route.”
Moorefield Road will remain closed for several hours and Kildare County Council advised local residents and businesses to keep their windows and doors closed due to fumes.
In a statement, a McDonald’s spokeswoman said: “Our Newbridge restaurant in County Kildare closed on Tuesday afternoon after a serious fire started at the site.
“The Fire & Emergency Services are still in attendance at the scene and working to contain the fire. Our crew and customers were safely evacuated, with no reported injuries. The restaurant will remain closed until further notice.”
Videos and photographs posted on social media showed flames and significant amounts of smoke coming from the site, which is on a main route through Newbridge.