An elderly couple have died in a fire in their top-floor flat in Limerick.
John and Christina Reddan, both aged 71, died in a blaze at their two-bedroomed flat in Cecil Street, Limerick, shortly after 10.30 p.m. on Wednesday.
A team of 12 fire-fighters arrived within minutes of receiving an emergency call, but the couple had already died in the blaze.
While the exact cause of the fire is unknown, one theory is that the couple died from smoke inhalation after trying to light a fire with old clothes and shoes.
"We arrived at the scene within minutes of receiving the call, but when we got there we found them in the kitchen of the flat side by side, and they were pronounced dead," said a fire officer.
The alarm was raised by a woman living in the building, who heard screams for help coming from the fourth-floor flat.
A passerby, a man in his 20s, tried to save the couple, but only made it as far as the stairs, where he was overcome by fumes. When fire crews arrived this man was found in a state close to collapse. He was treated for smoke inhalation at Limerick Regional Hospital.
The State Pathologist, Dr Marie Cassidy, was due to carry out a post-mortem on the bodies last night.