An elderly woman has died in a house fire in Cork City, becoming the third person to die in a fire in the county in the past two days.
The fire started last night at a flat in a building Frankfield Terrace in the Summerhill area.
The occupant of a neighbouring apartment alerted to the blaze by a smoke alarm attempted to break down the door but was beaten back by the smoke and flames. The emergency services were contacted at 2.50am and the pensioner's body was found some time later after the blaze was extinguished.
She has not yet been named.
Meanwhile, a 25-year-old man died yesterday from injuries he received while lighting a fire at his home near Boherbue, north Cork.
The man sustained extensive burn injuries at about 6pm when the fire blew up on him after he threw some petrol on it at the farmhouse which he was renting with his girlfriend at Ruhill.
The woman was taken to Mallow General Hospital, where she was treated for shock.
Earlier yesterday May Neville (56), of Mary Aikenhead Place, Gurranabraher, Cork, died when a fire broke out as she visited the home of a friend on Wednesday night.
Cork firefighters rescued her from the house but efforts to resuscitate her were unsuccessful and she was pronounced dead at the scene.